(Photo: Ashley Taylor) Richard Strauss’s one-act opera “Elektra” (1909), with a searing libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, stands as a monumental achievement in 20th-century music drama. A radical adaptation of Sophocles’ tragedy, it plunges the listener into the tormented psyche of Elektra, obsessed with avenging her father Agamemnon’s murder by her mother, Klytämnestra, with the help of her lover Aegisth. {…}
(Photo: Camilla Greenwell) Pinching twitching nerves, Czech master Janáček’s angst-ridden “The Makropulos Case” warns of extra life. Lead role Emilia Marty’s present incarnation joins a palimpsest: Eugenia Montez, Ellian MacGregor, Ekaterina Myshkin, Else Müller and the titular Elina Makropulos. A magical elixir has sustained her for three centuries. Strife drives the aria-void work. Through strings unhinged, alarming accidentals and duplicitous {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week, audiences will be able to listen to the world premiere of a new work, a DVD of Weinberg’s opera from Salzburg, and a rarely performed opera by Giacomelli. Adoration Bright Shiny Things releases “Adoration,” the world premiere live recording of an {…}
(Photo: Ruth Walz) Like other fairytales, Richard Strauss’ opera, “Die Frau ohne Shatten,” with its cast of human and supernatural beings, otherworldly locations and a magical plot, makes use of symbols and metaphor to carry deeper messages and thus opens itself up to a wide range of interpretations. Katie Mitchell, the director for Dutch National Opera’s recent production, certainly took {…}
The Royal Ballet and Opera has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with Puccini’s “Tosca” in a new production by Oliver Mears. Anna Netrebko and Aleksandra Kurzak share the title role. Freddie De Tommaso and Gerald Finley also star. Performance Dates: Sept. 11-Oct. 7, 2025 Speranza Scappucci conducts Verdi’s “I vespri siciliani” in a revival of Stefan Herheim’s production. Marina {…}
The Dutch National Opera is set to present a new production of “Die Frau ohne Schatten.” The opera will be presented in a new production by Katie Mitchell and will be conducted by Marc Albrecht. In Mitchell’s production, she critically dissects the opera’s conservative ideals in her own fashion. The opera will star soprano Aušrinė Stundytė as the Dyer’s Wife, {…}
The Dresdner Philharmonie has announced its 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Gunter Berger conducts the Children’s Choir with Malte Arkona moderating. Performance Date: Sept. 28, 2025 Hans-Christoph Rademann conducts Bach’s Mass in B Minor with Christina Landshamer, Marie Henriette Reinhold, Patrick Grahl, and Matthias Winckhler. Performance Date: Oct. 3, 2025 The music of Astor Piazzolla, {…}
The Staatsoper Hamburg has announced its 2025-26 season. Premieres Robert Schumann’s “Das Paradies und die Peri” will be directed by Tobias Kratzer and conducted by Omer Meir Wellber and Felix Hornbachner. The work will star Vera-Lotte Boecker, Eliza Boom, Kady Evanyshyn, Kai Kluge, Annika Schlicht, Xavier Sabata, Eric Lunga Hallam, and Christoph Pohl. Performance Dates: Sept. 27-Nov. 1, 2025 Glinka’s “Ruslan und Ljudmila” will be {…}
The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France has announced a cast change for its concert of Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” on Nov. 29, 2024. The orchestra said that Aušrinė Stundytė will sing the role of Judith, replacing Asmik Grigorian. Stundytė is a dramatic soprano who has performed at the Salzburg Festival, Royal Opera House, Wiener Staatsoper, and Festival Aix-En-Provence. This season, she {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences get to hear a recital from the world’s most famous tenor and one of the great sopranos in the world. There will also be a new solo recital album from a great mezzo and several complete opera recordings. Czech Songs {…}
The Berlin Philharmonic has announced a cast change for its performance of “Erwartung.” The orchestra said, “for personal reasons, soprano Tamara Wilson has regrettably been obliged to cancel her participation in the concerts on 18, 19 and 20 April under the direction of Eun Sun Kim. Ausrine Stundyte will take over the soprane role in Arnold Schoenberg’s monodrama ‘Erwartung.’” The {…}
