Renée Fleming

It’s time to bring opera out of the closet

The passage of time can be a challenge for great artists. The renowned American diva Renée Fleming is a superb role model for how to adapt as an opera singer as she explores new avenues for sharing her life experience and artistry, from taking part in cutting- edge new commissions to exploring music’s influence on the mind

Russell Thomas is the first African American to sing Otello in a major house in the US. He is, however, wary of being typecast as a ‘Black singer’. He spoke candidly to Opera Now about the thorny issue of racial stereotyping in opera

He may be an iconic figure in the world of fashion, but ever since a love of opera was sparked in his childhood, Christian Lacroix dreamt of becoming a costume designer, an ambition that he has realised to great acclaim since working on his first opera 20 years ago

Vienna boasts architectural grandeur, cultural riches and a matchless musical heritage – especially when it comes to opera. Opera Now surveys the operatic offerings in the Austrian capital over the festive season and into the New Year

Far from being an exercise in superficial entertainment, operetta rivals its serious counterpart, opera, in its ability to move and enchant us with its layers of meaning and its wide-ranging cultural references

After months of frenetic travel across Europe to satisfy his appetite for rare and unusual performances, Professor Anthony Ogus discovers a host of operatic pleasures within striking distance of his home in northern England.

How far can you go in rewriting a libretto to suit your own dramatic agenda? Much too far in the case of a recent spate of opera productions, which have completely changed the story that originally inspired the music