(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. {…}
This week, the Semperoper Dresden opened a revival of “Turandot,” one of Puccini’s most popular works. However, what made this revival special was the birth of a new interpreter of the title role. Camilla Nylund made her role debut as Turandot, returning to Puccini after singing Tosca to great acclaim. In a statement to OperaWire regarding her role debut as {…}
Following the concert with Aleksandra Kurzak and Roberto Alagna at the Polish National Opera, the company will present three more concerts with great voices. On Feb. 8, 2026, the company will present a concert by Polish baritone Artur Ruciński and South Africa’s star Pretty Yende. That will be followed by a concert featuring Tomasz Konieczny and Camilla Nylund on April {…}
Historically, Wagner stagings have stirred up controversy. They are–to put it bluntly–like a fashion show: seasonally recurrent, fanciful (for better or for worse), and tailored, if you will, to fit just about anything, the blatant as much as the abstruse. New productions, then, warrant a healthy degree of skepticism–especially when, as so often happens, the integrity of the work is {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced its 2026 season. Nathalie Stutzmann conducts “Rienzi” with Andreas Schager, Gabriela Scherer, Jennifer Holloway, Michael Nagy, and Matthias Stier. Magdolna Parditka and Alexandra Szemeredy direct the rarely performed work. Performance Dates: July 26-August 26, 2026 Christian Thielemann will conduct The Ring Cycle, which Marcus Lobbes will curate. Michael Volle, Alexander Grassauer, Klaus Florian Vogt, Anna Kissjudit, Evelin Novak, Christa {…}
Welcome back to another look at the latest CD and DVD releases of the week. This week, audiences will get to hear Jonas Kaufmann’s complete Decca catalog, a new “Tristan und Isolde”, and a Mozart CD. SO SMOOTH, SO SWEET Parma Recording releases a collection of vocal works from Harvard University composer Allen Sapp spanning from his early compositions in {…}
(Photo Credit: Brescia e Amisano ©) This “Siegfried”… a popular musical in myth? Given the audience’s warmly animated reactions, as one witnessed upon attending various performances of its run, it would appear so. The lively, evocative melodic themes in this, the third of four operas of “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” are sustained by all the symbolic ingredients of a fairy {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week, audiences will get a chance to see a new production of the Ring Cycle, a classic recording of a Verdi staple, and two solo albums. Here is a look at this week’s releases. Black Pierrot Lexicon Classics releases “Black Pierrot,” a {…}
The Teatro alla Scala has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” featuring Alexander Roslavets, Sara Jakubiak, Najmiddin Mavlyanov, Alexander Kravets, Valery Gilmanov, Yevgeny Akimov, Jirí Rajniš, Oleg Budaratskiy, Ekaterina Sannikova, Goderedzi Janelidze, Elena Maximova, Natalya Romaniw, Huanhong Li, and Vasyl Solodkyy. Riccardo Chailly conducts the new production by Vasily Barkhatov. Performance Dates: Dec. {…}
(Credit: Deutsche Oper) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced its 2025-26 season. Premieres Detlev Glanert ‘s “Die drei Rätsel” will be conducted by Dominic Limburg and directed by Brigitte Dethier. The production will star Martina Baroni, Philipp Jekal, Chance Jonas-O’Toole, Joel Allison, Padraic Rowan, Maria Vasilevskaya, and Alexandra Oomens. Performance Dates: Oct. 11, 2025-Feb. 15, 2026 Sir Donald Runnicles will {…}
The Staatstheater Hannover has announced its 2025-26 season. Premieres Wagner’s “Lohengrin” will star Shavleg Armasi, Maximilian Schmitt, Viktorija Kaminskaite, Grga Peroš, Ewa Vesin, and Peter Schöne. Stephan Zilias and Mario Hartmuth conduct the new production by Richard Brunel. Performance Dates: Sept. 14-Nov. 30 2025 Bastian Kraft directs a new production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” Matteo Guerzé, Daniel Eggert, Olga Jelínková, {…}