Dr. Fiona McAndrew has been named the Head of Vocal Studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD). Dr. McAndrew is a performer, academic, counsellor, voice teacher, and coach. She takes over for Mary King, who is stepping down from the role, but will continue to work with the institution on specific projects. “I am thrilled to {…}
Marin Symphony has announced that Fawzi Haimor will be its new music director. Haimor, who was music director of Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, commences his tenure during the 2025-26 season and will perform 21 concerts, including nine programs between October 2025 and May 2026. “It’s an incredible honor to join the Marin Symphony as its next Music Director,” Haimor, who has {…}
The Gran Teatre del Liceu has named Jonathan Nott its new Music Director. Nott will begin his artistic chapter with the company from 2026-27. In a statement, the conductor said, “This appointment is a great privilege and truly an honor for me. Since childhood, I have been deeply connected to the world of singing and opera, and whenever I have {…}
(Photo Credit: Brescia e Amisano ©) This “Siegfried”… a popular musical in myth? Given the audience’s warmly animated reactions, as one witnessed upon attending various performances of its run, it would appear so. The lively, evocative melodic themes in this, the third of four operas of “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” are sustained by all the symbolic ingredients of a fairy {…}
The Opéra de Tours has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera Charles Mesrine, Anaïs Merlin, Mathilde Ortscheidt, Maxime Le Gall, and Camille Brault star in Herve’s “Le Petit Faust.” Performance Dates: Nov. 16 & 18, 2025 Offenhbach’s “Orphee aux Enfers” will star Matthieu Justine, Manon Lamaison, Jérôme Boutillier, Adriana Bignagni-Lesca, Rodolphe Briand, Mathias Vidal, Marie Kalinine, and Anaïs Constans. Marc Leroy-Calatayud {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week, audiences get to hear solo recitals from some of the top artists and a choral resistance album for Pride. We are Here Parma Recordings releases “CORO ALLEGRO: WE ARE HERE” a choral album that amplifies voices of resistance, resilience, and remembrance. {…}
(Photo: Stefan Gloede) The three-act opera “Orlando generoso” by Agostino Steffani, conducted by Dorothee Oberlinger and performed by Ensemble 1700 with an outstanding cast, shone as one of the highlights of the 2025 Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci. Premiered in 1691 in Hanover, the opera adapts a segment of Ludovico Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso.” It is set in a fantasy version of China, {…}
Italian Politicians are divided over Valery Gergiev’s return to conducting in Italy. The concert, which is set to be held on July 27 at the Reggia di Caserta, has been met with criticism and support because the festival in which Gergiev is performing is being bankrolled by the European Union. According to The New York Times, its funding flows, via {…}
Opera Philadelphia is set to open its 2025-2026 Season with “Vox Ex Machina,” a 50th Anniversary celebration on Sept. 13, 2025. The anniversary concert will feature opera stars mezzo Stephanie Blythe, soprano Nicole Heaston, baritone Will Liverman, mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, and the General Director himself, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. In a unique synesthetic experience, each singer’s aria will become a {…}
Pretty Yende represented opera at Sofia Coppola’s Le Bal d’Été at the Palais du Louvre’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs. The soprano wore a Dior gown created for her and was one of the two performers of the evening. Yende took to social media and posted pictures of her alongside Sofia Coppola and other celebrities. The evening, which was held on {…}
On July 6, 2025, Helena Tattermuschová died at the age of 92. Born on Jan. 28, 1933, in the Libeň district of Prague, she received her earliest vocal training from her school choirmaster, Václav Matoušek. She went on to study vocal performance with Vlasta Linhartová at the Academy of Music in Prague from 1948 to 1953 and also studied at {…}