The Frankfurt Opera has announced its new season with a line-up of new productions and a number of stars.

New Productions 

The first new production of the year, Verdi’s “Il Trovatore,” opens on Sept. 10. Elza Van Den Heever and Leah Crocetto lead an all-star cast that also includes Piero Pretti and Alfred Kim in the lead role. David Bösch directs the new production conducted by Jader Bignamini.

On Sept. 16 Jakub Józef Orliński takes on the title role in Handel’s “Rinaldo’ in a production by Ted Huffman. Elizabeth Reiter takes on the role of Armida in the production with Brandon Cedel as Argante.

Britten’s “Peter Grimes” gets a new production by Keith Warner on Oct. 8. Vincent Wolfsteiner takes on the title role with Sara Jakubiak in the role of Ellen Orford. Sebastian Weigle conducts.

Johannes Erath directs a new production of Arnulf Herrmann’s ‘The Tenant” opening on Nov. 12. The world premiere will star Björn Bürger, Hanna Schwarz and Anja Petersen with Kazushi Ōno directing.

Legendary mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbender directs a new production of Strauss’ “Capriccio.” Camilla Nylund stars in the title role with Sebastian Weigle conducting. The production opens on Jan. 14, 2018.

Roland Böer conducts Tobias Heyder’s new production of Manfred Trojahn’s dramatic comedy “Enrico.” The production opens Jan. 21, 2018.

Adela Zaharia takes on the role of Elizabeth in Donizetti’s “Roberto Devereux” in a concert performance alongside Juan Jesús Rodríguez, Alice Coote and Mario Chang in the title role. Two performances will be given starting Feb. 2, 2018.

Judita Nagyová stars in the double bill world premiere of “A Winter Tale” and “Il Serpente di Bronzo.” The production will be directed by Corinna Tetzel opens Feb. 22, 2018.

Michael Spyres takes on the role of Vasco da Gama in Meyerbeer’s “L’Africaine” premiering Feb. 25, 2018. Brian Mulligan and Claudia Mahnke star in Tobias Kratzer’s new production.

Janacek’s “From the House of the Dead” gets centerstage on April 1, 2018 as David Hermann directs a new production. The production stars AJ Glueckert, Johannes Martin Kränzle and Gordon Bintner.

Claus Guth directs a new production of “The Merry Widow” opening on May 13, 2018. The production will star Marlis Petersen in the title role and Iurii Samoilov as Danilo.

On June 10, Elza van den Heever leads a new production of Bellini’s “Norma.” The new production will be directed by Sigrid Strøm Reibo and will also star Stefano La Colla as Pollione.

Revival

The Frankfurt Opera will bring 15 revival productions. Among them are Mozart’s ‘The Abduction from the Seraglio” conducted by Sebastian Weigle, Barber’s “Vanessa,” with Jessica Strong and Toby Spence and a double of Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” and Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas.”

Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” will also be revived as well as Mozart’s “Così Fan Tutte” with Ben Bliss and Verdi’s “Les Vépres Siciliennes” with Russell Thomas and Christopher Maltman.

Mario Chang stars in Massenet’s “Werther” with Louise Alder while Dmitry Belosselskiy will headline Glinka’s “Iwan Sussanin.”

Verdi’s “Rigoletto” will be revived with an all-star cast featuring Franco Vassallo, Brenda Rae and Chang.  Weinberg’s “The Passanger” will also be revived as well as Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” with Julia Dawson in her house debut.

James Rutherford stars in Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” with Brandon Cedel as Donner Kurt Streit as Loge while Rae will star in Bellini’s “La Sonnambula.”

Finally, Björn Bürger will star as Britten’s “Billy Budd” while Angela Meade will star in Cilea’s “Adriana Lecouvreur”