Asmik Grigorian, Anna Netrebko, Brian Jagde, Saioa Hernández, Ermonela Jaho, Lisette Oropesa, Jakub Józef Orliński & Nadine Sierra Lead Teatro Real de Madrid’s 2025-26 Season

The Teatro Real de Madrid has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera The season opens with Verdi’s “Otello,” starring Brian Jadge, Jorge de León, and Angelo Villari in the title role. The cast includes Igor Golovatenko, Artur Ruciński, Gabriele Viviani, Airam Hernández, Asmik Grigorian, and Maria Agresta. Nicola Luisotti and Giuseppe Mentuccia conduct the production by David Alden. Performance Dates: Sept. {…}

Apr 2, 2025

Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Sabine Devieilhe, Piotr Beczała, Nicole Car, Saioa Hernández, Freddie De Tommaso, Thomas Hampson, Pretty Yende & Renée Fleming Lead Opéra National de Paris 2025-26 Season

The Opéra National de Paris has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with Puccini’s “La Bohème,” featuring Nicole Car, Yaritza Véliz, Charles Castronovo, Joshua Guerrero, Andrea Carroll, Étienne Dupuis, Xiaomeng Zhang, and Alexandros Stavrakakis. Domingo Hindoyan conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 12-Oct. 14, 2025 Cecilia Molinari leads Handel’s “Ariodante” alongside Luca Tittoto, Jacquelyn Stucker, Sabine Devieilhe, Rupert Charlesworth, Christophe Dumaux, {…}

Mar 27, 2025

Anna Netrebko, Sonya Yoncheva, Magdalena Kožená, Michael Volle, Anja Kampe, Serena Sáenz, Lisette Oropesa & Ludovic Tézier Lead Staatsoper Unter den Linden’s 2025-26 Season

The Staatsoper Berlin has unveiled its 2025-26 season. Premieres Bertrand de Billy conducts Lydia Steier’s new production of Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” The cast includes Pene Pati, Nina Minasyan, Julia Kleiter, Clara Nadeshdin, Roberto Tagliavini, and Ema Nikolovska. A second cast will include Benjamin Bernheim, Regina Koncz, Siobhan Stagg, Clara Nadeshdin, Alex Esposito, and Samantha Hankey. Pierre Dumoussaud conducts. Performance {…}

Feb 26, 2025

Carolina Lopez Moreno, Marina Costa-Jackson, Charles Castronovo, Lawrence Brownlee & Francesca Pia Vitale Lead New National Theatre Tokyo’s 2025-26 Season

The New National Theatre Tokyo has announced its 2025-26 season featuring two new productions and eight revivals with a total of 46 performances. Marina Costa-Jackson leads Puccini’s “La Bohème” with Luciano Ganci, Massimo Cavalletti, Hare Ito, Toshiaki Komada, and Andrea Pellegrini. Paolo Olmi conducts. Performance Dates: Oct. 1-11, 2025 Berg’s “Wozzeck” will get a new production by Richard Jones. Kazushi {…}

Jan 24, 2025

Charles Castronovo Cancels Opening Performance of Munich’s ‘Un Ballo in Maschera’

The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced a cast change for its production of “Un Ballo in Maschera.” The company said that Giorgio Berrugi will sing the role of Riccardo replacing an ill Charles Castronovo. For his part, Castronovo said, “Hi everyone, well I’m really sorry to say that I will not be able to sing the first performance of ‘un ballo {…}

Dec 12, 2024

Opernhaus Zürich 2024-25 Review: Un ballo in maschera

(Photo by : Herwig Prammer) In 1857, when the Teatro San Carlo in Naples commissioned a new opera from Giuseppe Verdi, he selected a libretto by Antonio Somma, inspired by the real-life assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden. The king was shot in 1792 by political opponents during a masked ball at the Stockholm Opera. Somma added a romantic {…}

Dec 3, 2024

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, {…}

Oct 17, 2024

Stage + to Stream Three Vocal Performances

Deutsche Grammophon’s Stage + is set to present three vocal performances in October. First, the Georg Solti Accademia will present a star-studded gala at the Hungarian State Opera and will feature Aigul Akhmetshina, Freddie De Tommaso, Hera Hyesang Park, and Paul Grant, all alumni of the Georg Solti Accademia’s Bel Canto Course for Singers. This is the first time these four {…}

Oct 9, 2024

Daniel Harding & Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia to Open Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra

(Credit: ©Musa) The XXIII Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra is set to open with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia on Oct. 23, 2024. The concert will be conducted by Daniel Harding at the Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura. Harding will conduct Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem” with soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Yulia Matochkina, Charles Castronovo, and {…}

Oct 7, 2024

Palau de Les Arts 2024-25 Review: Manon

(Photo: Arts Fotografía) Palau de Les Arts opened the season with Massenet’s “Manon,” in a production from the Paris Opera, and two international stars in the main roles: Lisette Oropesa and Charles Castronovo. Vincent Huguet directed the Paris Opera production. He set the action in Paris around 1920, in the Charleston era, and introduced the revolutionary artist Josephine Baker (who {…}

Sep 17, 2024

CD Review: Charles Castronovo’s ‘Noble Renegades’

Met audiences will cheerfully remember last season’s run of “Un Ballo in Maschera” when Charles Castronovo’s signature chiaroscuro repeatedly proved the very backbone of his vocal physiognomy. “Noble Renegades,” for Delos Productions, purportedly builds on established strengths; but by dwelling mostly on (quasi-)stock characters from Verdi’s early to mid-career, the New York tenor outfits the recording’s 19 tracks with {…}

charles castronovo