May 17

New pictures of Royal Opera productions of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle Operas Das Rheingold, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, as well as Tannhäuser

Lebrecht has new pictures of Royal Opera productions of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle Operas Das Rheingold, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, as well as Tannhäuser.

Keith Warner’s productions of these three Ring Cycle operas were staged at Covent Garden between 2005 and 2012. With set designs by Stefanos Lazarides, costume designs by Romanian designer Marie-Jeanne Lecca, lighting by Wolfgang Gobbel.

Also pictured: Tim Albery’s production of Tannhäuser for Royal Opera, 8 December 2010. Set designs by Michael Levine. Costume designs by Jon Morrell. Lighting design by David Finn.

Siegfried- opera by Wagner.
Siegfried- opera by Wagner.
Götterdämmerung - opera by Wagner
Das Rheingold, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung

Tannhäuser-  opera by Richard Wagner
Tannhäuser. Scene in Act 2: The Hall of Wartburg. Guests make preparations of the singing contest to celebrate the return of Tannhäuser.

Pictures by Rob Moore.

May 17

New images of Richard Strauss’s opera ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’

Glyndebourne Summer Festival opens on 18 May with a production of Richard Strauss’s opera ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’ by acclaimed young German director Katharina Thoma. Vladimir Jurowski will conduct the London Philharmonic Orchestra in his last season as Musical Director. Lebrecht Photographer, Laurie Lewis, has sent these preview images, now online at www.lebrecht.co.uk.

Ariadne auf Naxos - opera by Richard Strauss
Ariadne auf Naxos - opera by Richard Strauss
Ariadne auf Naxos - opera by Richard Strauss
Ariadne auf Naxos - opera by Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss’s opera Ariadne auf Naxos with Kate Lindsey as the Composer, Laura Claycomb as Zerbinetta, Thomas Allen as the Music Master.

May 10

La Gioconda

Lebrecht photographer, Marion Kalter, has captured wonderful images of Amilcar Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, the latest production taking place at Opera National de Paris. Marion’s images show the striking stage direction, set and costumes by Pier Luigi Pizzi. The opera is conducted by Daniel Oren and stars Violeta Urmana as La Gioconda. It opened on 2 May and will run until 17 May 2013. For a full selection of images, visit www.lebrecht.co.uk.

La Gioconda -  opera by Amilcar Ponchielli

La Gioconda -  opera by Amilcar Ponchielli

La Gioconda -  opera by Amilcar Ponchielli

La Gioconda -  opera by Amilcar Ponchielli

La Gioconda -  opera by Amilcar Ponchielli

May 10

HANSEL AND GRETEL, the Royal Ballet’s controversial new production

We have received images of the Royal Ballet’s controversial new production of Hansel and Gretel from Lebrecht photographer, Laurie Lewis. The Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel gets a sinister update in the first full length ballet choreographed by Royal Ballet’s Artist-in-Residence Liam Scarlett. The ballet opened to mixed reactions. Read audience tweets from the opening night here: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/your-reaction-hansel-and-gretel. James Hay stars as Hansel, Leanne Cope as Gretel, Brian Moloney as the Witch and Steve McRae as the Sandman.

Royal Ballet in Hansel and Gretel  by Liam Scarlett

Royal Ballet in Hansel and Gretel  by Liam Scarlett

Royal Ballet in Hansel and Gretel  by Liam Scarlett

Apr 24

Obituary pictures for Richie Havens

Richie Havens – American folk singer and guitarist died 22 April 2013 aged 72. He is best remembered for his intense and rhythmic guitar style and for his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. He was the festival’s first performer and as many of the other artists were held up in traffic jams on the roads approaching the festival site he had to entertain the crowd for nearly three hours and was called back again and again for encores. When he finally ran out of tunes he improvised a song based on the spiritual Motherless Child that became Freedom. The release of the Woodstock movie after this performance helped him reach a wider audience.

