Latest news with #Tosca
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Verona Opera Festival: Tosca captivates under starlit skies
Historically, there would have been a throng of up to 30,000 spectators in the stands, but the evening we visit, the Arena's full capacity is 15,000, with one large curve of the stalls providing a natural backdrop for the stage set. We chose Poltrona (armchair) seats in the stalls and felt fully immersed in the concave setting, especially as the sun set and a colossal statue of the archangel Michael was dramatically lit. While there are many beautifully-staged operas to attend each season, we had chosen the political thriller Tosca, seeing as it is by an Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini, and set in Rome, Italy, (unlike his Madame Butterfly in Japan or La Bohème in Paris) and, well, when in 'Little Rome'. Relatively new to opera, we didn't know what to expect. Certainly not the dramatic turn of events in the opening scene, when we felt two raindrops, prompting the romantic leads to walk off stage. Fortunately, the dramatic clouds rolled away like painted props, and the show went on after a Prosecco under the arches of the arena (each opera typically has a back-up date if others are not so lucky). As couples young and old cuddled up all around us, we could forgive the stars, Sonya Yoncheva, Vittorio Grigolo and Ruggero Raimondi, for wanting to protect their voices for an opera of such a grand scale under the real-life stars. The plot was fast-paced, and subtitle screens, in English and Italian, on both sides of the stage ensured we were not left behind. Casa di Giulietta. Photo / Destination Verona & Garda Foundation There was one other unplanned plot twist, after a particularly emotionally charged song, when some in the crowd cried 'encore' and the primo uomo re-did his entire solo. While encores in the middle of a performance are discouraged at established opera houses, such as La Scala in Milan, they can be accepted here. For me, the cheeky grin of the singer at the re-set broke the 'fourth wall', that magic imaginary line between actors and audiences where they pretend we're not there – but the heart wants what it wants, and the enjoyment from the crowd was genuine. In a surreal way, it reminded me of earlier works of theatre, including Shakespeare's, where audience interaction was a crucial theatrical element. Like many of the great love stories in opera and theatre, Tosca is a tragedy, and the thunderous applause at the end of the opera was a shared cathartic relief. As we left the glowing arena at midnight, we assumed we were all dressed up with nowhere to go. But on a stroll back to our boutique hotel, several street cafes were still open for nightcaps, paired, in our case, with Margherita pizza. The stop wasn't essential, seeing as we'd already indulged before the show at Antica Bottega Del Vino, which had a red leather-bound wine list longer than Dante's Divine Comedy. This is fitting, given that the poet and writer Dante Alighieri had a home in Verona during the early 1300s, as it was becoming a leading cultural centre under Lord Cangrande I della Scala (and he could have crossed paths with the lovers that inspired Romeo and Juliet, with some creative licence). Verona is one of the world's most romantic cities. Photo / Destination Verona & Garda Foundation The Arena di Verona Opera Festival itself is 111 years in play. The opening opera, in 1913, was another tragedy, Aida. It was chosen to mark the centenary of the birth of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. In 2025, Aida is back on the opera calendar, alongside classics like La Traviata and Nabucco, also by Verdi, with modern staging. In a world of mindless movie streaming and double-screening, it's inspiring to see the Veronesi applaud time-honoured theatrics and arias – and that millions of people will travel to one of the world's most romantic cities to witness them once more. Encore!
