Ronald Blum, Author at The Rapid City Post

Samoan tenor Pene Pati poses outside of the Park Avenue Armory in New York on Sept. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ron Blum)

Pene Pati rises from doubted Samoan singer to one of Opera’s most-watched new stars

February 12, 2026

Tenor Pene Pati has emerged from a childhood in Samoa and New Zealand to become one of opera’s most-watched new stars. Now 38 and booked by top houses through 2030, Pati impressed last month in his first staged performances of Massenet’s “Werther” at Paris’ Opéra Comique, a 1,200-capacity jewel box that turned down the composer’s 1887 offer to stage the premiere. Pati sang in an Auckland choir growing up and planned on a computer science career. He was encouraged to pursue piano and singing by his high school’s music director.

FILE - Singer Renee Fleming speaks after receiving a Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Renée Fleming, Béla Fleck to perform together at Carnegie Hall after dropping out of Kennedy Center

February 5, 2026

Renée Fleming and Béla Fleck will perform a joint concert at Carnegie Hall in the 2026-27 season. They plan to present Appalachian folk music on Dec. 3. This announcement follows their withdrawal from Kennedy Center appearances after leadership changes under the Trump administration. They will also perform on May 23 at the Spoleto Festival in South Carolina. Carnegie Hall’s season includes its first complete performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle and a Philip Glass symphony withdrawn from the Kennedy Center. The season opens Oct. 8 with the Berlin Philharmonic. Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct all nine of Mahler’s completed symphonies.

In operatic dispute, Met Opera director and designers order names stripped from ‘Carmen’

January 21, 2026

The production team of Bizet’s “Carmen” at the Metropolitan Opera demanded their names be removed from programs due to a restaging decision. Director Carrie Cracknell’s version, which opened on Dec. 31, 2023, moved the setting to a modern American town. The revival included a Jaguar convertible and three pickup trucks that moved. A restaging decision removed the Jaguar, added a motorcycle and used one stationary pickup. Set designer Michael Levine expressed frustration, saying it altered the original artistic intent. The Met cited financial reasons for the changes. The company plans to bring back Richard Eyre’s retired 2009 staging in the future.

Lisette Oropesa shines in Met’s ‘I Puritani’ and earns praise from Peter Gelb

January 6, 2026

Lisette Oropesa impresses Metropolitan Opera’s Peter Gelb with her talent and intellect. Gelb compares her to Beverly Sills, noting her quickness and connection with people. Oropesa, a 42-year-old soprano from Louisiana, stars in the Met’s new staging of Bellini’s “I Puritani.” Last week’s opening received rave reviews. Oropesa’s Met career began in 2005, and she has performed at major opera houses worldwide. She prepares for performances by staying silent for 12 hours. Oropesa overcame vocal issues due to acid reflux and supports young singers by donating to the Met National Council Auditions.

FILE - Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian performs in the opera, "Rusalka," at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

Soprano Asmik Grigorian to lead ‘Carmen’ and sing mezzo-soprano role this summer

December 26, 2025

Soprano Asmik Grigorian is to sing the title role in Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” a mezzo-soprano touchstone, for the first time at the Salzburg Festival this summer. Getting ready for a concert this weekend at New York’s Carnegie Hall, the singer said this was the right time to sing in a lower vocal range than the parts that earned her renown, such as the title characters in Giacomo Puccini’s “Turandot” and “Manon Lescaut,” and in Richard Strauss’ “Salome.” She says: “I never know if I can sing something before I start to do it, so maybe it will be my failure? Who knows? Let’s see.”

Christine Baranski narrates `A Christmas Carol’ before returning for `The Gilded Age’ season 4

December 16, 2025

Christine Baranski has teamed with the Skylark Vocal Ensemble for a unique rendition of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” She narrates this music-and-spoken word version, recorded in June and released in December. Baranski, an Emmy- and Tony Award-winning actress, performs with the group at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, where the original manuscript is displayed. She enjoys bringing different characters to life, including Ebenezer Scrooge. The performance features choral underscoring by composer Benedict Sheehan and includes carols like “Silent Night.” Baranski hopes this collaboration becomes an annual holiday event.

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.