BY ALAN SHERROD After an absence of over two years from the performing stage, Knoxville Opera returned to life on Friday evening with a production of Arrigo Boito’s Mefistofele. Those two years have no doubt seemed like an eternity…
Knoxville Opera Announces Jason Hardy As Interim Executive Director
Knoxville Opera has announced that it has selected opera company administrator Jason Hardy as its Interim Executive Director. Brian Salesky, who has held the combined positions of Executive and Artistic Director at the opera company for the last 15 years,…
Review: Knoxville Opera’s ‘Roméo et Juliette’
Roméo et Juliette returned to Knoxville audiences this weekend with the atmospheric Shakespearean reminder intact.
Critical Bind: Knoxville Opera Seeking New Scenery Storage Space
Knoxville Opera Seeking Scenery Storage Space Those platforms, columns, steps, and props that are used, reused, and repurposed for Knoxville Opera’s productions have to go somewhere when they are not onstage. Unfortunately, the opera company has received notice that their…
This Weekend: Knoxville Opera Returns to Puccini’s ‘Madama Butterfly’
Knoxville Opera’s Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Downtown Knoxville Friday, October 25, 7:30 PM Sunday, October 27, 2:30 PM Tickets and Information By Alan Sherrod Giacomo Puccini, opera’s master of melodrama, was inspired…
Review: Singin’ In The Rain, Knoxville Opera Shapes ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ Into An Audience Adventure
By Alan Sherrod We generally consider operatic performance to be one of singers with uncommonly rare voices offering vocal beauty and power, supported by a great orchestra, in productions featuring impressive and elaborate sets and delightful theatrical magic. But,…
Love, Jealousy, Revenge – A Preview of Knoxville Opera’s Unique ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’
By Alan Sherrod It has been three years since Knoxville Opera last took its fans on a little adventure, staging Puccini’s Tosca in three non-theatrical locations in downtown Knoxville including the neo-gothic nave of Church Street United Methodist and…
Preview: Breakout Talents Grace Knoxville Opera’s ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’
By Alan Sherrod As harsh as it sounds, the history of music is the history of fads and fascinations. Whether it was to serve the needs of religion, royalty, wealthy patrons, or a fickle public, composers for centuries have…
Review: Knoxville Opera’s Comedy Double Bill Exudes Cleverness and Charm
By Alan Sherrod While the overwhelming bulk of the operatic repertoire is devoted to tragic heroes, heroines, and villains, Knoxville Opera took a comic detour Friday evening in its season-opener, leaving no comedy stone unturned in its performance of…
Preview: Knoxville Opera’s Comedy Double Bill — Mozart’s ‘The Impresario’ and Puccini’s ‘Gianni Schicchi’
By Alan Sherrod There are a lot of myths surrounding the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but one thing that we know for certain is that he absolutely loved a good joke—particularly if it ridiculed or parodied those in…