San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Opera Orchestra, represented by American Federation of Musicians Local 6 have reached a new agreement. The two-year contract, which has a term from August 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026, increases wages and enhances retirement packages during each year of the contract, as well as increasing the collaboration between the orchestra and company in {…}
I have just returned from Mexico City after the Latin American premiere of our opera, “I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams”, which follows the story of two migrants to the United States of America, one of whom is facing deportation. I am proud to have been commissioned by White Snake Projects to compose the piece, working with the {…}
John Irvin’s 2007 film “The Moon and the Stars” is a tale of arduous love, societal stigma, and unyielding dedication to art. The story revolves around the production of a cinematic rendition of Puccini’s fifth opera, “Tosca.” There are two primary narratives that play out in tandem: the arrest of the production’s director, Davide Rieti, a gay Jewish man played by {…}
This week, the Santa Fe Opera is set to open its 2025 season with a production of “La Boheme” featuring a cast of rising stars, including Emma Marhefka, who will make an unexpected company debut. The soprano, who was a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice in 2024, stepped in at the last minute to sing the role of Musetta, a part she {…}
(Credit: Stephan Rabold) This week, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin is set to present Bernard Foccroulle’s “Cassandra” for the first time. The work combines the figures of the ancient prophetess Cassandra and the popular researcher Sandra. The opera premiered in 2023 to rave reviews and now brings back some of the cast that created the work, including Katarina {…}
I. In a city as operatically overdetermined as Berlin, even a new production of Richard Strauss’s “Die Frau ohne Schatten” might be expected to pass with respectable indifference. But when Tobias Kratzer mounted the late-Romantic behemoth this January at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, capping a Strauss trilogy that had begun with “Arabella” and “Intermezzo,” the result was not just another {…}
(Photo Credit: © Forster) The premiere of “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” at the Teatro Real de Madrid became an extraordinary event. Dmitri Tcherniakov offered the audience a new interpretation of the famous opera by Rimsky-Korsakov, transforming it from a fairy-tale into a psychological drama. The director boldly departs from familiar images and, like a surgeon, reveals the hidden meanings {…}
This week, the Royal Opera House will revive Gounod’s “Faust” with a cast of rising stars, including Carolina Lopez Moreno. Moreno will make her Royal Opera House debut and her debut as Marguerite. It is perhaps one of her highest profile assignments to date after the soprano’s whirlwind months, which have seen her make unexpected debuts with the Gran Teatre {…}
(Photo Credit @ Micah Shumake / Detroit Opera) As summer approaches, there are many exciting things on the horizon for the operatic world. While the 2025-2026 season at the Metropolitan Opera has many new names, across the world there are numerous premieres that inspire, one great example being the IN Series’ focus on new works and the Bayerische Staatsoper’s premiere of {…}
