Metropolitan Opera 2026-27 Review: Macbeth

https://operawire.com/metropolitan-opera-2026-27-review-macbeth/

Back in 2007, the Metropolitan Opera premiered Adrian Noble’s take on Verdi’s “Macbeth,” a grim and dark modern day setting, transforming Shakespeare’s dark thriller into a horror story. It was a visually striking and theatrical production on which some of the company’s most renowned and striking performances, especially Lady Macbeth, took center stage. To open its 2026-27 season, the Met {…}

IndieOpera

Spotlight Artists to Present ‘Chernova Kalyna’

https://operawire.com/spotlight-artists-to-present-chernova-kalyna/

Spotlight Artists is set to present the Ukrainian music concert “Chervona Kalyna” on Sept. 20, 2026, at the 2nd Street Cathedral in Manhattan’s East Village. The program, which marks the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, will be headlined by pianist Alexander Chaplinskiy, mezzo-soprano Galina Ivannikova, pianist Yuliya Basis and violinist and composer Andy Didorenko performing as a duet, and violinist {…}

Special Features

A Little Opera Reappraisal, Pt.1: Miguel Jiménez’s ‘Tata Vasco’

https://operawire.com/a-little-opera-reappraisal-pt-1-miguel-jimenezs-tata-vasco/

In this new four-part series, we’ll be taking a look at four significant, and greatly underperformed, operas within opera history from early-mid 20th century but outside America and Central Europe. The normal Opera Film reader may be acquainted with a breadth of opera’s expressive diversity. From Cage’s ‘Europera V’ and Stockhausen’s ‘Dienstag aus Licht’ (1991) to Shirokov’s ‘Marevo’ and Vustin’s {…}

News

San Francisco Opera Orchestra Reaches Tentative Deal with Management Ending Strike

https://operawire.com/san-francisco-opera-orchestra-reaches-tentative-deal-with-management-ending-strike/

The San Francisco Opera Orchestra has ended its strike after reaching a tentative deal for a new contract with management. The deal comes almost a week after beginning a strike that forced the cancellation of opening night and multiple performances through Sept. 20. The San Francisco Chronicle was the first to report the news and Gabe Young, associate principal oboist {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opéra National de Paris 2026-27 Review: Il Barbiere di Siviglia

https://operawire.com/opera-national-de-paris-2026-27-review-il-barbiere-di-siviglia/

(Photo: Paris Opera) Opera lovers who came to Paris this mid-September were able to enjoy the return of Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” this time under the baton of Italian conductor Jader Bignamini. It’s not the first time Damiano Michieletto’s staging of this opera has taken place in the Opera Bastille; indeed, it closed out last season. So, does it {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Royal Ballet & Opera 2026-27 Review: Don Giovanni

https://operawire.com/royal-ballet-opera-2026-27-review-don-giovanni/

(Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic) Technically classified as an opera buffo, or a comic opera, both Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte formally assigned it on the printed score as a dramma giocoso, which translates literally to “drama with jokes” or “joking drama.” Without giving away the entire plot, “Don Giovanni” tells the dramatic tale of an unrepentant, narcissistic nobleman whose {…}

Opera Meets Film, Special Features

Opera Meets Film: Recalling Cinematic Legacies, Pt. 1: Halka

https://operawire.com/opera-meets-film-recalling-cinematic-legacies-pt-1-halka/

Throughout the Opera Meets Film series, we’ve explored a great deal of opera/film relationships. From stage adaptations of films, experimental works, documentaries, controversial stories and plots, and even dialogues on academic research, the opera-film relationship is complex. The very term, opera, can mean many things, from a metaphor to a psychology of struggle. But practically, when opera is used in {…}

Business, News

Patrick Lange Named Music Director of Opera North

https://operawire.com/patrick-lange-named-music-director-of-opera-north/

Patrick Lange has been named Opera North’s next Music Director in summer 2028, succeeding Garry Walker. Over the years Lange has conducted at many leading opera houses worldwide, including the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and the Opéra National de Paris. He first made his debut with Opera North last year conducting “The Magic Flute” and {…}