Ronald Blum, Author at The Rapid City Post

Rolando Villazón directs opera at the world’s top houses while still singing

October 7, 2025

Tenor Rolando Villazón has made his Metropolitan Opera directing debut with Bellini’s “La Sonnambula.” He first imagined directing while performing in Massenet’s “Werther” in 2006. Nearly two decades later, his vision has come to life. Villazón, known for his sensitivity to singers, has faced vocal challenges, including surgery and performance anxiety. His directing career began with “Werther” in 2011 and has expanded to include several major operas. His “Sonnambula” production, which opened Monday, features a unique twist on the ending, emphasizing independence over tradition. Villazón’s approach is shaped by his experiences with top directors.

Will Crutchfield’s Teatro Nuovo revives Verdi’s ‘Macbeth’ with period instruments

July 24, 2025

Verdi can be played on original instruments, too. Teatro Nuovo presented Verdi’s “Macbeth” using 19th-century period instruments in the composer’s original 1847 version. Will Crutchfield, the company’s head, notes that Verdi’s early work aligns with the Bel Canto tradition of Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. Strings use gut instead of metal and horns don’t have valves, providing a sound the composer would have been more familiar with than that from modern instruments. Last weekend, Teatro Nuovo presented “Macbeth” and Bellini’s “La Sonnambula” at Montclair State’s Kasser Theater in New Jersey. They repeated the performances this week at New York City Center; “La Sonnambula” will be performed Thursday. The cast and orchestra spent weeks preparing for these unique performances

Renée Fleming makes directing debut with wrestling-themed ‘Così fan tutte’ at Aspen Music Festival

July 22, 2025

Renée Fleming has made her directorial debut with Mozart’s *Così fan tutte* at the Aspen Music Festival. She reimagines the opera, setting it in a 1980s Massachusetts gym during the rise of professional wrestling. The production features workout-themed props, colorful costumes and a youthful cast performing under conductor Patrick Summers. Fleming, a celebrated soprano, has been involved with the Aspen Festival for decades. She says directing involves countless decisions but hopes her unique staging finds a future in larger theaters. Two more performances are scheduled this week at the festival, which hosts over 200 events.

Nero’s ancient Rome and Jazz Age New York meet in `The Comet/Poppea’ at Lincoln Center

June 19, 2025

“The Comet/Poppea” has started its five-performance run at Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City in New York. The performance is a 90-minute combination of Monteverdi’s 1643 opera “L’incoronazione di Poppea” and George E. Lewis’ “The Comet,” which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist this year. The show’s action unfolds on a spinning turntable, with an audience of 290 split into sections on opposite sides of the set on stage at the David Koch Theater. “The Comet” is based on W.E.B. Du Bois’ story in which a working-class Black man and a society white woman believe they are the only survivors of a comet.

FILE - People appear in Josie Robertson Plaza in front of The Metropolitan Opera house at Lincoln Center in New York on March 12, 2020. . (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

Met Opera attendance dropped in spring as tourism fell, coinciding with immigration crackdown

June 13, 2025

Metropolitan Opera season attendance dropped slightly following the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown that coincided with a decrease in tourists to New York. The Met sold 72% of capacity, matching 2023-24 and down from its 75% projection. Met general manager Peter Gelb says “I attribute the fact that we didn’t achieve our sales goals to a significant drop in tourism.” New York City Tourism & Conventions last month reduced its 2025 international visitor projection by 17%, the Met said. International buyers accounted for 11% of sales, down from the Met’s projection of 16% and from about 20% before the coronavirus pandemic.

Nina Stemme says farewell to Isolde after 126 performances

June 9, 2025

Soprano Nina Stemme sung her 126th and final performance of Isolde in Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Marian Anderson Hall. Accompanied by tenor Stuart Skelton mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, baritone Brian Mulligan, Stemme had tears in her eyes after the final notes. She has been a top choice in the demanding role since 2003 but at 62 said it was time to concentrate on roles for older sopranos. Music director music Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who had never conducted the opera before, will conduct a new production at New York’s Metropolitan Opera next year with Lise Davidsen debuting her take on Isolde.

`This House’ makes world premiere, exploring Black history through a family’s legacy in Harlem

June 3, 2025

“This House,” a rumination on love, aspiration, coping and the unyielding weight of history, made its world premiere Saturday night at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. The work was composed by Ricky Ian Gordon to a libretto by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and her daughter Ruby Aiyo Gerber. It weaves impacts of the Civil War, Great Migration, Black Power movement, AIDS crisis and gentrification. There are five more performances through June 29. Gerber, 27, started “This House” in 2020, during her senior year at Brown.

Ronald Blum.