This week the Teatro alla Scala opens its 2024-25 season with “La Forza del Destino.” The Dec. 7 opening is considered one of the most important evenings in opera as the opera will be streamed and broadcast live around the world and will feature some of the most important opera stars currently performing. It will also include a rising star, {…}
(Credit: Brescia – Amisano © Teatro alla Scala) The “Prima della Scala” is more than just an opera performance; it’s a quintessential Italian event that intertwines art, history, and tradition, captivating global audiences every December 7th. This year, Teatro alla Scala inaugurates its 2024/2025 season with Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino.” Here are five essential insights to help you fully {…}
This week La Monnaie/De Mont is set to open the world premiere of Fanny and Alexander. The work is based on Oscar-winning film “Fanny och Alexander” from 1982. The work will include a commanding cast of 16 soloists many of them veterans and some newcomers. Among them are Anne Sofie von Otter. Over the years, Von Otter has evolved her {…}
On Nov. 20, the Teatro San Carlo is set to open its 2024-25 season with a new production of “Rusalka.” The company has assembled an all-star cast including Asmik Grigorian and Adam Smith, among many other notable names. But the evening is even more special as Georgian Mezzo superstar Anita Rachvelishvili will make a return to the opera stage. After {…}
(Credit: Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera) “After 18 years running the Met, and a lifetime of experience in classical music and opera, it’s clear to me that the solution to sustaining opera is through artistic reinvention, both with new operas by living composers, and reimagined productions of classics that can resonate with audiences of today.” So writes Met Opera General {…}
(Photo Credit: Bielefeld Marketing GmbH) In the northwest of Germany lies one of the most important venues for operatic history past and present. Situated in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region of North Rhine-Westphalia, the city of Bielefeld boasts a funny conspiracy theory that the city, in fact, does not exist at all. However, the city does exist, and its cultural history is {…}
(Photo Credit: San Francisco Opera) On November 1, at 8 p.m. (PDT), the new film, “Eun Sun Kim: A Journey Into Lohengrin,” was broadcast for the first time, although being available for viewing already. Featuring the Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim and her labors around the preparation of San Francisco Opera’s 2023 production of Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” the behind-the-scenes film is {…}
(Credit: Ludwig Olah/Semperoper Dresden) This week the Berlin State Opera is set to open its production of Strauss’ epic opera “Die Frau Ohne Schatten.” The work is rarely performed because of the immense cast and orchestra it requires so it is always a special work to hear it when it is presented. With this revival, the Berlin State Opera has {…}
This week the Wexford Festival Opera is set to open a production of Mascagni’s “Le Maschere,” which has long been rarely performed since it premiered. The opera will showcase a young cast of rising stars, including tenor Andrew Morstein who will sing Florindo. Winner of the “Best Male Newcomer” at the Österreichischer MusikTheater Preis Awards in Vienna, Morstein is a {…}
