(Photo: Arena di Verona) There are few operas more congenial to the Arena di Verona than Verdi’s “Nabucco.” Its massed choruses, martial confrontations, religious fervor and rhetoric of tyranny and liberation seem almost purpose-built for the world’s most imposing open-air amphitheater. Yet the Arena’s colossal scale presents an equally formidable challenge: what magnifies spectacle can just as readily obliterate intimacy, {…}
(Photo: Arena di Verona) There are few operatic spectacles more perfectly suited to the Arena di Verona than Franco Zeffirelli’s “Turandot.” Puccini’s final opera demanded, almost from its inception, something larger than life: an imperial court, a condemned prince, a populace intoxicated by bloodlust, an icy princess elevated to quasi-divine status and, above all, the theatrical machinery of fairy tale. {…}
(Credit: Arena di Verona) Oddly enough, the Arena di Verona was offering two different productions of “Aida” this summer: Franco Zeffirelli’s and Stefano Poda’s. Judging from Poda’s staging of “Nabucco” the previous evening, I was glad to have found myself at Zeffirelli’s classic production, which I had first seen in 2018. True, Zeffirelli had positively buried Verdi’s opera beneath gold. Yet, {…}
The Staatsoper Hamburg has announced its 2026-27 season. Premieres Tomáš Hanus and Daniele Squeo lead Verdi’s “Macbeth” in a production by Tobias Kratzer. The cast includes Kartal Karagedik, Simon Keenlyside, Alexander Vinogradov, Aleksei Kulagin, Nino Machaidze, and Dovlet Nurgeldiyev. Performance Dates: Sept. 12-Oct. 20, 2026 Tohar Gil conducts Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” in a new production by Nils Voges. Aebh {…}
On March 5, the Wiener Staatsoper is set to stream Verdi’s “Nabucco” in a revival of Günter Krämer’s production. The opera will be conducted by Marco Armiliato and will star Anna Netrebko as Abigaille. She will be accompanied by Amartuvshin Enkhbat in his acclaimed interpretation of the title role, Ivan Magrì as Ismaele, Alexander Vinogradov as Zaccaria, and Szilvia Vörös {…}
(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, {…}
The Arena di Verona has announced its 2026 season. The season will open with a new production of Verdi’s “La Traviata.” Michele Spotti and Francesco Ivan Ciampa conduct the new production starring Martina Russomanno, Gilda Fiume and Rosa Feola. The casts also include Yusif Eyvazov, Galeano Salas, Francesco Meli, René Barbera, Adam Smith, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, Mihai Damian, Youngjun Park, Ludovic {…}
The Wiener Staatsoper has announced opera that will stream on its platform. The first stream will be Janacek’s “Vec Makropulos” with a cast that includes Marlis Petersen, Pavel Černoch, Lukas Schmidt, Alma Neuhaus, Bo Skovhus, Carlos Osuna, and Wolfgang Bankl. Tomáš Hanus conducts. Streaming Date: Dec. 6, 2025 Franz Welser-Möst conducts Beethoven’s “Fidelio” with Malin Byström, David Butt Philip, Christopher {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl / Met Opera) The last time the Metropolitan Opera presented a new production of Bellini’s “La Sonnambula” was in 2009, when Mary Zimmerman set the opera in a modern rehearsal room. It was a divisive production that ultimately made no sense and deviated completely from the original story. Now in 2025, the Metropolitan Opera is seeking to correct {…}
(Credit: Ludwig Olah / Semperoper Dresden) The Metropolitan Opera is set to present a new production of Bellini’s “La Sonnambula.” The new production is set to open on Oct. 6 and will star soprano Nadine Sierra in the role of Amina alongside Xabier Anduaga as Elvino. They will be joined by Sydney Mancasola as Lisa and bass Alexander Vinogradov as Rodolfo. {…}
(Credit: Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera) For the second time this season, the Metropolitan Opera is reviving “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.” Unlike the first cast, which was showcasing several established Met Opera veterans, this second cast featured rising stars. In many ways, this second revival exemplified the Met’s future and artists who will most likely become established faces on the {…}
