Can great singing justify the whole opera production? This season director Amélie Niermeyer presented a new production of Verdi’s masterpiece “Otello” at the Bayerische Staatsoper. In this controversial production any heroic as well as historical context was removed. Instead of a story of an exhausted hero, broken under the pressure of doubts and jealousy, we received a story of a {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper will live stream the Dec. 2 performance of Verdi’s “Otello” via its Staatsoper.TV. The free transmission will kick off at 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. EST and 10 a.m. PST) and is set to feature Jonas Kaufmann in the title role. Anja Harteros will star as Desdemona and Gerald Finley will round out the cast as {…}
Christiane Karg has canceled her appearances in Bayerische Staatsoper’s upcoming new production of Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride.” The company announced that Karg was forced to withdraw from the production because she is pregnant and as a result will not sing the December nor the July run of the opera. As a result, Selene Zanetti will take on the role of {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced its video-on-demand schedule, which will feature a total of seven performances starting in Dec. 2018. The first such performance to stream will be Verdi’s “Otello,” featuring Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Harteros. That performance will be streamed on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018, and will be available on demand Dec. 4 for 24 hours. Smetana’s “The Bartered {…}
It’s a big weekend all around Europe. You can be sure that you will see some incredible opera and this week’s selection feature some repertory staples as well as some rarer works. Salome – Salzburg Festival, Austria Asmik Grigorian sings the title role in Strauss’ classic opera in a new production from Romeo Castellucci. John Daszak, Anna Maria Chiuri, and Gabor Bretz round {…}
Fair warning – you’ll notice that two countries dominate this weekend’s choices and among those, one opera crops up a bit. It’s a weekend with solid offerings all around, but our choices are filled with tremendous star power that was simply too potent to turn away from. Falstaff – Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, UK Verdi’s final masterpiece gets a {…}
“Parsifal. Parsifal.” Real? Dreamed? Which? In the opening of the Bayerische Staatsoper Opernfest 2018, we couldn’t tell. The new production by Pierre Audi and Georg Baselitz, which featured Jonas Kaufmann, René Pape, Christian Gerhahar, Nina Stemme, Wolfgang Koch, and conductor Kirill Petrenko, took us to a world far-beyond the drizzly night outside the doors, and watched a human and sacred {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper will live stream its new production of Wagner’s “Parsifal” on Sunday, July 8, 2018. The production, directed by Pierre Audi, will be led by Music director Kirill Petrenko and star Jonas Kaufmann, Christian Gerhaher, René Pape, Wolfgang Koch, and Nina Stemme. The stream kicks off at 5 p.m. local time. That’s around 12 p.m. EDT and 9 {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced its 2018-19 season and many of today’s greatest stars will be performing in the house. However, there are few singers that will have banner years with the company and will likely make headlines throughout the year. Here five stars OperaWire believes you cannot miss next season. Jonas Kaufmann For Kaufmann fans who have missed him {…}
Bryan Hymel has canceled the full run of “Les Vêpres Siciliennes” at the Bayerische Staatsoper. The tenor announced the news via social next work with the following statement, “It is with heavy heart that I have had to withdraw from the Bayerische Staatsoper’s production of Les Vêpres Siciliennes. This is a role which I love and have lived with for {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper announced two major cast changes for two different productions. The first cast will be seen in “Der Rosenkavalier.” Anna Prohaska will fill in as Sophie joining Angela Brower, Peter Rose, and Adrienne Pieczonka in the final performance of the season. Meanwhile, Leonardo Caimi will replace Bryan Hymel in “Les Vêpres Siciliennes.” Caimi heroically sang the final act backstage {…}