General Opera News

[Wendell_E]

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the composer's death, Met Opera on Demand is offering all of its Puccini titles, video, and audio for free this month.

Free apps available for Amazon Fire TV and Tablet, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, Android, Roku, and Samsung Smart TV.

I've already watched the Richard Eyre production of Manon Lescaut with Opolais and Alagna, and a 2008 Bohème with Gheorghiu and Vargas.

https://ondemand.metopera.org/

[Kalevala]

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the composer's death, Met Opera on Demand is offering all of its Puccini titles, video, and audio for free this month.

Free apps available for Amazon Fire TV and Tablet, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, Android, Roku, and Samsung Smart TV.

I've already watched the Richard Eyre production of Manon Lescaut with Opolais and Alagna, and a 2008 Bohème with Gheorghiu and Vargas.

https://ondemand.metopera.org/

Can you only watch them for free if you download their app?  The only thing that I have on their list is an old iPhone.

K

[Wendell_E]

Can you only watch them for free if you download their app?  The only thing that I have on their list is an old iPhone.

K

You can watch them on your computer.

[brewski]

Another potential "wow" new opera livestream coming up on Dec. 13: Fanny and Alexander by Mikael Karlsson and librettist Royce Vavrek, based on the Ingmar Bergman film, conducted by Ariane Matiakh and directed by Ivo van Hove.

Will be staged at La Monnaie De Munt in Brussels, with an amazing cast: Susan Bullock, Peter Tantsits, Sasha Cooke, Thomas Hampson, and Anne Sofie von Otter. Sarah Dewez and Jay Weiner will sing the title roles.

Streaming available on either medici.tv or Mezzo.tv.

-Bruce

[Wendell_E]

At 80, concert singer [Lucy Shelton] finds herself a hot commodity

Interesting article. She'll make her Met debut next season at age 82 in Saariaho's Innocence. I've got several recordings of her in her more usual, modern concert repertory (Messiaen, del Tredici, Carter).

[brewski]

As a holiday gift, the Greek National Opera is offering free access to its online performances for one week. Too much to list, but operas include:

Andrei: requiem in eight scenes (a tribute to Tarkovsky by Dimitra Trypani)
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Shostakovich)
Falstaff (Verdi)
La Traviata (Verdi)
Kassandra (Pablo Ortiz)

tv.nationalopera.gr/en/opera/

-Bruce

[San Antone]

Edmond Dédé, America's First Black Opera Composer
by Patrick D. McCoy



Dédé's Morgiane, ou Le Sultan d'Ispahan, from 1887, is perhaps the oldest known complete opera by an African-American composer.  Hidden away for 138 years, the world premiere production of 'Morgiane' is a partnership between OperaCreole and Opera Lafayette.

Like many artists of color with the opportunity, Edmond Dédé fled the antebellum United States. After a time in Mexico, he eventually settled in France, where his talents as a composer and conductor were soon recognized, somewhat celebrated, and later forgotten. Among Dédé's surviving works is a four-act opera, Morgiane, ou Le Sultan d'Ispahan, which was never performed or published in his lifetime.

Read more from Early Music America.

[Wendell_E]

New Orleans 2025-6 season

I didn't renew my long-time subscription this year, because there wasn't much of interest: Just two staged productions (Tosca and L'Elisir d'Amore), a concert Samson et Dalila, and a concert featuring local singers. Things are definitely looking up next season:

We heard your voices! You wanted more on your subscription. This year, a season subscription brings you six performances spanning the traditional and avant garde, from September through to April. Join us at the intersection of Piety and Desire!

Verdi's Requiem - 9/26/2025 at 7:30PM, Orpheum Theater
From the thunderous Dies Irae to the haunting Lacrimosa, the mortal and the divine collide in Verdi's choral masterwork.

Handel's Messiah - 12/5/2025 at 7:30PM, Orpheum Theater
A prophecy foretold; a voice that echoes through eternity. This Christmas classic weaves the greatest story ever told into a vivid musical tapestry of triumph, despair, and awe.

Fire Shut Up in My Bones - 2/2026, The Civic Theatre
In the chamber of his soul, Charles confronts the shadows of his past, embarking on a transformative journey of healing, and hope. This suite from Blanchard's critically acclaimed opera features principal artists from the opera and the composer performing his own score.

Dialogues des carmélites - 3/26/2026 at 7:30PM, 3/28/2026 and 4/4/2026 at 2:30PM, Ursuline Convent
Paris, 1789: Fear reigns. Faith is tested. The guillotine looms. In a world turned upside down, the destiny of 16 sisters of the Carmelite Order hangs in the balance. This powerful true story lives on stage in a site-specific production at the oldest building in Louisiana, the Ursuline Convent in the French Quarter.

Der Rosenkavalier - 3/27/2026 at 7:30PM, 3/29/2026 at 2:30PM, Mahalia Jackson Theater
A sophisticated older woman, a romantic chevalier, and a blooming young girl converge in an impossible love triangle around a single silver rose, set to the dreamiest melodies in opera. Will the Marschallin relinquish her lover and sacrifice her heart to the toll of passing time, or protect her own heart and doom a young woman to a dowry marriage?

Pilgrimage - 4/2/2026 at 7:30PM, Venue TBD
A journey through the dark night of the soul. In this immersive pairing, Carlisle Floyd's Pilgrimage [a 20-minute song cycle] and Kaija Saariaho's L'amour de loin intertwine, guiding listeners through an odyssey of longing and spiritual rebirth.