(Credit: Daniel.Karmann) At the age of 33 Vienna-based Valentin Schwarz designed and directed a controversial staging of Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” which for the past four years has been featured at the celebrated Bayreuth Festival. This August 2025 marks Bayreuth’s final performance of Schwarz’s “Ring.” Starting in the autumn, he becomes artistic director of the Deutsches Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle {…}
It’s been a busy summer for tenor Alek Shrader. He’s coming off a run of “Idomeno” as Arbace at the San Francisco Opera. He’s going to direct “Così fan tutte” in San Jose. He has a Manetti-Shrem performance in Napa Valley. And just recently it was announced that he was joining the staff of the Merola Opera Program. Shrader, who {…}
(Photo ©: pax musica) What if music could do more than move us — what if it could rebuild lives? That’s the vision behind Pax Musica, a bold initiative launched by Hélène Daccord to support displaced musicians in France through mentorship, performance, and cultural exchange. From a random encounter with a young Syrian violinist in Lyon to sold-out concerts {…}
Ronny Michael Greenberg is a pianist, producer, and musical visionary who has performed at many of the great stages in the world, including Carnegie Hall and Vienna’s Konzerthaus. He is also the founder and CEO of Taste of Talent, a nonprofit that has redefined cultural programming through innovative, multi-sensory experiences and has produced for Opera Aloha, a Pacific concert tour {…}
This year marks the 90th anniversary of George and Ira Gershwin’s folk opera, “Porgy and Bess” on Broadway. Many major opera houses around the country have planned productions, including the Washington National Opera, the Houston Grand Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. While there are many biographies about Gershwin that include chapters devoted to “Porgy and Bess,” the only book that {…}
Director Omer Ben Seadia has become known for her inventive, thoughtful, and socially conscious productions. The director has led production at some of the leading theaters in the world including the Israeli Opera, Portland Opera, Curtis Institute of Music, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Chautauqua Opera Company, Houston Grand Opera, Calgary Opera, Utah Opera, Cincinnati Opera, The Florentine Opera, Hawaii Opera {…}
On May 15, City Lyric Opera will premiere a unique double bill. The two chamber operas, “Black Water,” by Jeremy Beck, and “Savior” by Amy Beth Kirsten, explore female agency across time. “Black Water” is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ novella of the same name, while “Savior” takes on the story of Joan of Arc from a contemporary lens. {…}
In 1959, Richard Loving, a white man, and his wife Mildred Loving, a woman of color were convicted of violating the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 in Virginia. They were sentenced to prison by Judge Leon M. Bazile, but the sentence was suspended on the condition that they leave their home state and never return. The Lovings appealed their case {…}
On April 17 & 18, 2025, the LA Philharmonic is set to present Carlos Simon’s “Good News Mass.” The work is a transcendent musical experience merging gospel and classical traditions, spoken word, and visual art. Composer Carlos Simon has become one of the most important voices in classical music, becoming the current Composer-in-Residence for the John F. Kennedy Center for {…}
(Credit: Photo courtesy of Opera San José) On April 19, Opera San Jose is set to present “Zorro,” an opera about the famed masked vigilante set in the early 1800s in el pueblo de Los Angeles, still a colony of Spain. The opera will feature a Latin American cast and will be led by David Radamés Toro, a director who {…}
(Photo: Armati Bacciardi) Over the next few months, OperaWire will be reviewing a number of productions at a variety of festivals across the globe. One name that keeps cropping up, at least in Europe, is that of Rosetta Cucchi. Blessed with a never-ending supply of energy and ideas, she always has one project on the go with others in the {…}