The Bregenz Festival in Austria has canceled its production of Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri.” The new production by Brigitte Fassbaender, was set to open on August 16 but was canceled after a member of the ensemble received a positive COVID test. The production was scheduled to be performed four times through August 21. According to early reports, the person who {…}
(Credit: Manfred Klimek) The Grafenegg Festival was forced to reshape its opening night performance of Verdi’s “Requiem” after one member of the chorus tested positive for COVID-19 despite full vaccination. “As one of the singers of the Wiener Singverein was infected with the Corona virus before the rehearsals in Grafenegg, despite two vaccinations and a strict prevention concept, today’s concert {…}
(Credit: Markus Gårder) The Drottningholms Slottsteater in Sweden was forced to cancel the premiere of Georg Friedrich Händel’s opera “Agrippina” due to COVID-19. On August 7, 2021, the theater’s General Manager Anna Karinsdotter alongside director Staffan Valdemar Holm informed the audience that one of the singers in the production tested positive for the virus and as result, the theater was {…}
(Credit: James Hole) The Festival Castell de Peralada has announced the postponement of Lise Davidsen’s recital. The festival announced that Davidsen will not be able to perform on July 31 due to Span’s new COVID-19 protocols which force the soprano to quarantine for five days. Davidsen is currently performing at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany and therefore will not be {…}
The Verbier Festival has announced programming changes following a COVID-19 outbreak among members of the Festival Orchestra. In a press release, the Festival noted that it was forced to cancel all Verbier Festival Orchestra concerts and replace it with the Verbier Chamber Orchestra. “The positive COVID-19 cases were immediately identified and contained to the VFO, with a period of isolation {…}
Ekaterina Semenchuk has canceled her upcoming performances after testing positive for COVID-19. The mezzo-soprano took to social media to state, “My dear friends, opera and Mariinsky Theatre fans, and just kind and caring people! I am writing from my page as soon as the strength and opportunity appeared to inform you that I am alive, but at the moment I am {…}
The New Zealand Opera canceled its run of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” performances in Wellington due to COVID-19. In a statement, the company said that the “Government has now announced that there will be an Alert Level change to Level 2 in Wellington from June 22 through at least June 27. It is therefore with huge disappointment that we {…}
(Photo Credit: © Peter Hundert | NDR) The Berlin Philharmonic has announced that conductor Alan Gilbert has canceled the concert on June 5, 2021 due to COVID-19. As a result, Sakari Oramo will take over the musical direction. The program for the concert includes Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25, and Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. {…}
The Teatro alla Scala has postponed its stream and performance of Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri” due to COVID-19. The company announced that on May 23 an artist involved in the production tested positive for COVID-19. The performance, slated for May 25, was set to be streamed on the company’s YouTube page and performed for live audiences. As a result, ticket {…}
(Credit: Staatsoper Hamburg official website) The Staatsoper Hamburg has announced the cooperation with the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf in a new project of social and medical COVID-19 patient rehabilitation. Opera singers from the Staatsoper Hamburg will help COVID-19 patients in digital coaching sessions to train the respiratory muscles which have been weakened by the infection, and will utilize breathing exercises to rebuild {…}
(Credit: Wolfgang Runkel) (UPDATE: While the following theaters are not performing for live audiences, they are streaming live concerts from various platforms. For more information, check out our streaming section of OperaWire.com) The Oper Frankfurt and Staatsoper Stuttgart have announced that they will extend the closure until at least June 2021 due to the worsening epidemiological situation in Germany. Meanwhile, {…}