Norwegian Opera Director Stefan Herheim Stages ‘Die Walküre’ at Deutsche Oper Berlin

https://operawire.com/norwegian-opera-director-stefan-herheim-stages-die-walkure-at-deutsche-oper-berlin/

(Credits: Kristen Hoebermann / ©Neda Navaee / Ray Burmiston/Decca Classics/ Deutsche Oper Berlin official website / Annika Schlicht official website) In times of massive uncertainty and heightened risks, the Deutsche Oper Berlin is taking on the gargantuan effort of staging the second opera of the cycle, “Die Walküre,” directed by Stefan Herheim. Herheim’s production of the iconic Wagner’s opera is {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Royal Ballet & Opera 2025-26 Review: The Sicilian Vespers

https://operawire.com/royal-ballet-opera-2025-26-review-the-sicilian-vespers/

(Credit: Tristram Kenton) It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. No, really. Director Stefan Herheim employs a combination of both smoke and mirrors on a seemingly ever-revolving, ever-evolving stage setting of grandiose balconies, monumental set pieces, and athletic ballerinas, whose inclusion is frequent enough to make the casual observer question whether this is an opera or a ballet. In fact, {…}

News

Aileen Schneider Wins Götz Friedrich Prize

https://operawire.com/aileen-schneider-wins-gotz-friedrich-prize/

Aileen Schneider has won the Götz Friedrich Prize for the 2024-5 season. The director was recognized for her production of Aribert Reimann’s “Melusine” at ⁩Oper Frankfurt. Schneider’s production portrays an idealistic, finding a solution for everything in society, that could be seen as a coming of age process, transferring the action to somewhere in the future when resources are scarce {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Review 2025: Parsifal

https://operawire.com/glyndebourne-festival-opera-review-2025-parsifal/

(Photo: Richard Hubert Smith) A new production of Wagner’s “Parsifal” is always a big deal, given the imaginative and actual scale of the work and the special aura that surrounds it – a triumph of Bayreuth marketing, truly, to try and restrict its performances for so many years. But this new staging at Glyndebourne Festival Opera signals the first time {…}

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

Joyce El-Khoury, Magdalena Kožená, Jakub Józef Orliński, Sabine Devieilhe, Thomas Blondelle, Max Emanuel Cencic, Marina Monzó, & Alasdair Kent Lead Theater an der Wien’s 2025-26 Season

https://operawire.com/joyce-el-khoury-magdalena-kozena-jakub-jozef-orlinski-sabine-devieilhe-thomas-blondelle-max-emanuel-cencic-marina-monzo-alasdair-kent-lead-theater-an-der-wiens-2025-26-season/

The Theater an der Wien’s 2025-26 season. Rossini’s “L’occasione fa il ladro” opens the season in a production by Marcos Darbyshire. The cast includes Inna Demenkova, Alberto Robert, Roberto Lorenzi, Petra Radulovic, Ilyà Dovnar, and Lazar Parežanin. Pedro Beriso conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 23-Oct. 14, 2025 Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” will star Thomas Blondelle, Hulkar Sabirova, Alina Wunderlin, Leon Košavić, Krešimir Stražanac, David Fischer, Jana {…}

News, Season Announcement

Anna Netrebko, Freddie De Tommaso, Marina Rebeka, Bryn Terfel, Aigul Akhmetshina, Lisette Oropesa, Juan Diego Flórez & Pretty Yende Lead Royal Ballet & Opera’s 2025-26 Season

https://operawire.com/anna-netrebko-freddie-de-tommaso-marina-rebeka-bryn-terfel-aigul-akhmetshina-lisette-oropesa-juan-diego-florez-pretty-yende-lead-royal-ballet-operas-2025-26-season/

The Royal Ballet and Opera has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with Puccini’s “Tosca” in a new production by Oliver Mears. Anna Netrebko and Aleksandra Kurzak share the title role. Freddie De Tommaso and Gerald Finley also star. Performance Dates: Sept. 11-Oct. 7, 2025 Speranza Scappucci conducts Verdi’s “I vespri siciliani” in a revival of Stefan Herheim’s production. Marina {…}

Artist of the Week, Special Features

Artist of the Week: Victoria Randem

https://operawire.com/artist-of-the-week-victoria-randem/

The Norwegian Opera is set to present “The Cunning Little Vixen,” a work that is rarely performed by a major company. This season the company will showcase a cast of rising stars including Victoria Randem. Randem is part of the Young Artist Program at Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin, and has performed with the Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne festival, Semper Oper {…}

Business, News

Theater an der Wien Extends Intendant’s Contract

https://operawire.com/theater-an-der-wien-extends-intendants-contract/

The Theater an der Wien has announced it will extend intendant Stefan Herheim’s contract. The company said “We are pleased to announce that the city of Vienna, together with the Vienna Holding and the VBW, have decided to extend the contract of Stefan Herheim until fall 2030 and continue the much-regarded program line of his intent.” Herheim added, “It is {…}

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