The Wagnerian Ring Cycle is dark and moody and takes patience and study to understand. Contrast it with the typical Italian operas that are light and bright like the Italian cities and countryside where they take place. The characters in a Rossini opera are all recognizable, albeit a tad exaggerated, and we understand well their parts in the play....

By Mauro Battocchi The San Francisco Opera company has announced an ambitious calendar of ten operas this season, up from eight last year.   Included from the Italian opus will be Vincenzo Bellini's Norma (Sep 5 - 30, 2014), Giuseppe Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (Oct 4 - 22, 2014), Gioachino Rossini's La Cenerentola (Nov 9 -26, 2014), Marco...

By Nancy Gilson On a sultry Saturday afternoon, Alessandro Siciliani stood at the front of an old church in the University District, directing the principal singers in a rehearsal of the 125-year-old opera Cavalleria rusticana. Despite the heat, he waved his baton, jumped, stomped a foot and hummed along during some of the most dramatic momen...

Like Enrico Caruso before him, Luciano Pavarotti extended his presence far beyond the limits of Italian opera. Quickly establishing his trademark rich sound as the great male operatic voice of the 20th century, he expanded his reach to stadium concerts and pop collaborations which brought him fame beyond measure. The 50th anniversary of the launch...

by Steve Smith   Though she is beloved of connoisseurs and critics, the Italian soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci remains little known among a broader New York public. It's not for lack of talent, since she is an artist of singular gifts and refined temperament.   But her local performances have been limited to just two concerts: one in...

Giuseppe Verdi's "La traviata" is one of the most performed operas in the world, yet it hasn't appeared on a Boston Lyric Opera stage for more than a decade. That is, until this October, when the renowned company will stage a production of the classic work, interpreted by some of the country's rising stars of opera. Five performances will take...

On October 26th, classical music for piano and voice by the early 20th century Italian composer Salvatore Arnò, will be performed for the first time this century. During Arnò's lifetime, he achieved the admiration of his audiences and fellow musicians throughout Italy and in Boston. Newspaper reviews heartily express these sentiments. A representa...

I'm sure many Medford residents remember an Italian teacher named Michelina Pietrangelo, who taught at Medford High School until 1991 when a terminal illness struck her. She died shortly after and left a bequest for students of Italian at Medford High School.Cesare Pietrangelo, Michelina's brother and executor of the endowment, has given scholarsh...

 Reduce dall’acclamato successo al Metropolitan di New York, l’appassionato e vibrante Hoffman, vola a Los Angeles per esibirsi in uno straordinario recital di liriche da camera e arie d’opera.   Abilmente accompagnato dal pianista italo–americano Vincenzo Scalera, maestro collaboratore al Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Vittorio Grigolo...

Il mondo di Luciano Pavarotti e la sua grande carriera di cantante lirico rivivranno il 23 aprile a Verona in un'esposizione promossa da 'Arena MuseOpera' (Amo) nata in occasione del Centenario del Festival lirico areniano, per contribuire alla valorizzazione e alla divulgazione della cultura operistica italiana.'Amo Pavarotti' sarà presentata a Ne...