(Credit: Emilie Brouchon) This week the Polish National Opera will open a new production of Massenet’s “Werther” by Willy Decker. The production was originally set to open in May of 2020 but was canceled due to the coronavirus. Now the company has lined up an extraordinary group of soloists including Piotr Beczala, who returns to his country to sing one {…}
This week, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is set to open “Nabucco,” the work that put Verdi on the map and is regarded as one of his early masterpieces. At the core of the opera is the challenging role of Abigaille, which requires a soprano who can sing both very low and very high with dramatic force and is also capable {…}
The Festival Verdi continues its annual festival this week with the composer’s early masterpiece “Ernani.” It is known for its challenging roles and in many ways needs four of the greatest singers in the world to do it justice. The Verdi Festival has brought in a solid cast including the prominent star Eleonora Buratto, who is set to make her {…}
(Credit: Eric Bouloumié) After months of closure, the Opéra de Bordeaux opens its 2020-21 season with a modified production of Verdi’s beloved “La Traviata.” The masterpiece will get a starry cast including Rachel Willis-Sørensen, who makes her role debut as Violetta. Since her win at the Operalia competition in 2014, Willis-Sørensen has become well known for her lush sound and {…}
This week the famed Festival Verdi in Parma is set to open in a revamped version that will feature some of the composer’s well-known works and a few curiosities. Among them will be Verdi’s “Macbeth” in its rarely performed French version with one of today’s greatest baritones Ludovic Tézier in the title role. Today Tézier is one of the go-to {…}
The 2020-21 season is officially here and many opera companies are beginning to open including the Bayerische Staatsoper, which will open with one of the most anticipated new works of the year. The company will open with the world premiere of “7 Deaths of Maria Callas,” a work that was set to originally open during the spring of the 2019-20 {…}
This week the 2020-21 season begins in many European theaters. And with the reopening of seasons, many opera companies are adapting to restrictions imposed by health departments and experimenting with the repertoire. The Finnish National Opera is one of the companies that restructured its season and will present the world premiere of “COVID fan tutte” to open the season. The {…}
With opera in full swing in Europe and multiple artists beginning to tour, the opera world seems to be getting back to a somewhat new normal. This week Cecilia Bartoli embarks on a European tour with Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco, returning to the stage after months of quarantine and after canceling her Salzburg Whitsun Festival. Bartoli will perform {…}
(Credit: Teatro Massimo di Palermo) Opera in Europe continues to flourish with performances around Italy bringing mass audiences and acclaimed singers in some of their signature roles. This week the Teatro Massimo di Palmero opened its “Cavalleria Rusticana” with Aleksandra Kurzak making her role debut as Santuzza and Roberto Alagna in his signature Turiddu. It is a big week for {…}
The summer season continues in Europe with the Rossini Opera Festival finally getting underway. While this year the festival will be performed in a reduced edition, there will be opera productions including “La Cambiale di Matrimonio,” a rarely performed one-act comic opera that is set to inaugurate the highly anticipated event. For the production, the festival has lined up a {…}
(Credit: Ruth Waltz) The Salzburg Festival is set to open this week in a reduced edition with various concerts and two new operas including R.Strauss’ “Elektra.” The new production will be headlined by an all-star cast that includes rising star Asmik Grigorian in the role of Chrysothemis. The new production will mark the soprano’s third appearance at the festival following {…}