(Credit: Bernd Uhlig) On April 13, the Berlin State Opera kicked off a new production of “Norma” by Vasily Barkhatov. The opera opened the company’s 2025 festival with Rachel Willis-Sørensen making her role debut as Norma. For the American soprano, this new venture into the bel canto repertory represents a departure from the repertoire she is best known for, which {…}
(Picture Credit @Wonge Bergmann) What happens when opera is pushed to the far reaches of the socially acceptable, artistically expected, narratively conventional, and formally structured? You end up with controversial productions, reconstructed variations of well-known stories, and strange configurations of unknown ones. One may remember what happened not so long ago with Stutgart’s “Sancta Susanna” or, longer ago, Adams’ “The {…}
This week, the Staatsoper Hamburg is set to revive its production of “Falstaff” with a starry cast of acclaimed singers including Simon Keenlyside, Danielle De Niese, and Christopher Purves. It also includes rising stars like Olivia Warburton, who is making her role debut as Nannetta. The soprano, who made her Staatsoper Hamburg debut in 2023, has joined the company in {…}
Opera exists throughout the world, from more traditional forms that depart from Westernized forms such as Peking opera, to more blended forms like the Zarzuela. Outside the European framework, opera has taken on an incredibly diverse range of complexions, from the Savoy opera to the Farsa. And while many more categories exist, it cannot be denied that European-styled opera is {…}
The Norwegian Opera is set to present “The Cunning Little Vixen,” a work that is rarely performed by a major company. This season the company will showcase a cast of rising stars including Victoria Randem. Randem is part of the Young Artist Program at Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin, and has performed with the Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne festival, Semper Oper {…}
Released in 2008, Canadian director Kevin Sullivan’s reimagining of “The Magic Flute” in his film, “Magic Flute Diaries,” was a profound statement on the way operatic narratives could be fused into the real world through a cross-relationship of experience, emotion, and feeling. Starring Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin as Masha/Pamina and baritone Olivier Laquerre as Papageno, the film continued the trend {…}
This week the Wiener Staatsoper is set to Present a new production of “Norma” with an all-star cast featuring some of the best Bel Canto singers in the industry. Among them is Federica Lombardi, who will take on the iconic and challenging title role. Over the past years, Lombardi has been a rising star who has performed in many of {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera) It’s that time of the year. I am of course referring to the period when opera fans around the world start checking their calendars as they prepare for what they will be checking out in the upcoming season. Always an event unto itself is the Metropolitan Opera’s new season announcement, always full of interesting storylines, surprises, {…}
This week, the Teatro San Carlo will open a new production of “Roméo et Juliette” with a starry cast including Nadine Sierra and Javier Camarena. The production was first performed at the Bilbao Opera and received rave reviews. Now it is heading to Napoli and its director, Giorgia Guerra will make her Teatro San Carlo debut. In preparation for her {…}
