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August 1
"Death in Venice" by Benjamin Britten
Glimmerglass Opera: Stewart Robertson, conductor
Cast: William Burden (Aschenbach); David Pittsinger (The Traveller/Fop/ Manager/Barber/Leader of the Players/Dionysus); Bruce Reed (Hotel Porter); Craig Phillips (Clerk); John Gaston (Apollo); Nicola Bowie (Lady of the Pearls)
Few if any 20th-century composers mastered opera as thoroughly as Benjamin Britten, and this Glimmerglass production brings us one of the his finest efforts -- a bleak, beautiful and extremely moving work based on the short novel by Thomas Mann.
August 8
"Mignon" by Ambroise Thomas
Many consider Ambroise Thomas a "one-hit wonder," with that hit being the opera heard earlier in this quarter, Hamlet. But Thomas's career actually got a jump-start with Mignon, the sparkling tale of a family decimated by tragedy, and reunited by fate.
Capitole Theatre, Toulouse: Patrick Marie Aubert, conductor
Cast: Sophie Koch (Mignon); Laura Claycomb (Philine); Yann Beuron (Wilhelm); Giorgio Surian (Lothario); Blandine Staskiewica (Frederic); Christian Jean (Laerte); Phillipe Fourcade (Jarno/Antonio)
August 15
"The Barber of Seville" by Giovanni Paisiello
We generally think of Rossini's The Barber of Seville as sort of "prequel," riding the coat tails of that other "Figaro opera," Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. But Mozart's masterpiece was opportunistic in its own right -- a true sequel to the first hit opera starring the wiley barber, this 1782 score by Paisiello, whose career spanned Mozart's entire lifetime.
National Theatre, Brussels: Rinaldo Alessandrini, conductor
Cast: Elena Monti (Rosina); Stefano Ferrari (Almaviva); Giulio Mastrototaro (Figaro); Luciano de Pasquale (Bartolo); Filippo Morace (Don Basilio); Nabil Suliman (Simpleton/Notary); Donal Byrne (Giovinetto/Alcade)
August 22
"The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini
OK, it's not the original "Barber of Seville," as we learned last week from Paisiello -- but Rossini's blockbuster is still the one that gets most of the glory, and for good reason. Joyce DiDonato is a striking Rosina in this first-rate production from Houston.
Houston Grand Opera: Patrick Summers, conductor
Cast: Earle Patriarco (Figaro); Joyce DiDonato (Rosina); Richard Croft (Almaviva); John Del Carlo (Dr. Bartolo); Vladimir Ognovenko (Basilio)
August 29
"Julius Caesar" by George Frideric Handel
There was a time when people were surprised to learn that Handel was among the most acclaimed opera composers of his time. Now, he's quickly becoming a favorite of our own time, as well. This star-studded production of Julius Caesar shows us why Handel's reputation in the opera house continues to be on the rise.
Houston Grand Opera: Patrick Summers, conductor
Cast: David Daniels (Julius Caesar); Laura Claycomb (Cleopatra); Brian Asawa, (Ptolemy); Phyllis Pancella (Cornelia); Patricia Risley (Sextus); Joshua Winograde (Achillus); Matthew White (Nirenus); Nikolay Didenko (Curius)
September 5
"La Clemenza di Tito" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Magic Flute is often credited as "Mozart's final opera." But the last one he composed is actually La Clemenza di Tito. It was written as a sort of old-fashioned, "occasional piece." But the music is mature Mozart at its finest, shot through with startling innovations and stunning beauty.
Washington National Opera: Heinz Fricke, conductor
Cast: Tatiana Pavlovskaya (Vitellia); Michael Schade (Tito); Marina Domashenko (Sesto); Jossie Pérez (Annio); Hoo-Ryoung Hwang (Servilia); Nikolai Didenko (Publio)
