(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 {…}
This week the Bayreuth Festival will open its 2026 season with “Rienzi,” a work that the festival has never performed. For the production, festival has aligned some of the greatest Wagnerians currently singing. Heading the charge will be Andreas Schager, one of the premiere tenors of the repertoire. Schager has performed the role for many years first in June 2011 at {…}
This week the Tiroler Festspiele Erl opens a production of “Der fliegende Holländer” with numerous rising stars including Nian Bezu, who will make her role debut as Senta. Bezu is a rising star who has performed at the Theater Baden, Finnish National Opera, Auditorio de Zaragoza, and Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, among many others. In anticipation for {…}
On June 29, the Royal Opera House will present a new production of “I Puritani,” featuring Lisette Oropesa in her signature role and led by one of the great Bel Canto conductors working today, Riccardo Frizza. The performance will mark Frizza’s debut on the podium of the Royal Opera House, and it comes as he celebrates 25 years since his {…}
This week, the Teatro Verdi Trieste is set to present Strauss’ masterwork “Elektra” with two different casts. The opera is known for its demanding roles especially the title character, requiring a soprano with immense stamina. For this run, the company has brought two of the great interpreters of the role including Diana Lamar. The production in Trieste will mark her {…}
(Credit: Simon van Rompay) This week La Monnaie opened the world premiere of Iain Bell’s new opera “Medusa.” The work explores the human dimension of the Medusa myth, headlined by soprano Claudia Boyle, who showcases Medusa as reborn as a complex and deeply moving woman, alone amid the stone statues of those who, in their thirst for glory, tried to {…}
On May 3, the Bühnen Bern is set to present a new production of Verdi’s rarely performed opera “La Forza del Destino.” The opera will feature several rising stars Mihails Čuļpajevs. Over the past years, the rising star has performed at the Bregenzer Festspiele, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opéra de Lyon, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Finnish National Opera, Ópera Nacional de Chile, Royal {…}
(Credit: © Michele Monasta) This week, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino will perform “The Death of Klinghoffer” for the first time in a high-profile production directed by Luca Guadagnino. The cast will feature many familiar faces, including Marina Comparato, who will return to Florence, continuing a long-standing artistic relationship with the Teatro del Maggio. For this production Comparato will perform the {…}
This week the Metropolitan Opera will revive its iconic production of “La Bohème.” Among the headliners in the cast is soprano Amina Edris as Musetta, making her debut with the company. Over the years, Edris has performed at the Opéra Comique, Staatsoper Berlin, Semperoper in Dresden and at Polish National Opera, among others. OperaWire had a chance to speak with {…}
(Credit: West Bay Opera) This week, the Metropolitan Opera will conclude its run of “Madama Butterfly.” It’s been a noteworthy run with two acclaimed sopranos taking on the title role. But that’s not the end of the story. To close it all out, Toni Marie Palmertree will make her principal role debut at the Met as Cio-Cio San. The role {…}
(Credit: Simon van Rompay) This week, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie Liège is set to perform Liszt’s “Faust Symphonie,” a piece inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s drama, “Faust.” For the tenor role, which appears at the end of the piece, Alexander Marev will take centerstage. The rising star has performed with the Opéra Royal de Wallonie over many years {…}