Lisette Oropesa, Asmik Grigorian, Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau, Cecilia Bartoli & Sabine Devieilhe Lead Salzburg Festival’s 2025 Season

The Salzburg Festival has announced its 2025 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Opera Bas Wiegers conducts Michael Jarrell’s “Kassandra” with actress Dagmar Manzel and the Ensemble Modern. Performance Date: July 23, 2025 Salvatore Sciarrino’s “Macbeth” will be conducted by Vimbayi Kaziboni. Cody Quattlebaum, Alice Rossi, Leonardo Cortellazzi, Iris van Wijnen, and Davide Giangregorio. Performance Date: July 25, {…}

Nov 8, 2024

Elīna Garanča, Cecilia Bartoli & Thomas Blondelle Lead Lucerne Festival’s 2025 Summer Seson

The Lucerne Festival has announced its 2025 summer season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly perform Mahler with Elīna Garanča. Performance Date: August 15, 2025 The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra and Keri-Lynn Wilson perform Strauss and Beethoven. Rachel Willis-Sørensen is the guest soloist. Performance Date: August 18, 2025 Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di {…}

Oct 23, 2024

Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau, Sonya Yoncheva, Rolando Villazón, Jonathan Tetelman & Aigul Akhmetshina Lead Festspielhaus Baden-Baden’s 2025 Season

The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden has announced its 2025 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Camilla Nylund, Andreas Schager, and Pietari Inkinen perform an evening of Wagner, Strauss, Kálmán, Lehar, Performance Dates: Jan. 12, 2025 Zum Rahmenprogramm des Festivals Gianandrea Noseda, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, and Philharmonia Zürich lead an all-Strauss program. Performance Dates: Feb. 22, 2025 Andris Nelsons conducts Mahler’s {…}

Aug 15, 2024

Salzburg Festival 2024 Review: La Clemenza di Tito

(Photo credit: © SF Marco Borrelli) Is it possible to be merciful with fascists? In Robert Carsen’s reading of Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” the answer must be a reverberant “No”—otherwise, the moment one turns their back, they will not miss the opportunity to stab it. Robert Carsen often enjoys updating opera plots, making them reflections of current politics—often achieving {…}

Jun 3, 2024

Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau, Cecilia Bartoli, Elīna Garanča & Michael Spyres Lead Philharmonie Essen’s 2024-25 Season

The Philharmonie Essen has announced its 2024-25 season. Here are the vocal performances of the season. Evelina Liubonko, Sarah Romberger, Thomas Hobbs, and Kresimir Strazanac perform works by Arcangelo Corelli, Francesco Durante, and Georg Friedrich Händel alongside Rias Kammerchor Berlin. Performance Date: Sept. 7, 2024 Graun’s “Adriano in Siria” will star Noah Hellwig, Valer Sabadus, Roberta Mameli, Maayan Licht, David {…}

May 29, 2024

Anna Netrebko, Cecilia Bartoli, Pretty Yende, Jonas Kaufmann, Roberto Alagna & Benjamin Bernheim Lead Opéra de Monte-Carlo’s 2024-25 Season

The Opéra de Monte-Carlo has announced its 2024-25 season. Festival Centenaire Puccini Giacomo Sagripanti conducts Puccini’s “La Rondine“ in Concert. Pretty Yende, Charles Castronovo, Deanna Breiwick, Juan Francisco Gatell, and Roberto de Candia. Performance Date: Oct. 30, 2024 Anna Netrebko, Nino Machaidze, Mariam Battistelli, Yusif Eyvazov, and Florian Sempey lead Puccini’s “La Bohème.” Biagio Pizzuti, Giorgi Manoshvili, and Matteo Peirone {…}

May 23, 2024

Salzburg Whitsun Festival 2024 Review: La Clemenza di Tito

(Credit: Matthias Horn) The Whitsun Festival in Salzburg this year is titled “Tutto Mozart” and is dedicated to the city’s most famous son. The program features only one full opera, “La clemenza di Tito,” written by Mozart in 1791 while he was finishing “The Magic Flute,” making it his final opera. Created to commemorate the coronation of Emperor Leopold II {…}

May 17, 2024

Cecilia Bartoli, Andrè Schuen, Tassis Christoyannis & Barbara Hannigan Lead New CD/DVD Releases

Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get to hear a new “Winterreise” recording, a compilation album, a new song cycle, and a masterwork. Schubert: Winterreise Deutsche Grammophon releases Andrè Schuen and Daniel Heide’s latest album, which completes the recordings of Schubert’s three big song cycles. {…}

Apr 15, 2024

Opéra de Monte-Carlo 2024 Review: Their Master’s Voice

Photo: © OMC-Marco Borrelli On Sunday April 7th, 2024, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo concluded their 2023-2024 season with the world premiere of “Their Master’s Voice,” starring mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli and actor John Malkovich. The show was a coproduction with the annual music festival Le Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, of which this performance was also the closing event. For voice {…}

Mar 26, 2024

Brandon Jovanovich, Elena Stikhina, Anna Bonitatibus & Christian Gerhaher Lead Opernhaus Zürich’s 2024-25 Season

Opernhaus Zürich has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Samuel Penderbayne’s “Wir pfeifen auf den Gurkenkönig” will be conducted by Thomas Barthel and Ann-Katrin Stöcker. Claudia Blersch directs the production which will star Liliana Nikiteanu, Sylwia Salamonska, Irène Friedli, Philipp Mayer, Stanislav Vorobyov, Valeriy Murga, Gary Martin, Martin Zysset, Carl Hieger, Christian Sturm, Indyana Schneider, Céline Akçağ, Sylwia Salamonska, and Rebeca {…}

Mar 22, 2024

Marion Cotillard, Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau, Sonya Yoncheva, Juan Diego Flórez & Sabine Devieilhe Lead Philharmonie de Paris’ 2024-25 Season

The Philharmonie de Paris has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Orchestre de Paris Klaus Mäkelä conducts music by Beethoven, Peteris Vasks, and Tchaikovsky. Lisa Batiashvili is the soloist. Performance Date: Sept. 11, 2024 Stanislav Kochanovsky conducts a program of music by Tchaikovsky, Ravel, and Alexandre Tcherepnine. Golda Schultz stars. Performance Date: Oct. 9, {…}