Chelsea Lehnea, Anna Bonitatibus, Jeanine De Bique, Stéphane Degout, Samuel Hasselhorn & Lea Desandre Lead Opéra de Rouen’s 2025-26 Season

The Opéra de Rouen Normandie has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera Chelsea Lehnea, Leonardo Sanchez, and Anthony Clark Evans lead Verdi’s “La Traviata.” Dayner Tafur-Diaz conducts the production by Jean-François Sivadier. The opera will be livestreamed on Oct. 4, 2025. Performance Dates: Sept. 26-Oct. 7, 2025 Elsa Benoit and Samuel Hasselhorn lead Brahms’ Deutsche Requiem. Laurence Equilbey conducts the production {…}

May 20, 2025

Joyce DiDonato, Corinne Winters, Nahuel Di Pierro, Stéphane Degout & Brenda Rae Lead Grand Théâtre de Genève’s 2025-26 Season

The Grand Théâtre de Genève has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera Mark Elder will conduct a new production of Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” starring Daniel Johansson, Samuel Sakker, Jennifer Davis, Victoria Karkacheva, Franz-Josef Selig, and Stéphane Degout. Tatjana Gürbaca directs. Performance Dates: Sept. 21-Oct. 4, 2025 Debussy’s “Pelléas & Mélisande” will star Björn Bürger, Mari Eriksmoen, Leigh Melrose, Nicolas Testé, Sophie Koch, {…}

May 13, 2025

HamburgMusik 2024-25 Review: Iphigénie en Tauride

(Photo: Daniel Dittus) Composed at the height of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s operatic reform, “Iphigénie en Tauride” distills classical tragedy into a work of striking emotional clarity and structural restraint. Without the conventional Da Capo arias and secco recitatives, Gluck integrates voice and orchestra to convey psychological depth and moral conflict. The opera’s tension between barbarism and humanity is rendered through {…}

Dec 14, 2024

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées 2024-25 Review: Dialogues of the Carmélites

(Photo: © Vincent Pontet) A few moments before the start of the opera, a friend of mine told me that this is the first time Aquarius has been in Pluto’s orbit since 1789. Whether or not that is true, I cannot say; I did not have the willingness to check. Still, it could be a sign from the stars that {…}

Jul 10, 2024

Festival d’Aix en Provence 2024 Review: ‘Iphigénie en Aulide’ & ‘Iphigénie en Tauride’

(Photo credit: Monika Rittershaus) Who’s afraid of double bills? We all love “Cav.” and “Pag.,” and there is some room in everyone’s heart for a “The Human Voice” meets “Bluebeard’s Castle;” nevertheless, Gluck’s Iphigenia operas performed together was a bit of a challenge. The operas, lasting two hours each, are easily stand-alone pieces, and—even though they share a protagonist—they appear {…}

Jul 3, 2024

Ekaterina Semenchuk, Corinne Winters & Dimitri Platanias Lead Greek National Opera’s 2024-25 Season

The Greek National Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. Corinne Winters, Véronique Gens, Tassis Christoyanniszu, Alexandre Duhamel, Dionysios Sourbis, and Stanislas de Barbeyrac star in Gluck’s “Iphigénie en Aulide” & “Iphigénie en Tauride” double bill. Michael Hofstetter conducts the new production by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Performance Dates: Oct. 10-30, 2024 Rachmanioff’s “Aleko” and Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” will be presented in a double {…}

May 7, 2024

Karine Deshayes, Enea Scala, Cristina Pasaroiu & Iván Ayon-Rivas Lead Opéra de Marseille’s 2024-25 Season

The Opéra de Marseille has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera Michele Spotti conducts Bellini’s “Norma” with Anne Delbee directing. Karine Deshayes stars in the title role with Salomé Jicia, Enea Scala, and Patrick Bollei. Performance Dates: Sept. 26-Oct. 3, 2024 Alexandra Marcellier, Eugénie Joneau, Thomas Bettinger, and Marc Scoffoni star in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” Paolo Arrivabeni conducts Emmanuelle Bastet’s production. Performance {…}

Jun 23, 2023

Théâtre des Champs-Elysées 2022-23 Review: La Bohème

(Credit: Vincent Pontet) Making “La Bohème” in Paris is a strenuous task. After Claus Guth’s unpopular sideral production, it became evident that the City of Light’s operagoers are not eager to see overly conceptual approaches to Puccini’s opera. However, no ambitious stage director will merely imitate one of the many Zeffirelli productions. This is why Theatre des Champs-Elysées brought out {…}

May 9, 2023

Jarrett Ott, Amina Edris & Daniel Brenna Lead Opéra de Lille’s 2023-24 Season

The Opéra de Lille has announced its 2023-24 season celebrating its 100th anniversary. Opera Jarrett Ott sings the title role of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni“ alongside James Platt, Emőke Baráth, Eric Ferring, Chiara Skerath, Vladyslav Buialskyi, Sergio Villegas, and Marie Lys. Emmanuelle Haïm conducts the production by Guy Cassiers. Performance Dates: Oct. 5-15, 2023 Daniel Brenna and Annemarie Kremer star in {…}

Jul 3, 2021

Nino Machaidze, Enea Scala & Sophie Koch Lead Opéra de Marseille’s 2021-22 Season

France’s Opera de Marseille has announced its 2021-22 season featuring seven operatic productions. Here is a look: The season will open with Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell” starring Alexandre Duhamel, Enea Scala, and Angélique Boudeville. Michele Spotti conducts the new production by Louis Désiré. Performance Dates: Oct. 12-20, 2021 Nino Machaidze stars in Rossini’s “Armida” alongside Enea Scala, Matteo Roma, Chuan Wang, {…}

Jun 18, 2021

Renée Fleming, Diana Damrau, Angela Gheorghiu, Benjamin Bernheim, Erin Morley, John Osborn Lead Opéra National de Bordeaux’s 2021-22 Season

Opéra National de Bordeaux has announced its rich 2021-22 season. For the purpose of this article we will focus only on vocal performances. Here is the full slate. Opera A semi-staged version of Meyerbeer‘s “Robert Le Diable” opens the season. The opera stars Erin Morley, Nicolas Courjal, Amina Edris, Nicolas Darmanin, Joel Allison, Paco Garcia, and John Osborn in the {…}

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