(Credit: Monika Rittershaus) Two new productions of “Norma” collided in a strange surfeit of Bellini in Vienna in February and March. What an interesting opportunity to get to grips with the Gauls twice in a row, a case of “Buy one ‘Norma’, get one free!” First up was the Theater an der Wien, in a staging by Vasily Barkhatov and {…}
The Vancouver Opera is set to close its 2024-25 season with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” The company is set to star sopranos Yasko Sato and Karen Chia-Ling Ho in the title role and Robert Watson and Adam Luther as Pinkerton. They will be joined by Japanese mezzo-soprano Nozomi Kato as Suzuki, Canadian baritone Brett Polegato as Sharpless, Korean-American tenor Julius Ahn as {…}
The Met Opera has announced the winners of the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. This year the five winners were sopranos Alissa Goretsky and Emma Marhefka, mezzo-sopranos Sadie Cheslak and Michelle Mariposa, and baritone Luke Sutliff. Each winner received a $20,000 cash prize and the prestige, exposure, and networking opportunities that come with winning a renowned competition {…}
Opera on Tap is teaming up with Chabot Space & Science Center to present “Xixoxa’s Spaceship.” The opera by Victoria Young is set 500 years in the future and tells the story of the titular Earthborn woman who, after losing her family, boards the Nebula X-3, which finds itself on a doomed mission at the center of the Milky Way {…}
San Diego Opera has announced that Adam Cioffari will be its new Artistic Administrator. In his new role, Cioffari will team up with the artistic and production teams to work on new programming for the company as well as securing new and top-tier talent. “It is a true privilege to join the team at San Diego Opera, a real cultural {…}
Following the upheaval at the Kennedy Center, the Washington National Opera will move forward with the highly-anticipated “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs,” created by Kennedy Center’s first Composer-in-Residence Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell. The Grammy Award®-winning opera follows the life of Steve Jobs and his quest for inner peace. The production will feature baritones John Moore and Jonathan Patton {…}
Oregon’s Eugene Symphony has announced that Alex Prior will be the New Music Director beginning during the 2025-26 season. Prior will bring over 19 years of international and critically acclaimed experience to his appointment and his tenure with the Eugene Symphony will begin in fall, 2025. Prior studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and was appointed by the Seattle Symphony {…}
The Cleveland Orchestra announced the addition of new events to the 2025 Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival. Highlights of the third installment of the Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival include three concert performances of “Jenůfa” with Latonia Moore, Pavol Breslik, Miles Mykkanen, and Nina Stemma cast, and “Vox Humana,” a program of music by Bach, Poulenc, {…}
The Classical Music Series 2025-2026 at JW3 has been announced. This season there will be one vocal performance. Here is a look. Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston will sing alongside the sensitive archlutenist Segio Buchell and viola da gamba and cello player Jonathan Manson. The youthful trio will play a concert of early music including a complete Händel Cantata and works by {…}
Festival Pulsations releases its 2025 programming. Opening the festival is “Les Indes Galantes – De la voix des âmes,” an fusion of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s baroque opera and of hip-hop and krump. Laurène Paternò, Mathias Vidal, Ana Quitans, and Andreas Wolf, along with Rualité Structure, the Namur Chamber Choir, and Cappella Mediterranea perform under the baton of Leonardo García-Alarcón. Bintou Dembélé {…}
Sarasota Opera will celebrate its apprentice and studio artists in the “Salute the Stars” event on March 25. This year’s class of apprentice and studio artists will be presented with awards by Sarasota and Manatee Opera Guild alumni, among others. Also during the event guests will enjoy a gourmet lunch and performances by the awardees. Sarasota Opera’s winter 2025 apprentice {…}