The Amadeus Chamber Ensemble Orchestra, Chorus, and soloists, led by conductor Brian Salesky, delved deeply into a cache of musical gems entitled “French Opera Jewels” – part of the Cathedral Concert Series.
Review: Operatic Ecstasy Marks the Beginning of Knoxville Opera’s 40th Season
If you ask a hundred opera lovers why they are drawn to the art form, you’re likely to get a hundred different answers. After all, it is essentially an unanswerable question. While all arts appeal to individuals in distinctly particular…
Knoxville Opera Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary with a Gala Concert
A 40th birthday is looked on by most as an unfortunate, but inevitable, milestone—particularly if you happen to be 39. Outside of the human context, though, 40 years is a mark of admirable longevity. For example, the original Star Wars,…
Review: Dueling Sopranos Take Knoxville Opera’s ‘Maria Stuarda’ to Bel Canto Glory
History insists on reminding us that cousins and bitter enemies, Mary Stuart and Queen Elizabeth I, never met in real life. That fact did not prevent German philosopher and playwright, Friedric Schiller, from creating a drama that treated Mary, Queen…
Knoxville Opera This Weekend: Donizetti’s ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’
Two previews of the cast and production of Knoxville Opera’s production of Gaetano Donizetti’s Mary, Queen of Scots—opening this coming weekend at the Tennessee Theatre—can be found in the Knoxville Mercury.
This Week from Knoxville Opera: Verdi’s ‘Il Trovatore’ and the 2015 Rossini Festival
Knoxville’s spring festival season is in full swing and this weekend brings Knoxville Opera’s Rossini Festival  Street Fair and a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore. Check out the Rossini Festival insert in this week’s Knoxville Mercury. Here’s the schedule–…
Most Memorable Classical Music Performances of 2014
All in all, 2014 was pretty much a good year in terms of classical music performances in Knoxville—unless you happened to be a certain classical music writer. Despite the local newspaper coverage turmoil in the final quarter of the year, life went…