Juan Diego Florez Cancels!

“Javier Camarena will sing the role of Prince Ramiro in the season’s three initial performances of Rossini’s La Cenerentola on April 21, 25, and 28, replacing Juan Diego Flórez, who is ill. Flórez is scheduled to return for the three final performances of the opera, on May 2, May 6, and the May 10 matinee, which will be transmitted worldwide as part of the Met’s Live in HD series.”

Vienna State Opera 2014-15 season Features Anna Netrebko, Juan Diego Florez and Angela Gheorghiu

After a number hours in which the Vienna State Opera's website crashed, I finally have a list of works which will be performed this year. The reason for slow connection was because the company announced the season and puts all tickets on sale immediately. 

The upcoming season will see 223 staged opera performance and will include six new productions listed below: 

The Tempest (Austrian premiere) 14 June 2015 c: Thomas Ades, d: Robert Lepage, with Adrian Eröd, Audrey Luna, Stephanie Houtzeel, David Daniels

• Idomeneo 5 October 2014 c: Christoph Eschenbach, d: Kasper Holten, with Michael Schade, Margarita Gritskova, Maria Bengtsson, Chen Reiss 
• Khovanshchina 15 November 2014 c: Semyon Bychkov, d: Lev Dodin, with Ferruccio Furlanetto, Christopher Ventris, Herbert Lippert, Andrzej Dobber, Ain Anger, Elisabeth Kulman, Norbert Ernst
• Rigoletto 20 December 2014 c: Franz Welser-Möst, d: Pierre Audi, with Piotr Beczala, Simon Keenlyside, Valentina Nafornită, Elena Maximova 
• Elektra 29 March 2015 c: Franz Welser-Möst, d: Uwe Eric Laufenberg, with Anna Larsson, Nina Stemme, Anne Schwanewilms, Falk Struckman 
• Don Pasquale 26April 2015 c: Jesús López-Cobos, d: Irina Brook, 
 with Michele Pertusi, Juan Diego Flórez, Alessio Arduini, Valentina Nafornită

The company will see the return of a number of stars including Juan Diego Florez in L'Elisir d'Amore and La Cenerentola, Placido Domingo and Maria Guleghina in Nabucco, Anna Netrebko in Anna Bolena and Angela Gheorghiu in Werther. Kristine Opolais and Piotr Beczala will perform Rusalka while Olga Peretyatko will bring her acclaimed Elvira in I Puritani. Another highlight will be Aleksandrs Antonenko in Tosca and Pique Dame. Elina Garanca will bring her acclaimed Octavian to Der Rosenkavalier while Ramon Vargas will sing Don Carlos, Werther, and Simon Boccanegra. Nina Stemme will also return as Minnie in La Fanciulla del West. For more Click Here 

Notable DVD and CD Releases for the Month of March and April

The next two  months will see the releases of many great artists including a number of Jonas Kaufmann releases.

The final part of the ring cycle "Gotterdammerung" from La Scala will be released. Lance Ryan, Irene Theorin, Mikail Peterenko and Waltraud Meirer star in this production which was conducted by Daniel Barenboim. The DVD comes out a few months after the release of the first three operas. It is unknown if Arthaus will release a box set.

New CDs and DVD from Bartoli, Florez and Domingo

Decca has finally announced Juan Digo Florez's next album. The CD concentrates o the french repertoire and features works by Gounod, Massanet, Berlioz, Donizetti, and Delibe. Robbert Abbado conduct the Bologna orchestra and it is scheduled for release in March.

And for those Bartoli lovers, Decca is releasing two new DVDs from the Zurich Opera. The first release according to Amazon UK will be Le Comte Ory which has been delayed a number of times. Later Otello will be released. The DVDs come out in anticipation of Bartolis 2014 Whitsun Festival at Salzburg “Rossinissmo.” There she will perform La Cenrentola, Otello, a Rossini Gala and her role debut of L'Italiana in Algeri.    

 

And for Domingo fans, Sony has just announced his next album which features highlights from his Met career. 

Salzburg Festival 2014 Announces Lineup

The Salzburg Festival has announced their lineup for the summer. Many of the rumors have been confirmed including Anna Netrebko and Placido Domingo joining forces for a new production of "Il Trovatore." One of the other highlights will be Juan Diego Florez and Elina Garanca singing a concert a performance of "La Favorita."  Waltraud Meier and Peter Seiffert will also join forces with Rene Pape and Ekaterina Gubanova for an abridged concert performance of "Tristan und Isolde." Cecilia Bartoli is also taking on La Cenrentola while Ildebrando d'Arcangelo will sing his acclaimed interpretation of "Don Giovanni. 

The Complete List Below  

CD and DVD release For the Month of September

The month of September see the release of many great CDs and DVDs from the top artist in the industry.

