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Misogyny in opera

Release Date: 12/01/2023

Opera Road Trip

In this episode of Opera Road Trip, host Sebastian F. Schwarz turns to Croatia as a revealing case study for the operatic realities of smaller European countries. Blessed with one of the most striking Mediterranean coastlines and internationally known cities such as Split and Dubrovnik, Croatia attracts nearly five times as many visitors each year as it has inhabitants. Yet this global visibility is highly seasonal and geographically concentrated — while the country’s operatic infrastructure functions largely inland, year-round, and far from the tourist gaze. The episode argues that...

Singing competitions - Has the jury reached a verdict?

Opera Road Trip

In this episode of Opera Road Trip, host Sebastian Schwarz turns the spotlight from national operatic traditions to a crucial gateway for emerging artists: singing competitions. Against the backdrop of increasingly opaque casting processes, the episode explores why competitions continue to play a decisive — and controversial — role in operatic careers today. Schwarz is joined by key figures from some of Europe’s most influential competitions, including Beata Klatka (Stanisław Moniuszko International Vocal Competition, Warsaw), Lars Flaaten (Queen Sonja Singing Competition, Oslo), and...

Toast au champagne - Opera in Vienna

Opera Road Trip

Opera Road Trip is Operavision’s new two-year podcast series, a journey through the 17 countries that currently partner with OperaVision, discovering their operatic history and current relationship with the artform, and meeting along the way young talents finding their voice and seasoned professionals who have devoted their lives to the stage, discovering the diverse paths that have led them to opera and the enduring belief in its relevance, past, present, and future. Opera Road Trip’s fourth episode is dedicated to opera in Vienna. We hear from Kristine Tornquist and Jury Everhartz,...

The Three Mezzos - Opera in Ireland

Opera Road Trip

Opera Road Trip is Operavision’s new two-year podcast series, a journey through the 17 countries that currently partner with OperaVision, discovering their operatic history and current relationship with the artform, and meeting along the way young talents finding their voice and seasoned professionals who have devoted their lives to the stage, discovering the diverse paths that have led them to opera and the enduring belief in its relevance, past, present, and future. Opera Road Trip’s third episode is dedicated to opera in Ireland. We hear from Rosetta Cucchi, Artistic Director of...

Slava Ukraini - Opera in Ukraine

Opera Road Trip

Opera Road Trip’s second episode is dedicated to opera in Ukraine. We hear from Anna Gadetzka, program direction of Open Opera Ukraine about creating alternatives to the state-run opera factories; from Vasyl Vovkun, director of the Lviv National Opera, Bogdan Strutynsky, director of the National Operetta of Ukraine and Galyna Grygorenko, first deputy minister of culture of Ukraine, about the country’s operatic heritage and repertoire and about the current challenges of running opera companies. To learn more about opera in Ukraine, visit OperaVision.eu features work from its five Ukrainian...

First stop: Italia

Opera Road Trip

Opera Road Trip is Operavision’s new two-year podcast series, a journey through the 17 countries that currently partner with OperaVision, discovering their operatic history and current relationship with the artform, and meeting along the way young talents finding their voice and seasoned professionals who have devoted their lives to the stage, discovering the diverse paths that have led them to opera and the enduring belief in its relevance, past, present, and future. Opera Road Trip’s first episode is, dutifully, dedicated to opera in Italy. We hear from Danila Grassi, a young...

Oper Frankfurt: becoming an extraordinary artist

Opera Road Trip

In the final episode of this Next Generation series, we ask two experts working at Oper Frankfurt to share their understanding of the challenges facing young artists entering a programme. From the shock of that first time on the main stage, to finding a common language when it comes to technique, and finally allowing the personality to really shine through, Felice Venanzoni and Hedwig Fassbender offer candid advice on all aspects of nurturing operatic talent with sensitivity and respect. Watch now on OperaVision with Leonardo Sanchez from Young Artists at the Palau de les Arts...

Rossini Opera Festival: walking a tightrope

Opera Road Trip

This month, we’re joined by young artists Chiara Boccabella and Francesco Leone in the run up to the Accademia Rossiniana Alberto Zedda this summer. They share thoughts on preparing for auditions (the key lies in character!), and how exactly to bring lightness and joy to singing Rossini so that it feels (almost) effortless. Watch now on OperaVision with Leonardo Sanchez from Young Artists at the Palau de les Arts from Oper Frankfurt on audition training for the Paul Hindemith Orchestra Academy Music Extracts all from Rossini's Il Viaggio a...

Palau de les Arts: looking to the future

Opera Road Trip

This month, we are back with our emerging artists from Palau de les Arts in Valencia, where we discover how steady and slow is the key to vocal progression, how going beyond your comfort zone is necessary when hustling for work, and which key elements to take from a programme into the professional world. Mezzo-soprano Laura Orueta takes her first professional steps and soprano Iria Goti looks ahead to her final stretch in Valencia and life beyond. Music Introduction and closing from Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart): Overture I Hate Music; Tavouk Guenksis;...

Oper Frankfurt: survival tactics for young artists

Opera Road Trip

This month, we’re back at Oper Frankfurt following up with our four young artists, where juggling roles and dealing with vocal fatigue are part of life at the height of a busy season. Our singers share stories of setting boundaries, juggling repertoire, and how sometimes saying no is essential to protecting both vocal and mental health. Featuring sopranos Nombulelo Yende and Clara Hyoyoung Kim, mezzo-soprano Helene Feldbauer, and baritone Jarrett Porter. Watch now on Opera Vision from Young Artists at the Palau de les Arts from Oper Frankfurt on audition training for...

More Episodes

‘Is opera the most misogynistic art form?’ asked Charlotte Higgins in The Guardian back in 2016, noting that the genre itself seems to devour women. In Classical Music Magazine in 2020, Becca Marriott argued that ‘Sexism is preventing women from forging a career in opera’. Over the course of the next episodes, we are looking at how voices in opera are calling for change to make it better for the next generation of operatic talent. In this episode, we investigate misogyny in opera both on the stage and behind the scenes, and investigate the lived experience of artists who are striving to make the opera world a place where everyone feels welcome, respected and safe.

View the OperaVision website here

Watch now on Opera Vision

Oper Frankfurt From Studio to Stage

Opera for Peace Masterclasses with Ailyn Perez & Brian Jagde

Il Viaggio a Reims (Rossini), Rossini Opera Festival Accademia Rossiniana

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World with Nombulelo Yende

Dana Lynne Varga www.danavarga.com

The Empowered Musician https://theempoweredmusician.com/

Mass Opera https://massopera.org/

Rosie Middleton https://rosiemiddleton.com/

Derri Joseph Lewis https://derrijosephlewis.com/

Music extracts