Thursday, September 24, 2015

Must Opera Be 'Relevant'?

Željko Lučić as Iago and Aleksandrs Antonenko in the title role of Verdi's 'Otello'Željko Lučić as Iago and Aleksandrs Antonenko in the title role of Verdi's 'Otello' (Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera)
The new opera season is upon us in New York as the Metropolitan Opera prepares to raise its curtain—though it rarely uses its iconic gold silk curtain anymore—on Monday. The company will present a new production of Verdi’s Otello by Bartlett Sher, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and starring Sonya Yoncheva, Aleksandrs Antonenko and Željko Lučić. 
In fact, September marks the reopening of most of the great opera houses of Europe and North America as well as many smaller companies everywhere that provide a huge service to the art form and to adventurous audiences who are willing to try something new.  More