Let’s hope that the news of Handa Opera’s demise has been greatly exaggerated. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Being born in the home of opera buffa has its advantages but, as the titular hero of The Turk in Italy found, a laugh’s a laugh in any language Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

For the last twenty years soprano Emma Matthews has been an invaluable asset to Opera Australia, her miraculously reliable vocal abilities elevating many potentially mundane evenings into memorable occasions. With a captivating, vivacious stage presence whether playing sweet ingénue, saucy minx, ditzy maid or femme fatale (her Lulu was an unexpected tour-de-force) one felt secure knowing the musical values would always get their full due. Her virtues of beautiful silvery tone with tight but attractive vibrato and her impeccable technique allied with rock solid intonation are showcased here with this collection of Mozart arias. Opening with Lieve sono al par del vento one hears the artist’s virtues in a nutshell; beauty and virtuosity in abundance but never for the sake of empty display. Ruhe sanft, mein holdes leben is radiantly sung with the ends of phrases hanging in the air like silk on a breeze and Ach, ich fühls is sung with chaste purity and refreshing simplicity. She certainly has the pipes to deal with the concert arias; four of which are offered here and are the highlights of the recital. These are notoriously tricky works with many stratospheric passages; the coloratura demands are ramped up due to their function as insertion…

Verdi's masterpiece makes rather a grand metaphor for Berlusconi's Italy

Young tenor wins place at the Royal Opera but first needs to raise some dough: enter Matthews, Carbó and Humble.

As she opens in Opera Queensland’s Rigoletto, the soprano talks about her new CD and the times ahead. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Handa Opera unveils La Fura dels Baus’ spectacular visual plans for Puccini’s classic. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Sixty years on and Benjamin Britten’s The Turn Of The Screw, based on Henry James’s “eerie and scary” ghost novella, is still as taut and dramatically intriguing as ever. The ambiguities and questions still remain for many: Does the Governess actually witness the spirits of sexual predator Peter Quint and his equally possessive offsider Miss Jessel working their evil on her two young charges Miles and Flora or is it all her own deranged fantasy? Whatever you decide – or even if you want to decide – the plot is as powerful as ever, aided by Britten’s sparse and evocative orchestration and Myfanwy Piper’s concise, erotically charged libretto. The use of 16 variations on a theme, which with its rising and falling tonal patterns resembles a threaded screw is a master-stroke. It drives the action along without pause through the prologue and two acts and you don’t need to watch this ever-tightening drama to be snared, as the London Symphony Orchestra’s new two-disc set on its LSO Live label eloquently attests. Recorded at the Barbican last year, conductor Richard Farnes, his 17 musicians and an exceptional cast never let the tension lag throughout the two hours. English tenor Andrew Kennedy…

Manuela Hoelterhoff suggests the Met finds another Music Director to make the experience more “pleasant”. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

How the countertenor, who started out as an actor, found his voice singing baroque opera’s shadier characters. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Leading soprano withdraws at a month’s notice claiming that Margueritte is “not right” for her. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Listeners needn’t worry, the publicity assures us: Baroque specialist Simone Kermes might be singing bel canto but she hasn’t changed voice type. Nor would she need to. There’s no reason why Kermes’ high flying soprano shouldn’t negotiate the trills and roulades of Bellini and Rossini just as skilfully as those of Handel. In terms of clarity and accuracy, she’s in excellent form here, and those who’ve seen her wacky live performances on YouTube will be either relieved or disappointed (according to taste) to discover her in more straight-laced mode. Curiously she sings these arias utterly without vibrato. This might be effective in short doses but applied across the board, it drains much of the life from this spirited music. Make no mistake, Kermes makes a beautiful sound; it just doesn’t ring true to the repertoire, and while she succeeds to an extent in illustrating the stylistic links between Baroque and bel canto, singing Rossini’s Giusto ciel like a piece of lost Pergolesi doesn’t really prove anything. Still, there’s some spectacular vocal showmanship here, including an electrifying Mercadante rarity and two icily precise Queen of the Night arias, and when Monteverdi finally arrives, so does an audible sense of homecoming. Concerto…