One of the main events at this year’s Opera Forward Festival in Amsterdam was a Sophocles-inspired double bill featuring Stravinsky’s 1927 work “Oedipus Rex” and the world premiere of Samy Moussa’s new composition “Antigone.” Although neither piece is defined as an opera as such, both sit comfortably at home within the repertoire. “Oedipus Rex” is described as an opera-oratorio and {…}
(Photo credit: © Marta Syrko) The Dutch National Opera and Dutch National Ballet take the stage together for the world premiere of Wayne McGregor and Samy Moussa’s “Jocasta’s Line.” Choreographer and stage director McGregor along with composer Moussa combined the Greek tragedies “Oedipus Rex” and “Antigone.” Moussa composed new music for “Antigone,” but will use Stravinsky’s original score, with the {…}
The Teatro Verdi Trieste has announced its 2023-24 season. Here is a look at the operas the theater will showcase. The season opens with Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” in a production by Guy Monavon. Gianna Fratta conducts a cast that includes Lana Kos and Alessandra di Giorgio, Roberto Aronica, and Murat Karahan. Fernando Cisneros and Matteo Peirone also star. Performance Dates: Nov. {…}
The Teatro Lirico di Cagliari has announced its 2023 season. Cilea’s “Gloria” will star Ramaz Chikviladze, Mattia Denti, Anastasia Bartoli, Valentina Boi, Franco Vassallo, Ivan Inverardi, Carlo Ventre, and Denis Pivnitsky. Francesco Cilluffo conducts the production by Antonio Albanese. Performance Dates: Feb. 10-19, 2023 Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” will star Dave Monaco, Chuan Wang, Christian Senn, Andrea Vincenzo Bonsignore, Giulio Mastrototaro, {…}
The Dutch National Opera has announced its 2021-22 season featuring new productions, new voices, films, and a festival dedicated to Orpheus. Productions Zemlinsky’s “Der Zwerg” opens the season in a new production by Nanouk Leopold. Lorenzo Viotti conducts the opera which is set to star Clay Hilley in the title role, Olga Kulchynska as Donna Clara, Annette Dasch as Ghita, {…}
The Dutch National Opera has announced its 2020-21 season featuring new productions and a number of world premieres. Boito’s “Mefistofele” opens the season with a new production by Tatjana Gürbaca. Marco Armiliato conducts the production with Christian Van Horn in the title role, Charles Castronovo, Olga Busuioc, and Guanqun Yu. Performance Dates: Sept. 5-24, 2020 Paula Murrihy, Sandrine Piau, Tuomas {…}
Anna Netrebko has announced via Twitter that opera fans will soon be able to tune into broadcasts of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” from Arena di Verona. The broadcasts will take place on Jul. 13 at 6:30 p.m. (via 3sat), Jul 14 at 10:15 p.m. (via ZDF), and Jul 20 at 10:20 p.m. (via France Télévisions). Netrebko stars as Leonora alongside Yusif Eyvazov {…}
(Credit: Julien Benhamou / ONP) Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” is undeniably one of the most complex to stage. Not only is it a tremendous challenge for each of the major singers cast in the work, but it presents unique obstacles for any director who opts to take it on. The opera, despite being by one the greatest opera composers {…}
The Arena di Verona has announced its casting for its star-studded 97th annual festival. La Traviata Four sopranos will share the leading role of Violetta Valéry, including Aleksandra Kurzak, Irina Lungu, Lisette Oropesa, and Lana Kos, while four tenors will share the role of Alfredo Germont, including Pavel Petrov, Vittorio Grigolo, Raffaele Abete, and Stephen Costello. Leo Nucci, Simone Piazzola, {…}
The wait is over – Jonas Kaufmann will finally make his long-awaited return on Wednesday, Jan 18 in Wagner’s “Lohengrin” in Paris. The tenor has been sidelined since October after announcing that side effects from medication had caused a haematoma. After that he committed to remaining on vocal rest until his haematoma “completely subsided.” This forced him to cancel numerous {…}