(Credit: Brinkhoff/Mögenburg) The Berlin State Opera is set to revive Bartlett Sher’s production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” The production, which premiered in 2019, will star Christopher Maltman who reprises the title role, Erin Morley as Gilda, and Saimir Pirgu as the Duke of Mantua. Grigory Shkarupa and Marina Prudenskaya round out the cast as Sparafucile and Maddalena. Ivan Repušić conducts. When {…}
(Credit: Achim Graf) The Staatsoper Unter den Linden has announced that mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča will not be appearing in the title role of Camille Saint-Saëns’ opera “Samson et Dalila” for the entire run ending Dec. 19, 2021. The mezzo-soprano already missed the opening night performance on Dec. 5 and was replaced by mezzo-soprano Anna Lapkovskaja. Lapkovskaja will now take over {…}
(Credit: Victor Santiago) The Staatsoper Unter den Linden has announced that the Liederabend with soprano Sonya Yoncheva has been postponed for the 2022-23 season. Yoncheva was slated to sing music by Henri Duparc, Pauline Viardot-García, Ernest Chausson, Gaetano Donizetti, Léo Delibes, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Martucci, Paolo Tosti und Giuseppe Verdi alongside pianist Malcolm Martineau. The soprano is scheduled to return {…}
(Credit: Bolshoi Theatre official website) The Staatsoper Unter den Linden has announced that tenor Yusif Eyvazov will not be appearing in the role of Calaf in Puccini’s “Turandot” for performances between July 1 – 10, 2022. As a result, tenor Murat Karahan will take over the role. Karahan joins a cast that includes Graham Clark, René Pape, Grigory Shkarupa, Olga {…}
(Credit: dpa) The Senate of Berlin has announced new measures in order to stem the exponential spread of new and highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 variants in the capital of Germany. Per the decision, theaters, concert venues, and opera houses will remain closed until April 18, 2021. Thus, the Senate has opted to align its decision with the latest extension of the {…}
Aerialist noun : one who performs feats in the air or above the ground, especially on the trapeze. Does singing “Der Hölle Rache,” the famous Queen of the Night aria, upside down while suspended by yards of silk count as a “feat?” If not, it should because that’s exactly what soprano Rainelle Krause does. Whether in the air or on the {…}
(Credits: Dragana Branković/Katarina Bradić) Known for her deep and diverse vocal versatility and also theatrical prowess, Katarina Bradić swiftly conquered the major European opera stages—Teatro Real, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper unter der Linden, Komische Oper Berlin, Theater Basel, Bolshoi Theater, Theater an der Wien, Den Norske Opera, Opernhaus Zürich, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Bayerische Staatsoper, La Monnaie, De Nationale Opera {…}
(Credit: Opera Australia) Italian bass Ildebrando D’Arcangelo will no longer be performing in the Staatsoper unter der Linden Berlin’s production of “Carmen,” per the official statement on the company’s website. As a result, baritone Lucio Gallo will take over the full run. Gallo will join a cast that includes Michael Fabiano in the role of Don José, Christiane Karg in {…}
(For Performance Dates: Nov. 3 and Nov. 10, 2019) As the third opera of its second annual Baroque festival, the Staatsoper Berlin revived Sasha Waltz’s choreographic production of “Dido and Aeneas.” Though the production dates from 2005, each performance of the current run has sold out well in advance—a rarity in Berlin, where three excellent opera houses compete for audiences {…}
(Credit: Brinkhoff/Mogenburg) Bartlett Sher’s “Rigoletto,” new this year at the Staatsoper Berlin, initially appeared an intriguingly localized production. Though a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, its context and setting were uniquely Berlin. The opera’s action has been relocated to Weimar-era Germany, and the stage was dominated by the paintings of the Berlin-born painter George Grosz. The audience, as they filed {…}
The Berlin State Opera has announced that Daniel Barenboim will continue as Music Director until 2027. Barenboim, who recently celebrated 50 years with the Berlin Philharmonic, joined the Staatsoper in 1992 and has since served as music director. The new contract will be a five-year extension said, Klaus Lederer, Berlin’s state culture minister. According to Lederer the decision was an “overwhelming {…}
