(Photo: Musacchio, Ianniello & Pasqualini) Warner Classics produced a new recording of Puccini’s “Turandot” with a dream cast consisting of some of today’s best singers, all under the baton of Antonio Pappano. After one week of recording sessions, a concert version was offered on March 12 at the Sala Santa Cecilia, in the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. The {…}
The Opernhaus Zürich has announced its 2022-23 season with 12 new productions and numerous revivals. Premieres Eric Cutler, Christof Fischesser, Tomasz Konieczny, Katie van Kooten, Patricia Bardon, and Camilla Nylund star in Wagner’s “Die Walküre.” The new production by Andreas Homoki will be conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. Performance Dates: Sept. 18-Oct. 29, 2022 Offenbach’s “Barkouf” will see Jérémie Rhorer conduct the {…}
The Salzburg Easter Festival has announced its 2023 season. The season will present Andris Nelsons conducting Richard Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” in a production by director Romeo Castellucci. The main roles will be sung by Marlis Petersen, Elīna Garança, Jonas Kaufmann, Georg Zeppenfeld, and Christian Gerhaher. The season will include Brahms’ “German Requiem” performed by Bavarian Radio Chorus with soloists Julia Kleiter {…}
Days after Jonas Kaufmann issued a statement about his position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and artists’ role in it, tenor Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke has issued a statement firing back at the tenor. In a statement sent via email to OperaWire and other publications, Ablinger-Sperrhache took Kaufmann’s initial statement to task point by point. “Of course artists are never unpolitical {…}
Jonas Kaufmann has broken his silence on the war in Ukraine. After a week into the war, the tenor said, “Should art be politically neutral? Can it be? Many artists throughout history have had to ask themselves this central question. While Benjamin Britten, in his American exile, wrote about an autistic outsider in a small fishing village in England and {…}
Les Grands Voix Les Grands Solistes has announced its April slate, which includes four unique star-laden performances. First up will be “Hymne à l’Amour” at the Philharmonie de Paris. Diana Damrau and Jonas Kaufmann will be joined by Helmut Deutsch as they take on music by Schumann and Brahms. Performance Date: April 3, 2022 That will be followed up with {…}
(Credit: Katharina Schiffl) On Feb. 2, 2022, following the performance of “Peter Grimes,” the Wiener Staatsoper conductor Simone Young, Jonas Kaufmann, and Sir Bryn Terfel were honored. The company bestowed Young with the status of honorary member of the house, and presented with the Ring of Honor of the Wiener Staatsoper from Juwelier Wagner. Meanwhile, Jonas Kaufmann and Sir Bryn {…}
The Fondazione Arena di Verona has announced its 2023 season, which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Arena Opera Festival. To celebrate the occasion, the festival will present 50 unrepeatable performances in under three months. The season will open with Verdi’s “Aida” in a new production by Stefano Poda. Marco Armiliato and Daniel Oren conduct a cast that includes {…}
The International Classical Music Awards has announced the winners of its 2022 awards, comprised of a body of artists from across the globe. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on the operatic winners, with a full list of recipients on the company’s website. In the category of opera, this year’s winner is Prima Classic’s recording of Bellini’s {…}
The Teatro San Carlo has announced a cast update for its upcoming production of “Tosca.” The company noted that Jonas Kaufmann will sing the role of Cavaradossi replacing the originally announced Piero Pretti. Kaufmann will sing four of the five performances with Antonello Palombi singing the final performance on May 3. Kaufmann’s Cavaradossi is one of the tenor’s signature roles {…}
Opera Australia has announced that it will present “Lohengrin” with superstar Jonas Kaufmann in the title role. The production will be directed by Olivier Py and will also star Emily Magee, Elena Gabouri, Marco Vratogna, Daniel Sumegi and Warwick Fyfe. The work will be conducted by Opera Australia’s Head of Music Tahu Matheson. The opera is set to premiere at {…}