Walter Fraccaro Replaces Roberto Aronica in ‘Manon Lescaut’ in Baluarte

(Credit: Opera Australia official website) The Baluarte auditorium in Pamplona has announced a second cast change for its upcoming semi-staged performances of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut.” The Spanish opera house announced that tenor Walter Fraccaro will take over the role of Des Grieux, replacing Roberto Aronica. This marks the second high-profile replacement after soprano Ainhoa Arteta was forced to cancel due {…}

Saioa Hernández, Sonya Yoncheva, Anna Netrebko, Ailyn Pérez & Plácido Domingo Lead Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’s 2020-21 Season

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced its 2020-21 season featuring concerts, opera productions, and a star-studded summer festival. For this article, we will only focus on the Italian theater’s operatic and vocal concerts. Season  Federico Maria Sardelli conducts a new production of Handel’s “Rinaldo” with Pierluigi Pizzi directing. The cast includes Raffaele Pe in the title role, Leonardo Cortellazzi, Carmela {…}

Veronica Simeoni, Roberto Aronica & Mariangela Sicilia Highlight Tearo Comunale di Bologna’s Summer Season

The Teatro Comunale di Bologna has announced a summer season featuring several concert performances. For this article, we will only highlight concerts with opera excerpts or vocal performances. Michele Mariotti opens the summer with a concert featuring music from Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” as well as music by Beethoven and Mozart. Performance Date: June 26, 2020 Juraj Valčuha conducts Wagner’s {…}

Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo & Raina Kabaivanska Headline Teatro dell’Opera di Roma’s Streaming Week

The “Teatro Digitale” dell’Opera di Roma is set to continue this week with several new streams. It all begins on June 22 with a production of Lehár’s “The Merry Widow” with conductor Daniel Oren leading Mauro Bolognini’s production. The cast includes Raina Kabaivanska, Mikael Melbye, Silvano Pagliuca, Daniela Mazzuccato, Luca Canonici, Andrea Snarski, Maurizio Scarfeo, Angelo Degl’Innocenti, Scilly Fortunato, Fernando {…}

Plácido Domingo, Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Sonya Yoncheva Headline Arena di Verona’s 2021 Season

The Arena di Verona has announced its 2021 season, which will feature several notable performances with some of opera’s greatest stars. It all kicks off with a 150th anniversary celebration of the 1871 world premiere of Verdi’s “Aida.” The opera will be conducted by Riccardo Muti with Sonya Yoncheva in the title role alongside Francesco Meli, Riccardo Zanellato, Luca Salsi, {…}

Plácido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Anna Netrebko Headline La Scala’s Streaming Options This Week (April 20-26)

(Credit: Brescia e Amisano) The Teatro alla Scala has announced its upcoming opera streams via Raiplay and Rai5. On Monday, April 20, the company will present Mozart’s “Lucio Silla” on Raiplay with Kresimir Spicer, Lenneke Ruiten, Marianne Crebassa, Inga Kalna, and Giulia Semenzato. On that same day, Verdi’s “Giovanna d’Arco” will be presented on Rai5 with Anna Netrebko, Francesco Meli, {…}

Festival Castell de Peralada to Offer Free Streaming

The Festival Castell de Peralada is set to streams on its webpage festivalperalada.com. Starting April 3, the festival will showcase recent three performances for free. The performances that the festival will offer include “Combattimento,” by Monteverdi. Joan Anton Rechi directs the production with Fausto Nardi conducting. The performance comes from 2016.  There will also be a 2016 performance of Puccini’s “Turandot” {…}

Luca Salsi, Eleonora Buratto & Davinia Rodriguez Highlight Festival Verdi 2020

The Festival Verdi has announced its 2020 program featuring three new productions and one concert performance. Here is a look: Verdi and Solera’s “I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata” will feature Marco Ciaponi, Michele Pertusi, Yolanda Auyanet, and Jean-Francois Borras. Daniele Callegari will conduct the production by Hugo de Ana. Performance Dates: Sept. 24-Oct. 17, 2020 Verdi and Piave’s “Rigoletto” will be interpreted in collaboration {…}