The New Year is upon us, which means it’s time to look back and reflect at what was and what will remain in our memories. As per usual, OperaWire has compiled the favorite performances of the year from many of our contributors. We won’t keep you waiting, here’s a look at the Staff Picks for the best performances of 2025. {…}
(Credits: Brescia e Amisano) This week the Teatro alla Scala opens its 2025-26 season celebrating the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death, presenting the 1934 edition of his masterwork “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.” It’s a work that is rarely performed due to its challenging score and huge cast. With La Scala’s new production, several cast members will be appearing with the {…}
It’s that time of the year. The end of the year. As with every year, 2025 was full of a lot of opera revelations in productions, concerts and competitions. So in recognitions of those breakouts, here’s a look at some of the young singers who are likely to make operatic waves in the very near future. Here are OperaWire’s 10 {…}
This week, the Semperoper Dresden opened a revival of “Turandot,” one of Puccini’s most popular works. However, what made this revival special was the birth of a new interpreter of the title role. Camilla Nylund made her role debut as Turandot, returning to Puccini after singing Tosca to great acclaim. In a statement to OperaWire regarding her role debut as {…}
Photo Credit: IMG Artists/Frederica von Stade/Robert Millard (2005) This year was exciting for many reasons but one of them stands out. On Monday, March 10, 2025, the documentary about Frederica von Stade, “Flicka: A Love Letter,” first created in 2023, was screened at the National Opera Center in New York City. Combining archival footage of performance clips, Brian Staufenbiel’s “Flicka” gave {…}
Yes, you can be a conductor and a mother. But no one told me that. The classical music world rarely talks about women on the podium who are also mothers. I want the next generation to know that it’s possible—even if it’s exhausting. When I was 21, I decided I wanted to be a conductor at the highest level. Inspired {…}
(Credit: Gianfranco Rota) This week, the Donizetti Opera Festival is set to open with the composer’s final work, one that has been rarely heard. Major sopranos have performed the work, and this revival will feature a major Bel Canto specialist. Carmela Remigio, who has become one of the festival’s mainstays, is one of the world’s most celebrated bel canto interpreters, {…}
This week, the Royal Opera House is set to unveil a new production of “The Makropoulos Case,” a rarely performed Janáček work. The opera plays with the idea of immortality and has historically been a vehicle for a great diva. This week, the London company does just that, but also brings Katie Mitchell, a director who has been known for {…}
The sudden death of Pierre Audi in May this year lent a moving note to the presentation of the Birgit Nilsson Prize in Stockholm on October 21. The prize, which has been awarded every three years since 2009, now went to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, where Audi had been artistic director since 2018 – a deeply fitting tribute to a man {…}