Born 21 January 1941- 22 April 2013

Richie Havens
Richie Havens performing at Guilfest.
© Andrew Spiers/Lebrecht Music & Arts

Poster for several July 1967 concerts at the Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, USA,
Poster for several July 1967 concerts at the Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, USA.
© Odile Noel/Lebrecht Music & Arts

Apr 20

Music Images from Lebrecht: BBC Proms 2013

Our photographer will be covering all concerts at the 2013 season of BBC Proms. Contact us in advance for specific Proms and visit www.lebrecht.co.uk for photographs of musicians and conductors. Please see attached some sample images of this year’s key performers.

Prom 45, BBC Proms 2012
Marin Alsop, who will be the first female conductor to lead the Last Night of the Proms
© Chris Christodoulou/Lebrecht Music & Arts

Daniel Barenboim - portrait of the Israeli / Argentinian conductor, conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the BBC Proms 2007.
Daniel Barenboim, who will conduct the first complete Wagner Ring cycle at the Proms
© Laurie Lewis/Lebrecht Music & Arts

Sakari Oramo conducting
Sakari Oramo, who will conduct at the First Night of the Proms
© Chris Christodoulou/Lebrecht Music & Arts

Stephen Hough - British
Stephen Hough, who will be performing at the First Night of the Proms
© Laurie Lewis/Lebrecht Music & Arts

Joyce DiDonato American mezzo soprano
Joyce DiDonato, who will be singing at the Last Night of the Proms
© Chris Christodoulou/Lebrecht Music & Arts

Baz Warne, guitar player of The Stranglers during the band show on Friday 15 July, FIB
The Stranglers, who will be performing at the first Prom collaboration with BBC’s Radio 6 Music
© Santiago Vidal Vallejo/Lebrecht Music & Arts

Apr 19

Opera productions from Finland for 2013 bicentenary composers Wagner and Verdi

Heikki Tuuli, our opera photographer based in Finland, has sent us an extensive selection of the Finnish National Opera’s productions celebrating the bicentenaries of opera composers Richard Wagner (22 May 1813) and Giuseppe Verdi (10 October 1813). These dramatic photos include Verdi’s operas Rigoletto, Aida, Don Carlos, Un Ballo in Maschera, Otello, La Traviata. Wagner’s operas in the Finnish National Opera’s repertoire include Siegfried, Die Walküre, Götterdämmerung, Das Rheingold, Parsifal.

Benjamin Britten’s hundredth anniversary on 22 November is represented by photographs of his opera Albert Herring.

In addition, Heikki Tuuli has photographed some of the great works from Finnish composers – Einojuhani Rautavaara’s opera Aleksis Kivi, Kaija Saariaho’s opera Adriana Mater, Aarre Merikanto’s opera Juha.

Other operas from the Finnish National Opera’s repertoire include Bizet’s Carmen, Charles Gounod’s opera Faust, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, and also Le nozze di Figaro; George Frideric Handel’s opera Giulio Cesare; Gioachino Rossini’s opera La Cenerentola; Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Fanciulla del West, and also Puccini’s Il tabarro, and his operas Gianni Schicchi and Suor Angelica, and La bohème.

Georges Bizet's opera Carmen
Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen.

Walkure_11-08-11_278
Die Walküre – opera by Richard Wagner.

Finnish National Opera in Wagner's Parsifal
Parsifal – opera by Richard Wagner.

George Frideric Handel's opera Giulio Cesare
George Frideric Handel’s opera Giulio Cesare.

Apr 15

Obituary pictures of American Indian ballerina Maria Tallchief from Lebrecht Music & Arts

Maria Tallchief, a daughter of an Oklahoma oil family who grew up on an Indian reservation of the Osage Nation, found her way to New York and became one of the most brilliant American ballerinas of the 20th century, died on 11 April 2013 in Chicago. She was 88. She was the first American Indian to become premiere danseuse étoile in the Paris Opera, France.

Outstanding photos from Maurice Seymour, renowned American photographer of American ballets stars from the 1930s to the 1960s

Maria Tallchief
© Maurice Seymour/Lebrecht Music & Arts

Stravinsky ' s  Orpheus, choreography Balanchine.
© Lebrecht Music & Arts

Maria Tallchief
© Maurice Seymour/Lebrecht Music & Arts

'Orpheus', premiere production by Ballet
© Lebrecht Music & Arts