It seems that this opera has a phantom that simply can’t be shaken. The Melbourne production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle scheduled for late 2013 is seeking a conductor at short notice after the designated conductor Richard Mills resigned.
Productions of Wagner’s Ring are said to be jinxed – a phenomenon discussed in Stephen Fry’s excellent 2010 BBC documentary Wagner and Me. The jinx goes back to 1876, when The Ring was first produced in Bayreuth.
Cellist Sally Maer has released a new album on ABC Classics Cello at the Opera giving a fresh take to operatic classics on the instrument said to be closest to the human voice. Popularly dubbed the ‘Cello Diva’, Maer performs some of opera’s best known arias for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and bass on the cello with symphony…
Opera Australia is offering a grab bag of once-in-a-lifetime experiences in its Annual Online Auction which is open on eBay until Sunday 15 December. All funds raised through the auction go towards Opera Australia’s Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist Program (YAP). The YAP is a two year training program for selected Australian opera singers and…
Last week the world mourned the death of the extraordinary baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, (b 1925) who would have turned 87 on May 28th this year. Although he worked in all genres of vocal repertoire, he made his mark in lieder. He was also the link with some of the legends of the 20th century, having…
Executive Director of The Song Company, Francis Greep, will be moving on to a new role at Opera Australia, building and leading its new Young Artist Program.
In his latest album Mozart & Contemporaries, Icelandic pianist of Víkingur Ólafsson presents some of his favourite Mozart keyboard works in the company of pieces by a selection of the composer’s leading contemporaries.
Daniel Barenboim has many facets as a musician. He i a conductor, pianist, and was the spouse and performing partner of the late Jacqueline du Pre. Perhaps however, it is his role as a bringer of peace that will have the widest impact amongst those who appreciate music and even those who don’t. Last weekend his West-Eastern Divan…