Opéra National de Paris is set to present a new production of Massenet’s “Don Quichotte.” Patrick Fournillier will conduct the new production by Damiano Michieletto. The cast will include Christian Van Horn and Gábor Bretz in the title role, Gaëlle Arquez as La Belle Dulcinée, Étienne Dupuis as Sancho Pança, Emy Gazeilles and Marine Chagnon playing the roles of Pedro and {…}
Opéra Comique has announced its schedule for the 2024-25 season. Auber’s “Le Domino noir” is set to be conducted by Louis Langrée and will be directed by Valérie Lesort and Christian Hecq. The cast includes Anne-Catherine Gillet, Cyrille Dubois, and Victoire Bunel. Performance Date: Sept. 20-28, 2024 George Benjamin & Martin Crimp’s “Picture a Day Like This” is set to {…}
The Opéra de Paris has announced a cast change for its production of “Don Quichotte.” The company said that Marianne Crebassa has withdrawn from the production for personal reasons. As a result, the role of La Belle Dulcinée will be played by Gaëlle Arquez. Arquez was originally set to sing “La Cenerentola” at the Gran Teatre del Liceu but was {…}
The Edinburgh International Festival has unveiled its 2024 slate. Here is a rundown of the vocal performances on offer. First up is the Scottish premiere of “La Pasión Según San Marcos” by Golijov. Joana Carneiro leads the Orquesta La Pasión and Musicians from the RSNO. Performance Date: August 3, 2024 The formal opening the festival is a performance featuring the BBC {…}
Conductor Louis Langrée once explained the ‘Opéra-Comique’ in these terms: “The Opéra-Comique comes from fairground theater, which is its strength.” Looking at the company’s many successes in bringing great operas into its repertoire—“Pelléas etMélisande,” “Mignon,” “Manon Lescaut”—, it seems that Langrée is right. “Carmen,” however, would at first appear to be a bit different. It is, by far, the most {…}
The Philharmonie de Paris has announced its 2023-24 season. Here is a look at the vocal highlights of the season. Klaus Mäkelä conducts Orchestre de Paris with soloists Bertrand Chamayou, Olga Peretyatko, Pavel Petrov, Alexey Markov, and Bertrand Mandico. The program includes music by Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Rachmaninoff. Performance Dates: Sept. 6 & 7, 2023 Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Mass in {…}
The Opéra Comique has announced its 2023-24 season. First up is Charles Lecocq’s “La Fille de Angot.” Hervé Niquet will conduct a production by Richard Brunel. The opera will star Hélène Guilmette, Véronique Gens, Pierre Derhet, Julien Behr, Matthieu Lécroart, and Geoffrey Carey. Performance Dates: Sept. 27 – Oct. 5, 2023 For “Macbeth Underworld,” audiences will see Franck Ollu conduct {…}
The Opernhaus Zürich has announced its 2023-24 season featuring more than 20 productions, concerts, and reictals. Ermonela Jaho stars in Puccini’s “La Rondine” with Sandra Hamaoui, Benjamin Bernheim, Juan Francisco Gatell, and Vladimir Stoyanov. Marco Armiliato conducts the production by Christof Loy. Performance Dates: Sept. 17-Oct. 28, 2023 Nahuel Di Pierro, Olga Peretyatko, Renato Girolami, Alasdair Kent, Pietro Spagnoli, and {…}
This review is based on performances on Nov. 15 & 18, 2022. In every opera house, there is always an informal smoker’s meeting outside in the entr’acte. It is the best place to “feel the mood” of how an opera performance is being received. Hence, I am there solely for journalistic reasons, and nothing more. On this occasion, I went {…}
Damiano Michieletto is set to make his debut at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with a new production of Händel’s “Giulio Cesare in Egitto.” The opera will star Gaëlle Arquez in the title role, Sabine Devieilhe as Cleopatra, Franco Fagioli playing Sesto, and Carlo Vistoli playing Tolomeo. Philippe Jaroussky will conduct Händel’s work, leading the baroque ensemble Artaserse. In a statement, {…}
The Teatro alla Scala is set to open its fall season featuring three Rossini Operas, a work by Cavalli, and a Donizetti opera. Here is a look at the upcoming fall season. The season opens with Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri” conducted by Ottavio Dantone. The cast includes Mirco Palazzi, Giulio Mastrototaro, Maxim Mironov, Antonino Siragusa, Roberto de Candia and Gaëlle Arquez {…}