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Reviews, Stage Reviews

Baltic Opera Festival 2026 Review: Polish Wedding

https://operawire.com/baltic-opera-festival-2026-review-polish-wedding/

(Photo: Krzysztof Mystkowski/ Baltic Opera Festival) Józef Beer’s “Polish Wedding” is one of those works in which history seems almost as dramatic as its plot. Premiered in Zurich in 1937 under the title “Polnische Hochzeit,” the operetta became an immediate international success, was translated into eight languages (but not Polish), and quickly established itself across Europe. Then history intervened. As {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opéra de Paris 2025-26 Review: ‘La Cenerentola’

https://operawire.com/opera-de-paris-2025-26-review-la-cenerentola/

(Photo Credit: Julien Benhamou) “La Cenerentola,” which premiered in Rome in 1817, was famously composed by Gioachino Rossini in record time — legend has it in just three weeks — and remains one of the finest examples of opera buffa in his oeuvre. Alongside its comic situations and eccentric characters, the score contains an undercurrent of melancholy and pathos that {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

National Theatre in Prague 2025-26 Review: Parsifal

https://operawire.com/national-theatre-in-prague-2026-review-parsifal/

(Photo: Serghei Gherciu) A week before Good Friday, the National Theatre in Prague premiered a “Parsifal” that seemed less a ritual of inherited faith than an inquiry into the architecture of knowledge itself. Richard Wagner’s final work–his self-styled Bühnenweihfestspiel of 1882–has always invited metaphysical inflection. In “Parsifal,” Richard Wagner distills a vast philosophical meditation into a deceptively simple narrative: A {…}

Opera Meets Film, Special Features

Opera Meets Film: A 1960s Thriller Born Anew in Stephen Schwartz’s ‘Séance on a Wet Afternoon’

https://operawire.com/opera-meets-film-a-1960s-thriller-born-anew-in-stephen-schwartzs-seance-on-a-wet-afternoon/

(Photo: David Bazemore) Now that 2025 has come and gone, and we are facing a new year of possibilities, it’s best to take a quick review of the stories we’ve explored together in the last years before 2026 really begins. While there has been a good deal of historical articles like the cinematic presence of Maria Callas and Wagner, there’s {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Latvian National Opera 2025-26 Review: Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci

https://operawire.com/latvian-national-opera-2025-26-review-cavalleria-rusticana-pagliacci/

  On February 17, the Latvian National Opera premiered its new production of “Cavalleria rusticana” and “Pagliacci.” The evening stood as a demonstration of the highest artistic level, expressed in every dimension that only opera can so powerfully unite. Two fundamental pillars sustained the success of the enterprise: the formidable musical direction of Mārtiņš Ozoliņš and the extraordinary stage vision {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Teatro Carlo Felice Genova 2025-26 Review: Tristan und Isolde

https://operawire.com/teatro-carlo-felice-genova-2025-26-review-tristan-und-isolde/

(Photo: Marcello-Orselli) “Tristan und Isolde” is a colossal work, not only for its length (five hours, including two 30-minute intermissions), or for the influence of the famous Tristan chord on Western music, but also for the symbolism it represents. Wagner was hugely influenced by Schopenhauer’s philosophy when he wrote this masterpiece, while conducting an affair with Mathilde, the wife of {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Teatro Real de Madrid 2025-26 Review: I Masnadieri

https://operawire.com/teatro-real-de-madrid-2025-26-review-i-masnadieri/

(Credit: Javier del Real | Teatro Real) In recent years, Madrid’s Teatro Real has programmed many “operas in concert.” Sometimes they’re well-known, such as “Orfeo ed Euridice,” “Idomeneo,” or “Die Fledermaus” that I attended at the venerable theatre over the last three seasons. On occasion, they present more obscure works, such as Verdi’s early opera “I masnadieri”(1847). In the past, {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Teatro la Fenice 2025-26 Review: Simon Boccanegra

https://operawire.com/teatro-la-fenice-2025-26-review-simon-boccanegra/

(Credit: Michele Crosera) Genova, Italy’s sixth largest city, where the story of “Simon Boccanegra” unfolds, is rarely featured in opera. Despite its glorious history and stunning monuments, it barely registers with tourists visiting Italy. Many know it as the birthplace of Christopher Columbus (1451‑1506) and as the origin city for the culinary magic of garlic, pine nuts, basil leaves and {…}

Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Q & A: Ana María Martínez on the Oscar Nominated Song ‘Sweet Dreams of Joy’ from ‘Viva Verdi’

https://operawire.com/q-a-ana-maria-martinez-on-the-oscar-nominated-song-sweet-dreams-of-joy-from-viva-verdi/

(Credit: Ashkan Roayaee) In early January, “Sweet Dreams of Joy,” the song in the documentary “Viva Verdi,” was shortlisted in the 15 finalists. However, no one gave it a chance as the field included such stars as Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran, Billy Idol, Stephen Schwartz and Nine Inch Nails. But on Jan. 22, 2026, when the Academy announced the nominees {…}