Nina Morgana News
American soprano (1891-1986)
- soprano
- United States of America
- opera singer
Last update
2024-04-25
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2023-09-22 08:44:00
Drawing us into Handel's magical world: Amadigi di Gaula from the English Concert with Tim Mead, Mary Bevan, Hilary Cronin, Hugh Cutting
[…] this aria, duetting with a trumpet, Bevan was trenchant and riveting. Her Melissa moved from the intense line of her opening aria, 'Ah! spietato!' to the strong stuff of her final Act One aria. In Act Two, Bevan and Mead made their duet, with its surprisingly perky rhythms, wonderfully vivid, yet it was all for nothing and Bevan's final accompagnato and arioso for Melissa's death scene was powerful indeed. Bevan gave a star performance as Morgana in Handel's Alcina at the Royal Opera House [see my review] and this season makes her role debut as Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare in Rome; personally, I can't wait to hear her in more Handel opera - Teseo anyone?What impressed about this performance was the strength of the recitative, each singer brought depth to it so that Bevan's opening words were sung with such relish. The whole opera became more than just a series of dazzling […]
2022-08-02 07:30:00
Handel’s Alcina - a ‘first’ for Glyndebourne - joins other great Handel gems in the company’s repertoire such as Ariodante, Giulio Cesare, Rinaldo and Theodora
[…] other than Alcina with Ms Archibald looking the part from head to toe. A brunette sporting a long-flowing hair style and a fitting costume to match (elegantly designed by Italian-born designer, Alessio Rosati) she came over as a Fifties-style movie star echoing to a degree Anita Ekberg, the star of Federic Fellini’s iconic Sixties movie, La dolce vita. Hey, mambo, mambo italiano! Although Ms Archibald made a big impression on the show overall her sorceress sister, Morgana (sung so eloquently and delicately by Soraya Mafi) made a big impression, too, especially on her entry in the first act dressed as a mermaid lying on a high-moving gantry-type platform operated by a four-person stage team. The scene was quite remarkable and visually quite striking, too, with British lighting designer Bruno Poet (who has lit up so many stages worldwide) adding to the overall atmosphere and pleasure of the scene by conjuring up […]
2022-07-29 07:38:00
Welcome to L'isola di Alcina: Glyndebourne's first production of Handel's opera
[…] them is Astolfo, who embraces Oberto: They form the Chorus and they Dance'. Now, how often have you seen that represented in a production of the opera?Handel: Alcina - Soraya Mafi - Glyndebourne Opera (Photo Tristram Kenton)We caught a performance of Francesco Micheli's production of Handel's Alcina at Glyndebourne Opera on 27 July 2022. Jonathan Cohen conducted the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, with Beth Taylor as Bradamante, Alastair Miles as Melisso, Soraya Mafi as Morgana, Jane Archibald as Alcina, Rowan Pierce as Oberto, Svetlina Stoyanova as Ruggiero, Thomas Elwin as Oronte and James Cleverton as Astolfo. Set designs were by Edoardo Sanchi, costumes by Alessio Rosati, choreography by Mike Ashcroft and lighting by Bruno Poet.Micheli and his designers transferred Alcina's magical island to a variety theatre in 1950s Italy, where Jane Archibald's Alcina seduces young men and transforms them not into wild beasts but into dumb audience members. Sanchi […]
2022-03-26 09:34:34
From Melissa to Musetta: I chat to Irish soprano Anna Devin about the joy of singing with Irish National Opera, returning to Puccini, having a Donizetti moment and her love of Baroque opera
[…] circles of life and how she is currently having a Donizetti moment, whilst in 2016 she did around 30 performances of Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (which eventually added up to a total of 45), but has not sung the role since. And despite the Donizetti roles, she is not saying goodbye to Baroque opera, whilst one role she has her eye on is the title role to Handel's Alcina; Anna has sung Morgana in the opera, she has never done Alcina. Though in the current climate, simply being able to get out an sing is great. A recent production at Lyons Opera that she was involved in ended up having 10 (out of 15) performances cancelled. And she finds it interesting to consider what happens to the opera industry in the next year or so. She points out that so many experienced singers are either not returning […]
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