Luigi Illica News

Over the last couple of years reviewing opera with BroadwayWorld, I have become a fan. Not only a fan of the classical work but a fan of Austin Opera and the sumptuous productions they bring to the stage. It makes my heart soar to hear the first strains of the orchestra conducted by the amazing Peter Bay and watch the curtain rise on pure magic.

Is a realistic portrayal of Japanese people and culture even possible in BUTTERFLY, given that its source material was conceived entirely through a western lens? Can that lens be flipped somehow?

Opera180 of Kansas City concludes its 1st season with the classic La Boheme, with music by Giacomo Puccini and libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. Performances are May 30, 31, and June 1 at The Drawing Room by Weinberger Fine Art at 1903 Wyandotte in downtown Kansas City. The production will be sung in Italian.

Puccini's story of the strong-willed diva returns to the Kennedy Center stage in WNO's Tosca, from May 11 25, 2019. Tickets start at $35.

French-Sicilian tenor Roberto Alagna returns to Covent Garden for his 100th Royal Opera performance, singing the eponymous hero in Giordano's Andrea Chenier in the first revival of David McVicar's spectacular 2015 production.

On Sunday April 14 Pacific Opera Project (POP) presented Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera, Madama Butterfly, in Japanese and English in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo. The company also live-streamed it online. Did anyone ever think an American Navy officer would speak to a young Japanese lady in Italian? l'd expect him to speak English and the lady from Nagasaki to speak Japanese. That is what happened at the performance on Sunday. Despite translations from Goro, the marriage broker, and Sharpless, the American consul, Pinkerton and Butterfly had trouble understanding each other as they came from completely different cultures.

LA BOHEME, the classic Puccini opera, is playing at Prague National Theatre on April 1, 2019.

LA BOHEME, the classic Puccini opera, is playing at Prague National Theatre on April 1, 2019.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild, a premier arts education organization, today launched the first of its series of Online Learning courses, Libretti and Librettists, exploring the connection between words and music across the operatic art form. The second course, Wagner's Ring: Music, Motifs and Magic, is scheduled to open for enrollment in May.

LA BOHEME, the classic Puccini opera, is playing at Prague National Theatre on April 1, 2019.

General Director Ken McConnell and Artistic Director Tobias Picker today announced Tulsa Opera's 72nd season comprising classics such as Bizet's Carmen and Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and a new production of Mr. Picker's 1996 opera Emmeline, to be performed in Oklahoma for the first time, and led by Mr. Picker in his opera-conducting debut.

Pacific Symphony continues its semi-staged operatic series with Puccini's poignant opera, “Madame Butterfly,” which tells the story of a young naïve Japanese geisha who believes that her love for a handsome American naval officer is eternal. With its lush score and heartbreaking arias, it is a timeless tale that will stir your emotions. Eric Einhorn is once again the stage director, returning after his masterful work on “Tosca” and “Turnadot.” Longtime artistic partner Pacific Chorale, led by Artistic Director Robert Istad, will join the Symphony on stage again as well, after their last appearance in a Symphony opera with 2018's “The Magic Flute.” Soprano Yunah Lee will be performing the lead role of Cio-Cio-San, followed by tenor John Pickle's performance as Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton. Mezzo-soprano Sabina Kim and baritone Luis Ledesma both appear to perform the roles of Suzuki and Sharpless, respectively.

With a mix of new and traditional takes on opera, Seattle Opera unveils a 2019/20 Season that offers something for everyone. Audiences will experience new-to-Seattle productions of Rigoletto, Cinderella, and Eugene Onegin; the company premiere of Charlie Parker's Yardbird; and the return of a beloved classic, La boh me.

Met favorite Sondra Radvanovsky and rising star Jennifer Rowley share the title role of the volatile diva at the heart of Puccini's operatic thriller. Joseph Calleja brings his stylish tenor to the role of Cavaradossi, and Wolfgang Koch and Claudio Sgura share the role of the nefarious police chief Scarpia. Carlo Rizzi conducts Sir David McVicar's resplendent production.

When Opera Philadelphia's inaugural Festival O launched the present season, the opera world responded with a standing ovation, welcoming it as 'one of the most enjoyable additions to the fall calendar in years'

When Opera Philadelphia's inaugural Festival O launched the present season, the opera world responded with a standing ovation, welcoming it as "one of the most enjoyable additions to the fall calendar in years"

Opera San Jose today announced the company's 2018-19 season opening September 15, 2018 with Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio, directed by Michael Shell, followed in November by Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, directed by Shawna Lucey. The company will then begin 2019 with Heggie and Scheer's Moby-Dick on February 9, and concludes the season in April with Puccini's Madame Butterfly, directed by Brad Dalton. 

Opera San José today announced the company's 2018-19 season opening September 15, 2018 with Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio, directed by Michael Shell, followed in November by Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, directed by Shawna Lucey. The company will then begin 2019 with Heggie and Scheer's Moby-Dick on February 9, and concludes the season in April with Puccini's Madame Butterfly, directed by Brad Dalton.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild, a premier arts education organization dedicated to enriching people's lives through opera, announced new programs for the 2018 season. These programs will supplement the Metropolitan Opera Guild's robust spring schedule of lectures and events.

Lucine Amara, Artistic Director of the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera, announces the cast performing in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca on Sunday, October 15, 2017.