-=- Intense Melody -=-

Last week the annual world renowned Viennese competition, Hans Gabor Belvedere, completed it’s final round with some dramatic results.
The 28th international Belvedere opera competition received around 3,000 singers for the qualifying rounds that took place in nearly 50 cities around the world. This has been whittled down to 143 singers for the Vienna finals.
Pretty Yende [...]

Recently, the Neapolitan’s San Carlo was reopened after renovations. What a lovely little gem. I’ve pulled some pics off of La Republica to see just what I’m talking about.
Donizetti composed 16 operas for this venue included Lucia di Lammermoor. Verdi had an orchestra pit added to better suite his works, and wrote Alzira, Luisa Miller, [...]

While Robert Dornhelms’ film “La Bohème” is playing in cinemas, there are plans already underway towards the next big opera movie (see previous articles on this topic here and here). Georges Bizets “Carmen” will be filmed with top stars: Elina Garanča (title role), Anna Netrebko (as Micaela) and Rolando Villazón (as Don José). “We would [...]

Japan’s first opera house (Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo) is sold out with some tickets as high as 500 euros for the 97th Vienna State opera’s Japanese performance. The 100th performance will be celebrated with Fidelio conducted by Seiji Ozawa. Next to the Austrian flag in the foyer hangs an enormous photo of the Vienna State [...]

The opera-movie world premiere of La Bohème (see previous article about this movie here), like every opera-centric event in Austria these days, has been an orgy of VIP’s and hype abound. Finger food was served by caterers dressed like the title roles. The star role tenor, Rolando Villazón, was only able to make it to [...]

Austria isn’t exactly known for premiering a movie first. Usually a few months behind with Hollywood movies released in the States; this time Austria’s got it first!
The trailer can be seen on the official website here:  http://www.labohemefilm.com/
For a movie interview (German only) with star tenor Villazón: http://kurier.at/kultur/209655.php
La Bohème the movie will premier October 10th in [...]

Every season the Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) house changes its stage curtain to a new abstract artistic rendition.
When I first moved here in 2006 we had a curtain designed by the Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija with the saying “Angst essen Seele auf” (“Fear eats away at the soul”) over the familiar television SMPTE [...]

“The biggest danger I see today is with ‘Netrebkoismus’” said the Vienna State Opera director Ioan Holender in an interview with Bühne magazine. “It is all about the events and what’s around them. We see what is playing out in Salzburg.” Mr. Holender went further to say that theater managers are increasingly more interested on [...]

Opera as bloodsport? The Viennese opera singer Alejandro Gallo (age 38) was stabbed in the face by a dagger during a Romeo and Juliet production staging rehearsal in Malta (National Theater Teatru Manoel). The dagger had travelled through his nose into his brain. The injuries were life threatening, and after a risky surgery, his career [...]