‘Ceux qui m’aiment’ Event To Pay Homage to Patrice Chéreau

https://operawire.com/ceux-qui-maiment-event-to-pay-homage-to-patrice-chereau/

Legendary director Patrice Chéreau will be memorialized on Nov. 7, 2018, in a performance by Pascal Greggory, his former lover and creative partner. The showcase, entitled “Ceux qui m’aiment,” will feature live performances of letters and texts by the famed auteur. Per a press release, there will be a look at Chéreau’s legendary 1976 Ring cycle and his directorial choices {…}

News

Opéra National de Paris to Celebrate Patrice Chéreau with Two Major Events

https://operawire.com/opera-national-de-paris-to-celebrate-patrice-chereau-with-two-major-events/

The Opéra de Paris is showcasing two events to celebrate the death of celebrated director Patrice Chéreau. The Tribute to the famed director will be highlighted by a new production of Janacek’s “From the House of the Death” and “Patrice Chéreau, Staging the Opera.” The new production of the Janacek opera will be the one directed by the famed director {…}

News

Obituary: Legendary Contralto Ortrun Wenkel Passes at 83

https://operawire.com/obituary-legendary-contralto-ortrun-wenkel-dies-at-83/

On Dec. 21, 2025, contralto Ortrun Wenkel died at the age of 83 after a short illness. Wenkel was born in Buttstädt, Thuringia on Oct. 25, 1942 and studied at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar. After immigrating from East Germany to West Germany, she continued at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. The contralto began her {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opéra National de Paris 2025-26 Review: Aida

https://operawire.com/opera-national-de-paris-2025-26-review-aida/

(Credit: Bernd Uhlig) “Aida,” as we know, was supposed to be Giuseppe Verdi’s last opera. At least, he thought so. Along with his powerful “Requiem,” and all its operatic overtones, his very final work to come, the moving and gentle “Quattro Pezzi Sacri” – “Aida” was supposedly the prolific master’s operatic swan song. But, well, that is certainly not what {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Bayreuth Festival 2025 Review: Parsifal

https://operawire.com/bayreuth-festival-2025-review-parsifal/

(© Enrico Nawrath) First seen on the Green Hill in 2023, the director of “Parsifal,” 55-year-old Jay Scheib, professor of music and theatre arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an American of international standing in the hi-tech world, is a technological wizard like no other! A couple of his credits include Thomas Adès’ “Powder Her Face” (New York {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Royal Swedish Opera Review 2024-25: Il barbiere di Siviglia

https://operawire.com/royal-swedish-opera-review-2024-25-il-barbiere-di-siviglia/

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Stockholm, on May 10, 2025, the Royal Swedish Opera gave one of the most inventive, neo-traditional, and stylishly contemporary productions of “Il barbiere di Siviglia” that I think I have seen in a very long while. With an adroit mixture of historical awareness, architectural minimalism, stupefying effects, and playful performativity, director (and lighting designer) {…}

Special Features

Guest Post: Conductor & Author Michael Downes on His Search for Wagner’s ‘Ring’

https://operawire.com/guest-post-conductor-author-michael-downes-on-his-search-for-wagners-ring/

Conductor and author Michael Downes explains why and how he chose to trace the creation of Wagner’s masterpiece in his upcoming book. It is often said that there are more books about Wagner than any historical figure other than Napoleon or Jesus. This is not actually true, but the myth’s frequent resurfacing indicates that there are already an awful lot {…}

News, Season Announcement

Johan Reuter, Susan Bullock, Natalya Romaniw, Elisabet Strid, Ricarda Merbeth & Russell Thomas Lead Finnish National Opera’s 2025-26 Season

https://operawire.com/johan-reuter-susan-bullock-natalya-romaniw-elisabet-strid-ricarda-merbeth-russell-thomas-lead-finnish-national-operas-2025-26-season/

The Finnish National Opera has announced its 2025-26 season. Premieres Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” will get a new production by Richard Jones and will be presented for the first time since 1996. The new Finnish translation by Mikko Koivusalo will star Tommi Hakala, Samuli Takkula, Tuija Knihtilä, Maiju Vaahtoluoto, Elli Vallinoja, Polina Liiv, Suvi Väyrynen, Emma Mustaniemi, Dan Karlström, and Roland Liiv. Antony Hermus conducts. Performance Dates: Oct. {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opéra National de Paris 2024-25 Review: Das Rheingold

https://operawire.com/opera-national-de-paris-2025-review-das-rheingold/

(Photo: Herwig Prammer / OnP) A very promising night indeed: Paris Opera takes its first step toward its new Ring under the direction of Calixto Bieito—one of the most exciting artists in his field—and with a promising cast. The stakes are particularly high for the company president, Alexander Neef, who would crowd his tenure with a Wagner Ring in continental {…}

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‘Ceux qui m’aiment’ Event To Pay Homage to Patrice Chéreau

Opéra National de Paris to Celebrate Patrice Chéreau with Two Major Events

Obituary: Legendary Contralto Ortrun Wenkel Passes at 83

Opéra National de Paris 2025-26 Review: Aida

Bayreuth Festival 2025 Review: Parsifal

Royal Swedish Opera Review 2024-25: Il barbiere di Siviglia

Guest Post: Conductor & Author Michael Downes on His Search for Wagner’s ‘Ring’

Johan Reuter, Susan Bullock, Natalya Romaniw, Elisabet Strid, Ricarda Merbeth & Russell Thomas Lead Finnish National Opera’s 2025-26 Season

Opéra National de Paris 2024-25 Review: Das Rheingold