In this new four-part series, we’ll be taking a look at four significant, and greatly underperformed, operas within opera history from early-mid 20th century but outside America and Central Europe. The normal Opera Film reader may be acquainted with a breadth of opera’s expressive diversity. From Cage’s ‘Europera V’ and Stockhausen’s ‘Dienstag aus Licht’ (1991) to Shirokov’s ‘Marevo’ and Vustin’s {…}
Throughout the Opera Meets Film series, we’ve explored a great deal of opera/film relationships. From stage adaptations of films, experimental works, documentaries, controversial stories and plots, and even dialogues on academic research, the opera-film relationship is complex. The very term, opera, can mean many things, from a metaphor to a psychology of struggle. But practically, when opera is used in {…}
When Lisbon’s national opera house, the Teatro São Carlos, closed its doors in 2024 for preservation and maintenance of its historic character, along with a much needed modernization of its backstage facilities, the initial announcement suggested a relatively contained closure lasting perhaps a couple of seasons. With the project now expected to extend at least into 2028, the institution has {…}
Photo by Jim Scholz/Opera Omaha During these summer months, we looked at three operas that epitomize the ways opera creates space to think about intersectional discussions and overlooked topics concerning three interconnected themes, namely race, feminism, and indigenous rights. In part one, we looked at race in Daniel Sonenberg‘s 2017 opera, ‘The Summer King,’ finding out how the complexities of {…}
It’s that time of the year again! The 2026-27 season is about to begin and audiences are getting ready to choose performances as they head back to the opera. With so much to choose from, OperaWire is breaking down 10 opera productions that are must-sees. “Lincoln in the Bardo” at the Metropolitan Opera – Oct. 19-Nov. 14, 2026 The Metropolitan {…}
(Photo: Bernard Rosenberg) The Pietrasanta in Concerto Festival combines a unique and distinctive, artist-centered, and community-driven approach to a classical music festival, in contrast with more traditional models. This philosophy extends to nurturing future talent through live performances and masterclasses in local venues to prioritize deep understanding and cultural immersion over superficial social media engagement and pre-planned repertoire that might {…}
This week, Sebastiano Rolli is set to make his Arena di Verona debut conducting “Nabucco” in Stefano Poda’s acclaimed production. Rolli is well-known for his bel canto and Italian repertoire and has conducted at such houses as Slovak National Opera, Teatro Sociale in Rovigo, Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Teatro Verdi in Busseto, Teatro Regio di Parma, {…}
With the publication of Ross Benjamin’ translation of Daniel Kehlmann’s fictionalized story of Austrian filmmaker, Georg Wilhelm Pabst (1886-1967), The Director (2023/2025), preceded by German filmmaker Werner Herzog’s translated memoire, Every Man for Himself and God Against All (2022/2023), it’s fascinating to see how the opera-film relationship can be incredibly heterogeneous. While for Herzog, “when the whole world is transformed {…}
(Credit: Herwig Prammer) This week, the Salzburg Festival opens a new production of “Ariadne auf Naxos,” one of Strauss’ most popular works and one that showcases a multiple array of voices. For this production rising star Christina Nilsson will make her highly anticipated company debut. A winner of third prize in Operalia in 2019, Nilsson has become synonymous with the {…}