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Gilda Cruz-Romo, soprano celebrated for her power, dies at 85
Critics focused on the natural way she used her voice to inject character into her roles. From a 1962 debut in her native Mexico, opposite Jon Vickers in Richard Wagner's 'Die Walkure,' to her final performances, 30 years later, in Manuel de Falla's 'El Amor Brujo' in Guadalajara, where she was born, she was celebrated for a big voice -- she could hit high Cs with perfect accuracy -- that was also capable of singing quite softly. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up At the Met, she sang alongside stars Sherrill Milnes in 'I Pagliacci,' Robert Merrill in 'La Forza del Destino,' and Plácido Domingo in 'Tosca,' under James Levine. Advertisement A 1974 performance in Turin in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's 'Luisa Miller' was 'the aural equivalent of a Caravaggio painting,' critic Scott Barnes wrote in a 2008 profile in Opera magazine. He praised her 'masterful use of light and shadow to etch an indelibly unique human being,' wroting that she had a sound 'perfect for Verdi and Puccini.' Advertisement The daughter of a train conductor, Ms. Cruz-Romo came from 'humble beginnings,' her niece Guerra said in an interview. Quoted in the 2008 Opera profile, Ms. Cruz-Romo appeared slightly amazed in looking back at a career that had led her from the Mexican provinces to the operatic stage in New York, Milan, London, and Vienna. 'I mean, my God! Who has such luck? There was really no struggle in my career,' she told Barnes. 'I worked hard and prepared well, but the engagements came easily.' Ms. Cruz-Romo was Cio-Cio San in "Madama Butterfly" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1981. METROPOLITAN OPERA/NYT Gilda Cruz was born Feb. 12, 1940, one of four children of Feliciano Cruz and Maria del Rosario Diaz. As a child, she 'loved to dress up and make believe all the time,' she told Barnes in 2008, recalling that she infuriated her mother by taking her antique bedspread so she could 'swirl that around me and pretend to be a queen.' She studied at the Mexico City Conservatory, sang with the choir of the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, and made her debut under the composer-conductor Carlos Chavez with the Mexican National Symphony Orchestra in Heitor Villa-Lobos' 'Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5.' She immediately impressed critics in her native land. 'A young debutante with a very beautiful voice, and to whom we wish a brilliant future,' critic Rafael Solana wrote in Siempre! magazine in September 1962, after her debut in 'Die Walkure.' In 1968, after some six years with the National Opera of Mexico, she was hired to sing in Gaetano Donizetti's 'Anna Bolena' at the Dallas Opera (her husband, Roberto, was singing in the opera's choir). Advertisement From the beginning, the texture of Cruz-Romo's voice and its exceptional richness aroused critical enthusiasm. She made her New York debut at City Opera in October 1969, in the dual role of Margherita and Elena in Arrigo Boito's 'Mefistofele,' under Julius Rudel. For critic Peter G. Davis of The New York Times, she was 'a major discovery.' 'In soft passages, she produces a pianissimo of delicate, whispery beauty, and when the voice blooms up on top the effect is thrillingly brilliant,' Davis wrote -- although he did note a few 'technical flaws' in her voice production. In 1970, she won the top prize in the Metropolitan Opera National Council's regional audition and was immediately offered a contract by the company's general manager, Rudolf Bing. Later that year, Davis found her Butterfly to be 'a fascinating creation and potentially a great one,' adding that 'her voice is a thrilling instrument in itself, with a powerful thrust in the top register and an individual, bronzen timbre that communicates drama as well as the notes.' After retiring from the stage in 1990, Ms. Cruz-Romo became a voice professor at the University of Texas Austin. She held that position for about a decade, earning the gratitude of dozens of students. 'She was an encyclopedia of musical knowledge and lived experience,' her student Benjamin Watts wrote in a post on LinkedIn after her death, 'fundamentally devoted to the libretto of every masterpiece she performed.' Ms. Cruz-Romo leaves a sister, Sylvia Winter. Her husband, who had been her manager, died in 2018. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
Powys County Times
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
A Night at the Opera event hailed a success at Y Dolydd
A North Wales Opera Company performance captivated audiences at Y Dolydd recently. On July 19, the opera company showcased a line-up of singers, including Ukrainian soprano Khrystyna Makar, who impressed with her powerful and sensitive delivery, particularly winning over the crowd with Anfonaf Angel. Tenor Lewis Quinn also stood out, performing well-loved arias such as Vesti la giubba and Nessun dorma. He was joined in the Pearl Fishers' duet by baritone HoWang Michael Yuen from Hong Kong. Mezzo Zena O'May also performed alongside lyric tenor Richard Jackson. Three young local singers, Grace Worrall, Morgan Darcy Rees-Deacon, and Rose Burgon, were well received. The musical director was Andrew Charity and the director was Anne Williams-King. Dolydd Chair Dan Llywelyn Hall noted that A Night at the Opera has become a cultural highlight and invited the company back next year. The North Wales Opera Company is set to perform Puccini's 'Tosca' at Llangollen Town Hall on Thursday, September 11.
Daily Record
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Lanark set to stage opera production
Opera Bohemia will bring their performance of Tosca to the town on July 27 Lanark will host a touring opera production this weekend as Tosca is staged at the memorial hall. The performance by professional touring company Opera Bohemia takes place on Sunday, July 27, at 4pm and will star award-winning Lanarkshire soprano Monica McGhee in Puccini's famous 'tale of love, lust and deception'. It is directed by Opera Bohemia co-founder Douglas Nairne, and the group say: 'The performance is being sung in English and in Douglas Nairne's intimate new production, the drama is plunged into a world of crime and passion amidst the treacherous mafia underworld.' The tour is supported by Creative Scotland and the show is designed by acclaimed Scottish designer Kenneth McLeod. Founded in 2010 by Douglas Nairne and conductor Alistair Digges, Opera Bohemia has since staged 14 different productions at venues across Scotland, providing performance opportunities for more than 150 young professional musicians and running free workshops for schools. Opera Bohemia say: 'The company is excited to be returning to Lanark, having brought several of their productions to the Memorial Hall in the past. 'One of our main goals is to introduce opera to a new audience, as well as providing more live performances all round Scotland, and we hope this exciting new production of Tosca is just the ticket.' * Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here. And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head on over and give us a like and share!
