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NEWS ABOUT: opera

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Opera Stars Ditch Japan Tour Over Radiation Fears

Experts say there's nothing to worry about

(Newser) - A pair of New York’s top opera stars due to sing in Japan have canceled their performances following the earthquake, the AP reports. Now, the Metropolitan Opera has to “scour the world” to find replacement singers for soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Joseph Calleja, even though experts said... More »

Opera Legend Joan Sutherland Dead at 83

Stupendous soprano had 'voice of the century'

(Newser) - Joan Sutherland, the soprano Luciano Pavarotti once called "the voice of the century," has died at her home in Switzerland at age 83. The Australian-born singer—known as "La Stupenda" or "The Stupendous One" to opera audiences—became one of the most celebrated opera singers of... More »

Drug War: The Opera, Premieres in Mexico

Opera is first to tackle theme of country's drug conflict

(Newser) - Mexico's drug war has reached its fingers all the way into the country's premier opera house: The first opera based on the conflict, Only the Truth, has premiered in Mexico City. The opera, based on a popular Mexican song, tells the story of a woman who smuggles marijuana north into... More »

Anna Nicole Opera Will Premiere in 2011

Libretto is by 'Jerry Springer: The Opera' writer

(Newser) - Britain's Royal Opera House will stage the premiere of an opera about Anna Nicole Smith in 2011. The libretto of Anna Nicole is by Richard Thomas, a creator of the controversial Jerry Springer: The Opera. Covent Garden commissioned the opera about the former Playmate in 2008. It will focus on... More »

Harlem Aria Hits Sour Note

Apparent Soloist knockoff actually from 1999, where it should stay

(Newser) - Harlem Aria hit the festival circuit in 1999, and contemporary critics are baffled by the timing of the release of the uneven story of a developmentally disabled young black man with a heart and voice of gold:
  • The performances and William Jennings' direction are "no more than adequate,"
... More »

Opera Diva Faces Jail in NY Cell Phone Tiff

Soprano shoved restaurant manager after complaints

(Newser) - An Argentine opera singer could face jail after a fight broke out in a New York restaurant over her cell phone screeching. Soprano Gabriela Pochinki, 41, and her daughter were shouting into a cell phone on speaker and refused to stop after fellow diners complained. Security camera footage shows the... More »

2 New Theaters Make Dallas a Hotspot

One traditional, one progressive, they reaffirm the Big D's vibrancy

(Newser) - Dallas has several museums and concert halls that would be the envy of any city, but until now they've seemed more like standalone monuments than elements of a city center. Two new venues opening this Sunday have transformed downtown, "giving the area the cultural stature Dallas has long been... More »

Met Audience Boos Drab Tosca

Critics pan new production of Puccini opera

(Newser) - New York's Metropolitan Opera opened its season last night with a gala production of Puccini's Tosca, a crowd-pleasing war horse given an aggressive new staging by the Swiss director Luc Bondy. The black-tie crowd was not pleased with the stark, modern production, erupting in boos during the curtain call. Critics... More »

'Twitter Opera' Wins Over Londoners

900 authors wrote Twitterdammerung libretto in tweets

(Newser) - The first-ever Twitter opera—a melding of high tech and high art with a libretto written in chunks of 140 characters—received an unexpectedly positive reception when it opened pver the weekend, the Washington Post reports. One critic called Twitterdammerung “an accident waiting to happen.” But it “... More »

Twitter Opera Invites Your Tweets

(Newser) - England’s world-famous Royal Opera House is getting with the times by launching the world’s first Twitter libretto, the Independent reports. Participants send lyrical tweets to @youropera, which will be set to familiar and original opera music in The Twitter Opera next month. Some critics worry it cheapens the... More »

Opera Sounds Good, But How Does It Smell?

New work opening at Guggenheim blasts 23 scents at audience

(Newser) - A new opera premiering at the Guggenheim Museum in New York later this month will be a feast for the ears, the eyes—and the nose. Green Aria, a 30-minute "scent opera" years in the making, pairs music with 23 distinct odors blasted at the audience via individual... More »

José Carreras Retires From Opera

62-year-old's departure leaves one of Three Tenors

(Newser) - Unable to perform at the level he considers acceptable, José Carreras will retire from opera, the least prominent of the Three Tenors tells the Times of London. Unamplified lead roles in opera houses are more than the 62-year-old Spaniard can handle, he said. “If I can do concert recitals,... More »

Few Blacks Followed Anderson's Lead

(Newser) - Marian Anderson shattered a racial barrier when she sang at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, 1939—70 years ago this week—yet despite planned tributes, the power of the moment has faded, Alex Ross writes in the New Yorker. Most young people know nothing of Anderson, and "black... More »

High-Concept Sonnambula Misses at Met

(Newser) - Most operas weave pretty far-fetched tales, but that isn't license for directors to retell them in ironic or mocking ways, Alex Ross writes in the New Yorker. Reviewing two recent productions at the Met, Ross hails a faithful staging of Verdi's Il Trovatore—but dismisses a high-concept version of Bellini's... More »

Newbies' Passion for Opera 'Like Love at First Sight'

Research suggests if you don't swoon first time, opera may not be for you

(Newser) - The passion that opera fans feel for the art form is more akin to love at first sight than a slow-growing desire, Reuters reports. A sociologist focused on fans in the cheap seats who hadn't been brought up on opera, and found they tended to have an intense, explosive attraction... More »

Rebel Singer Out to Save 'Dusty' Operas

(Newser) - Natalie Dessay is still butting heads with opera purists after twenty-some years in the business. The zesty soprano, an actor at heart, upsets some critics by adding theatrical gestures and even screams to her roles. "At least it's alive," Dessay says of her style. Opera, on the other... More »

Troubled NYC Opera Names Dallas Conductor New GM

Company names Steel new GM after chaotic year

(Newser) - The New York City Opera, the deeply troubled company based at Lincoln Center, has named Dallas-based director and conductor George Steel as its new general manager. The announcement comes after last fall's departure of Gerard Mortier, the Belgian iconoclast who promised a shake-up of the opera but quit before he... More »

Rock Opera Humanizes 'Deep Throat'

Bumpy life of Deep Throat star hits LA stage

(Newser) - Slut or victim? Porn star or feminist? A Los Angeles stage production tackles the contradictions of Linda Boreman—better known as Linda Lovelace, of 1970s hit Deep Throat, the Los Angeles Times reports. The creators of Lovelace: The Rock Opera “wanted to know Linda as a person, beyond the... More »

Met Lifts Curtain on Opera You Don't Have to Dress Up for

Icon will stream shows, broadcasts online

(Newser) - New York's Metropolitan Opera will soon be offering a new viewing experience: online streaming of performances dating back to 1937. Next week, on the 125th anniversary of its first show, the Met will unveil its online, on-demand service, reports the New York Times. If you can get past the glitches,... More »

Live Feeds Hit High Note for Operas

(Newser) - The age of iPods has drawn opera from its stuffy confines into city streets, cinemas, and websites, Mike Ashman writes in Gramophone. After the BBC was inspired by flashmobbers to broadcast an opera from Paddington Station a few years ago, impresarios caught on: Now opera companies from the Met to... More »

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