The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, under conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson will head back on tour this summer. The ensemble will present Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at concert halls across Europe with amendments to reflect the geopolitical moment. “The decision to sing Schiller’s great text for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Ukrainian was an important artistic and wider cultural statement for us,” Wilson said in {…}
Opera Hong Kong is set to present Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” this May. The production, which opens on May 10 and runs through the 12th for a total of three showcases, will take the stage of the Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Produced by Warren Mok, it will be directed by Arnaud Bernard and conducted by Roberto Gianola. The {…}
Chicago Opera Theater has unveiled its 2024-25 season. The season opens with Ferdinando Paër, Giuseppe Maria Foppa, and Giacomo Cinti’s “Leonora.” The opera, which premiered in 1804, will get its North American premiere and tells another version of the same story that Beethoven adapted for his famed “Fidelio.” The work stars Edgardo Rocha, Vanessa Becerra, Ian Koziara, Kameron Alston, Keely {…}
The Grand Théâtre de Genève has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” opens the season with Gwyn Hughes Jones, Burkhard Fritz, and Elisabet Strid in the title roles. Marc Albrecht conducts the production by Michael Thalheimer. The cast will also include Tareq Nazmi, Kristina Stanek, Craig Colclough, and Julien Henric. Performance Dates: Sept. 15-27, 2024 Tomáš Netopil {…}
Saioa Hernández has announced her solo debut album, “Il Verismo d’Oro.” The new record will be released on May 31 by San Francisco Classical Recording Company and EuroArts and will feature works by Mascagni, Cilea, Alfano, Giordano, Puccini, Zadonai, and Catalani. The soprano took to social media and said, “I am really excited to finally reveal to all of you {…}
(Credit: Camilla Greenwell) At the very opening of Damiano Michieletto’s new production of “Carmen,” I was struck by a very vivid sense of déjà vu! Before the curtain rises, a very sombre, spectral lady enters the stage, dressed in black with lace mantilla. For a brief instant, I thought I was back, four days PREVIOUSLY in the same house, where {…}
Boston Lyric Opera has announced its 204-25 season. The season opens with James Darrah’s production of “Mitridate.” The opera stars Lawrence Brownlee, Brenda Rae, John Holiday, Vanessa Goikoetxea, Angela Yam, Alexis Peart, and Charles Sy. David Angus conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 13 & 15, 2024 Michelle Johnson stars in “Aida,” alongside Diego Torre, Alice Chung, Brian Major, Stefan Egerstrom, Morris Robinson, {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the season. Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” will open the season with a cast that includes Luca Micheletti, Ying Fang, Huw Montague Rendall, Jacquelyn Stucker, and Ginger Costa-Jackson. Performance Dates: Sept. 2-15, 2024 Verdi’s “La Traviata” will feature two casts. The first cast will be headlined {…}
The Deutsche Oper am Rhein has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Verdi’s “Nabucco” will be directed by Ilaria Lanzino. Vitali Alekseenok and Katharina Müllner conduct a cast that includes Alexey Zelenkov, Eduardo Aladrén, Jussi Myllys, Liang Li, Svetlana Kasyan, and Marigona Qerkezi. Performance Dates: Sept. 15-Dec. 25, 2024 Christoph Stöcker and Katharina Müllner conduct Jerry Bock, Joseph Stein, and Sheldon Harnick’s {…}
Kammerakademie Potsdam has announced its next Artistic Director. The company revealed that François Leleux will take over the position starting before the 2025-26 season. He takes over for Antonello Manacorda. Leleux is an official oboist and conductor who has worked with such organizations as the Camerata Salzburg, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester, {…}
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is set to present “Songs and Snow,” an evening of music by George Crumb and Tan Dun. The evening, which is set to be held on May 7 at Alice Tully Hall, will star soprano Dawn Upshaw in Crumb’s “Winds of Destiny” from his American Songbook IV. The evening will also feature Tan Dun’s {…}