Boston Globe
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Tenor SeokJong Baek makes a stunning BSO debut in 'Tosca'
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up His phrasing in both of the character's big arias was supple and unforced, with no signs of strain, and his voice had a gorgeously gleaming resonant quality throughout the evening. Cavaradossi's big Act 2 moment, his extended cry of 'Vittoria, vittoria,' seared with raw defiance; triumphant while seemingly wavering on the edge of collapse. Baek also conveyed as much tender chemistry as the concert staging allowed with the Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais, the frequent BSO collaborator (and former wife of conductor Nelsons) who sang the title role. That the lovers ultimately meet tragic fates is no secret, but as they reached the apex of their act 3 duet, the ultimately futile plan to escape that of which they sang felt real enough to grasp, not simply a vain hope. Advertisement Baek is somewhat new to the tenor sphere, having originally trained as a baritone before transitioning to tenor during the height of the pandemic, when opera houses were closed. If he can consistently deliver performances of this quality and reliably follow through on his bookings, I predict full houses for him. Advertisement Baek's stunning performance was even more impressive given the two veterans with whom he shared star billing. Opolais performed the same role when the BSO did the opera's Act 2 in concert at Tanglewood in 2017, and she made a much stronger showing this time. She was unusually quiet in the first act, barely rising above the sound of the orchestra at some points, but she came back at full power for acts 2 and 3, limning 'Vissi d'arte' with silvery grace. Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel also returned from the 2017 Tanglewood cast; he has long counted Scarpia among his signature characters, and recently announced that he'd no longer be singing the role in staged performances of 'Tosca.' His voice is distinctly more weathered than it used to be, but Scarpia is maybe 90 percent acting, and those chops haven't gone anywhere. He didn't so much chew the scenery as devour it; sneering, leering, and purloining Tosca's scarf so he could conspicuously sniff it, he made for a power-drunk and easily detestable Scarpia. The supporting cast was also strong, from Neal Ferreira's brown-nosing Spoletta to Morris Robinson's puissant and panicked Angelotti and Patrick Carfizzi's pettily pious Sacristan. Extra special kudos is due to the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Vocal Program, who filled seemingly every square foot of stage for the 'Te Deum' at the close of Act 1, and demonstrated you don't need scenery to create a spectacle. Advertisement It's worth noting that the day before, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus also beautifully performed Rachmaninoff's contemplative, joyous 'All-Night Vigil' as a prelude concert to Sutton Foster and Kelli O'Hara's fabulous evening with the Boston Pops in the Shed, and Ozawa Hall and the lawn behind it were crowded with attentive listeners. Almost every Broadway baby was a choir kid at some point. Kelli O'Hara and Sutton Foster perform with the Boston Pops. Hilary Scott Sunday afternoon sweltered as piano diva Yuja Wang took the stage with Nelsons and the pre-professional ensemble Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra for Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2, and to the audience (and the rapt throng of young musicians), she delivered dynamite. Leading the student orchestra, Nelsons was visibly less free with his gestures than he is with the BSO, which seems to have mind-melded with him such that he can convey his intentions in ways opaque to outsiders. Wang is always a captivating performer, but there was something unusually elemental about her on Sunday afternoon; I spotted a few mouths on stage hanging open as she attacked the first movement's towering solo, her hands leaping through the score's twists and turns and attacking the keys with precise force. It was enough to drive all thoughts of the heat away. Not to leave without a parting encore, Wang threw down three before intermission; a Sibelius etude, a Schubert song, and a Horowitz 'Carmen' arrangement. In the second half, as the story behind Berlioz's fever dream 'Symphonie fantastique' took its dark turn in the third movement, staff fanned out across the lawn ordering everyone to shelter in the Shed; there had been lightning spotted nearby. The sun was still shining at that point, but twenty minutes later, the wind shrieked behind the bells of the Witches' Sabbath before a deafening boom of thunder ushered in the 'Dies Irae' chant and the sky cracked open, drenching the chairs and coolers left on the lawn. No one could leave until the weather emergency lifted, and the TMC Orchestra deservedly basked in a full house's worth of applause. Advertisement BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/TANGLEWOOD MUSIC CENTER ORCHESTRA Tanglewood, Lenox. A.Z. Madonna can be reached at
