Opéra Royal Château de Versailles celebrated their 2025-26 season opening with Händel’s “Theodora” in the Chapelle Royale to a sold out crowd of locals and internationals. The Chapelle Royale was completed in 1710 under the reign of King Louis XIV. It was the last chapel built at Château de Versailles and features Gothic architecture with dramatic illustrated narratives in honor {…}
(Photo: © Monika Rittershaus) “Don Giovanni” is an opera of seductions and escapes, moral wreckage and divine retribution, a shimmering mosaic of comedy, tragedy, farce, and existential dread. Yet “the mother of all operas” is also a uniquely treacherous work—at once alluring and intractable, irresistibly open yet elusive. Music’s sublimity rarely fails to connect with audiences, even in a less-than-stellar {…}
(Photo credit: Faymous) From the title role in “Carmen,” one of the most coveted mezzo roles, to Dorabella in “Cosi fan tutte,” a traditional soprano role, mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey sings it all. In her interview with OperaWire, Hankey discussed her nonconformist approach to repertoire and the technique behind her success. Hankey will be singing the role of Donna Elvira in {…}
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has announced the 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Orchestra Daniela Candillari conducts Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater” with Giulia Semenzato and Jennifer Johnson Cano. The program includes Jennifer Gunn as a soloist and music by Simon, Barber, and Musgrave. Performance Dates: Oct. 3 & 4, 2025 Manfred Honeck conducts Mozart’s “Requiem” with Jeanine {…}
The Boston Baroque has announced its 2024-25 season. Haydn’s “Die Schöpfung” is set to start Hera Hyesang Park, Paul Appleby, and Nicholas Newton. Performance Dates: Oct. 4 & 5, 2024 Handel’s “Messiah” will include Maya Kherani, Avery Amereau, Omar Najmi, and Jesse Blumberg, Performance Dates: Dec 7 & 8, 2024 Erin Morley performs a program of Beethoven and Mozart. Performance {…}
The Boston Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the vocal performance. Andris Nelsons conducts the opening night concert with Lang Lang and Gina Alice Redlinger as well as Susan Graham and Keila Wakao. The program includes music by Carlos Simon, Ravel, Canteloube, Saint-Saens, and Ravel. Performance Date: Sept. 19, 2024 Andris Nelsons conducts Mahler’s {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Tobias Krazter directs a new production of Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” with Nicholas Brownlee, Milan Siljanov, Sean Panikkar, Markus Brück, Matthias Klink, Matthew Rose, Timo Riihonen, Ekaterina Gubanova, Mirjam Mesak, and Wiebke Lehmkuhl. Vladimir Jurowski conducts. Performance Dates: Oct. 27, 2024-July 31, 2025 Damiano Michieletto directs Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” with {…}
Kansas City Symphony has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a rundown of the classical vocal performances on offer. There will be performances of Mozart’s Requiem featuring Liv Redpath, Avery Amereau, Andrew Haji, and Neal Davies. Bernard Labadie conducts the showcase, which also includes Schubert’s Fifth Symphony on the program. Performance Dates: Nov. 1 – 3, 2024 Matthias Pintscher conducts works {…}
The Tanglewood Festival has announced a cast change for the July 29 performance. The festival said that “mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard has had to withdraw from this Saturday’s performance of Berlioz’s ‘Les Nuits d’été’ due to illness.” As a result, American contralto Avery Amereau will make her BSO debut and will perform the Berlioz in her place. The remainder of the {…}
The Auditori in Barcelona has announced its 2022-23 season. Here are vocal highlights for the season. Audrey and Ludovic Morlot join forces for Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. Performance Date: Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2022 Sarah Connolly and Ludovic Morlot perform a program of music by Mahler, Dvorak and Rio-Pareja, and Rachmaninoff. Performance Dates: Oct. 15 & 16, 2022 Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano {…}
(Photo: Catherine Ashmore) Such has been the success of Margret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” that, since its publication in 1985, it now finds itself positioned alongside other major 20th century dystopian novels, drawing comparisons with Orwell’s “1984” and Huxley’s “Brave New World.” Like them, it has entered the cultural mainstream, spawning plays, films, a ballet, a major television series, {…}