The first release of the month is a CD recording of Riccardo Muti's acclaimed Otello. I was able to see a performance of this opera in Carnegie Hall with Muti and the same cast on this CD and it was one of the highlights of that season. The cast includes Aleksandrs Antonenko, Krassimira Stoyanova and Carlo Guelfi. The CD will be released by CSO Resound and is a must buy.  

Matilde di Shabran Release Date

I have received many questions on when Juan Diego Florez's new DVD Matilde di Shabran will be released and Decca has finally announced that the opera will be in stores in August. The opera also stars Olga Peretyatko, and Nicola Alaimo. Michele Mariotti conducts the production from Pesaro.

Vienna State Opera 2013-2014 Season

The 2013-2014 Vienna State Season was announced with 350 performances being presented. The season will include six new productions and major stars including Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Netrebko, Angela Gheorghiu, Placido Domingo, Ramon Vargas, Rolando Villazon, Juan Diego Florez and Edita Gruberova.

The New Productions: "Excuse the spanish"

La fanciulla del West
05. 08. 11. 14. 17. Oct. 2013

Franz Welser-Möst: Director musical

Marco Arturo Marelli: Director de escena

Reparto:

Nina Stemme | Minnie

Tomasz Konieczny | Jack Rance

Jonas Kaufmann | Dick Johnson

Die Zauberflöte

17. 20. 24.27.30. Nov., 02. Dic.2013,

 07. 09.13.17. Jun. 2014

Christoph Eschenbach: Director musical

Moshe Leiser: Director de escena

Reparto:

Brindley Sherratt | Sarastro

Benjamin Bruns | Tamino

Olga Pudova | Königin der Nacht

Anita Hartig | Pamina

Markus Werba | Papageno

Rusalka

26. 30. En., 03. 06. 09. Feb. 2014

Jirí Belohlávek: Director musical

Sven-Eric Bechtolf: Director de escena

Reparto:

Michael Schade | Der Prinz

Monika Bohinec | Die fremde Fürstin

Krassimira Stoyanova | Rusalka

Günther Groissböck | Der Wassermann

Janina Baechle | Die Hexe Jezibaba

Adriana Lecouvreur

16. 19. 22. Feb., 04. 08.12. Mar. 2014

Evelino Pidò: Director musical

David McVicar: Director de escena

Reparto:

Elena Zhidkova | La Principessa di Bouillon

Massimo Giordano | Maurizio Graf von Sachsen

Angela Gheorghiu | Adriana Lecouvreur

Roberto Frontali | Michonnet

Lohengrin

12. 16. 20.25. 28. Abr. 2014

Bertrand de Billy: Director musical

Andreas Homoki: Director de escena

Reparto:

Klaus Florian Vogt | Lohengrin

Günther Groissböck | Heinrich der Vogler

Camilla Nylund | Elsa von Brabant

Wolfgang Koch | Friedrich von Telramund

Michaela Martens | Ortrud

Detlef Roth | Der Heerrufer des Königs

.

Das schlaue Füchslein

18. 21.24.26.30. Jun. 2014

Franz Welser-Möst: Director musical

Otto Schenk: Director de escena

Reparto:

Gerald Finley | Der Förster

Wolfgang Bankl | Háraschta, ein Landstreicher

Chen Reiss | Füchslein Schlaukopf

For more on the season click here\ or visit the vienna state website.

2014-2015 Met Opera Season Rumor

After the long awaited 2013-2014 was announced we now have some news on the next season. 2014-15 looks to be even more exciting with 6 new productions and even more exciting revivals.

Opening night will  be with a new production of Le nozze di Figaro, a production that is in a bit of flux at the moment since Anna Netrebko elected not to add Contessa Almaviva to her stage repertoire at the moment.  As it stands now, the new Mozart  will be conducted by James Levine in a production by Michael Grandage. The cast will be Maija Kovalevska, Marlis Petersen and Mikhail Petrenko but by the lack of stars the Met will most likely add a more marketable singer to the list.

Five further new productions dot the season:

The Death of Klinghoffer. Director: Tom Morris (ENO production]

Iolanta/Duke Bluebeard’s Castle. Conductor: Valery Gergiev. Director: Mariusz Trelinski. Cast includes Anna Netrebko and Alexei Tanovitski in theTchaikovksy, with  Nadja Michael and Mikhail Petrenko in the Bartók.

The New Year’s Eve extravaganza this season will be The Merry Widow, Conductor TBA. Susan Stroman directs Renée Fleming; later in the season the show returns with Susan Graham and Rodney Gilfry.

La Donna del Lago. Conductor: Michele Mariotti.  Director: John Fulljames.Joyce DiDonato, Daniela Barcellona, Juan Diego Florez.

Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci. Conducto: Fabio Luisi. Director: TBA. Marcelo Alvarez, Barbara Frittoli.

The repertoire will further include revivals of:

Aida with Liudmyla Monastyrska, Dmitry Belosselskiy.

Un Ballo in Maschera  with Sondra Radvanovsky, Yonghoon Lee.

Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

La Boheme with Maria Agresta.

Carmen with Elina Garanca/Anita Rachvelishvili, Roberto Alagna, Anita Hartig/Ailyn Perez.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Susanna Phillips, Matthew Polenzani.

Don Carlos with Barbara Frittoli, Nadia Krasteva, Jonas Kaufmann/Yonghoon Lee, Simon Keenlyside, Ferruccio Furlanetto. Chef d’orchestre for the first-ever Met performances in the original French will be Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Don Giovanni

Ernani  with Placido Domingo as Don Carlo.

Faust with Anna Netrebko, Joseph Calleja, Rene Pape. [This production was described to La Cieca as "hanging by a thread," with nobody involved feeling enthusiastic about the project.]

Hansel and Gretel

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk with Eva-Maria Westbroek, Brandon Jovanovich,Raymond Very.

Lucia di Lammermoor with Olga Peretyatko, conducted by Maurizio Benini.

Manon with Diana Damrau, Vittorio Grigolo.

Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg with Emily Magee, Karen Cargill, Johan Botha, Matthew Polenzani, Bryn Terfel, conducted by James Levine.

The Rake’s Progress with Lisette Oropesa, Stephanie Blythe, Gerald Finley.

La Traviata with Marina Rebeka, Francesco Demuro.

Die Zauberflote.

What do you guys think of this season!

Le Comte Ory Opens Tonight

Juan Diego Florez returns to Rossini's delightful comedy Le Comte Ory with Pretty Yende in her Met debut. Nathan Gunn and Karine Deshayes join the cast with Maurizio Benini in the pit.

For more information on Le Comte read our preview linked here. 

For more on Juan Diego Florez Review our L'Elisir d'Amore review for last year 

Le Comte Ory Preview 2012-2013

Juan Diego Florez returns to the Met with his acclaimed turn as Le Comte Ory. Pretty Yende makes her anticipated Met debut.

The Production

Bartlett Sher made his third production with Le Comte Ory. He set the opera within a theater and it was supposed to be an opera within an opera. The concept was confusing because in the end the production did not work. Critics called it incompetent and stated that "Michael Yeargan's sets looked like something middle schoolers could knock together from cardboard boxes and shower curtains. But even they might have passed muster had Sher placed even a single witty scene before them. Instead, he settled for breast-grabbing, butt-groping and enough hammy business for actor Rob Besserer, in an extraneous role, to steal focus from every musical or dramatic climax." Some were less harsh stating that while it did not work they would accept it. The New York Times was one of the few to enjoy the production stating that Sher brought Nuance, and intelligence." The production is made up of an old barn of a place, with brick walls lined with candles. Within that big room there is a miniature theater with a low platform stage and a curtain in back." The sets are stark and sometimes boring to look at but if there are good performers on it the production works. With Juan Diego Florez back on board, Sher's production should be as refreshing as the first time around

Matilde di Shabran on DVD

Today Olga Peretyatko announced via twitter and facebook that a release of Rossini Matilde di Shabran will happen very soon on DVD. Juan Diego Florez also stars. Here is the cover. 

The complete 2013-2014 Met operas (These are Rumors)

Last we revealed the HDs on my post Rumor article and today  Parterre has revealed the complete 2013-2014 Met Opera season which includes some of the casts and all the new productions. 

As it stands there will only be 6 new productions as I Puritani will be a revival. There is no soprano attached to the role. Other mystery casting is Wozzeck which was rumored to include Karita Mattila and Thomas Hampson but at the moment nothing is confirmed. And a surprise is that L'Elisir d'Amore will be revived with Netrebko and Ramon Vargas. Enjoy the list!

Met Rumors 2013-2014

Courtesy of La Cieca from Parterre, here are the HD operas rumored to be scheduled for the 2013-2014 season.

There are seven new productions scheduled of which Two Boys by Nicol Muhly is rumored to not be HD material. A projected new staging of I puritani will almost certainly not happen, with Natalie Dessay presumably relieved of all further bel canto duties, and the men in the cast—Lawrence Brownlee, Mariusz Kwiecien and Michele Pertusi—rolled over into other projects in spring 2014.

 Here are new productions scehduled:

Zelmira will finally come out!

Juan Diego Florez's long delayed Zelmira will finally be released by DECCA who has not released a DVD or CD of Florez's since 2010. The cast also includes Kate Aldrich, Geregory Kunde and is conducted by Roberto Abbado. More details coming soon.