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 {…}

Sep 18, 2024

Bayreuth Festival 2024 Review: Parsifal

(Photo credit: ©EnricoNawrath) In preparation for the new “Parsifal” at Bayreuth last year, one may have harbored preconceived doubts as to the very idea regarding the use of Augmented Reality eyeglasses. After attending this year’s performances, the doubts lingered; and although this production may not be considered a negative adventure per se, one may not view this experiment as a {…}

Sep 15, 2024

Christine Goerke & Brandon Jovanovich Lead WNO’s ‘Gods & Mortals: A Celebration of Wagner’

(Credit: Arielle Doneson) The Washington National Opera is set to present a staged presentation of Richard Wagner’s music featuring some of today’s leading Wagner singers. The concert scheduled for Oct. 26 will feature Christine Goerke, Brandon Jovanovich, Derek Welton, and Soloman Howard. “Gods & Mortals: A Celebration of Wagner” will be conducted by WNO Music Director Designate Robert Spano and {…}

Jul 23, 2024

Deutsche Oper Berlin 2023-24 Review: Die Walküre

(Credit: Fotos von Bernd Uhlig, Kontakt: [email protected]) Often after watching a perplexing rendition of “Das Rheingold“, critics and public alike might proclaim: “Let’s see what will happen tomorrow night. Let us hold our judgement until then, to see where all of this is going.” And then, Herheim’s “Die Walküre” began, proving to be the worst of the cycle. The First {…}

Jun 11, 2024

Deutsche Oper Berlin 2023-24 Review: Der Ring des Nibelungen

(Photo credit: Bernd Uhlig) The man who gave the opera world its most dazzling 21st century “Parsifal,” Stefan Herheim, continues his quest to interrogate the Romantic text that is Richard Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelungen.” Inspired refreshing of a 150-year-old work of art can provide new insights and flashes of illumination. But conceptual pyrotechnics can just as easily destroy its {…}

Feb 23, 2024

Amanda Majeski, Derek Welton & Marie Perbost 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 several complete recordings will be released, as well as a unique take on Beethoven ‘s Symphony No. 9. Janáček: Katya Kabanova The second release in LSO Live’s cycle of Janáček opera recordings is “Katya Kabanova.” The album’s cast includes the superb {…}

Aug 30, 2023

Bayreuth Festival Announces 2024 Season

The Bayreuth Festival has announced its 2024 season. The festival will open with Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” starring Andreas Schager, Günther Groissböck, Camilla Nylund, Olafur Sigurdarson, Birger Radde, and Ekaterina Gubanova. Semyon Bychkov conducts the production by Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson. Performance Dates: July 25-August 26 2024 Günther Groissböck, Klaus Florian Vogt, Markus Eiche, Olafur Sigurdarson, Jens-Erik Aasbø, and Elisabeth Teige {…}

Feb 22, 2023

Derek Welton Joins TACT International Art Management

(Credit: Simon Pauly) Derek Welton has joined TACT International Art Management for General Management. Welton is described as “mightily imposing” and “noble sounding,” and is a noted interpreter of Wagner’s music. He has performed such roles as Figaro, Il Conte, Don Giovanni, through Pandolfe, Don Pizarro to Orest, Wanderer, and Wotan. He has performed at some of the most prestigious {…}

May 22, 2022

Raquel Lojendio & Javier Franco Highlight Orquesta de Extremadura’s 2022-23 Season

Spain’s Orquesta de Extremadura has announced its 2022-23 season featuring two operatic performances and vocal highlights. Here are just the vocal performances for the season. Wagner’s “Parsifal” will star Christopher Ventris, Allison Cook, Derek Welton, and Noel Bouley. Pablo Heras-Casado conducts. Performance Date: Jan. 26, 2023 Raquel Lojendio and Javier Franco star in Menoitti’s “The Telephone” and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s “Il Segreto di Susana.” Andrés {…}

Apr 23, 2022

Royal Opera House Review 2021-22: Lohengrin

(Photo: Clive Barda) David Alden’s 2018 production of “Lohengrin,” Wagner’s hokey fable of love, fidelity, and politics, is receiving its first revival from Peter Relton at the Royal Opera House. Alden’s setting is generic postwar Europe, all bombed out windows and bare brick, with buildings at precariously jaunty angles (sets by Paul Steinberg). In the ruins of this world Konig {…}

Jan 3, 2022

Deutsche Oper Berlin Announces Cast Changes For ‘Das Rheingold’ & ‘Siegfried’

(Credit: © Klaus Frahm) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that Scottish mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor will take over the role of Erda in Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” for the performance on Jan. 4, 2022, replacing Judit Kutasi. Taylor joins a cast that includes Derek Welton, Joel Allison, Attilio Glaser, Thomas Blondelle, Markus Brück, Ya-Chung Huang, Andrew Harris, Tobias Kehrer, Annika Schlicht, {…}