Natalya Romaniw, Francesca Aspromonte, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Liv Redpath & David Portillo Headline Glyndebourne’s 2026 Season

Glyndebourne Festival has announced its 2026 season. New Productions Puccini’s “Tosca” will be directed by Ted Huffman with two casts. Robin Ticciati conducts the first run with a cast that includes Caitlin Gotimer as Floria Tosca, Matteo Lippi as Mario Cavaradossi, and Vladislav Sulimsky as Baron Scarpia. Jordan de Souza conducts the second cast that includes Natalya Romaniw as Floria {…}

May 6, 2025

René Barbera, Elena Villalón, Lucas Meachem, Yaritza Véliz, Madison Leonard Among Headliners of The Dallas Opera’s 2025 Streaming Slate

The Dallas Opera has announced its streaming slate of recent productions. The company had previously announced a slate of operas to stream this summer, mainly those from its 2024-25 season. First up is the October 2022 production of “Rigoletto” starring George Gagnidze in the title role, Madison Leonard as his daughter Gilda, and René Barbera as the Duke of Mantua. {…}

Mar 19, 2025

Gustavo Dudamel, Pretty Yende, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha & Nicholas Brownlee Lead LA Philharmonic’s 2025-26 Season

The LA Philharmonic has announced its 2025-26 season. Gustavo Dudamel and Los Angeles Master Chorale perform Ellen Reid and Strauss. Performance Dates: Sept. 25-28, 2025 Gustavo Dudamel conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with soloists Chen Reiss and Beth Taylor. Performance Dates: Oct. 9-12, 2025 Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts a program of music by Debussy, Gabriella Smith, and Scriabin with soloists Pekka {…}

Mar 11, 2025

Renée Fleming, Sondra Radvanovsky, Daniela Mack, Alfredo Daza, SeokJong Baek, & Ana María Martínez Lead Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2025-26 Season

The Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced its 2025-26 season. The company will open with the Lyric Opening Concert & Gala. Performance Date: Oct. 10, 2025 The first production of the season will be Cherubini’s “Medea“ starring Sondra Radvanovsky in Sir. David McVicar’s production. She will be joined by Matthew Polenzani, Elena Villalón, Zoie Reams, and Alfred Walker. Enrique Mazzola {…}

Oct 10, 2024

Anthony Roth Costanzo, Anthony Léon, Nadine Sierra & Elena Villalón Added Richard Tucker Gala Lineup

The Richard Tucker Foundation has announced the addition of four more artists to its 2024 gala, scheduled for Oct. 27, 2024. The artists include Anthony Roth Costanzo, Anthony Léon, Nadine Sierra, and Elena Villalón. They join a lineup that includes Jamie Barton, J’Nai Bridges, Stephen Costello, Michael Fabiano, Ryan Speedo Green, Quinn Kelsey, and Rachel Willis-Sørensen. The soloists will be {…}

Oct 1, 2024

Daniela Mack Leads Metropolitan Opera Premiere of ‘Ainadamar’

(Credit: Paola Kudacki / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to present the company premiere of Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov and librettist David Henry Hwang’s “Ainadamar.” The opera will premiere on Oct. 15 and will be directed and choreographed by Brazilian Deborah Colker. When OperaWire saw the production at the Detroit Opera, John Vandevert said, “The evening was realized {…}

May 24, 2024

Metropolitan Opera 2023-24 Review: Orfeo ed Euridice

(Credit: Ken Howard) The Met Opera’s production of Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” is as timeless as the work itself. You couldn’t really ask for more from Mark Morris’ production, which is in the midst of a revival to close out the 2023-24 season. The two curved rafters converging to form a semi-circle at the center of the stage serve numerous {…}

May 10, 2024

Richard Tucker Foundation Announces 2024 Career & Study Grant Recipients

The Richard Tucker Foundation has announced the Career and Study grant. The foundation noted that Anthony Léon, Luke Sutliff, and Elena Villalón have been selected recipients of the 2024 Richard Tucker Career Grant. Recipients receive unrestricted grants of $10,000 each. Sutliff and were previously awarded the 2022 Sara Tucker Study Grant. They join past Career Grant recipients Leah Hawkins, Aryeh Nussbaum {…}

Mar 15, 2024

Emily Pogorelc, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Amina Edris, Elena Villalón, Catherine Martin Headline Detroit Opera’s 2024-25 Season

Detroit Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. First up is “La Traviata” in a new production by Francesca Zambello, conducted by Roberto Kalb. The work stars Emily Pogorelc, Galeano Salas, and Rod Gilfry. The new production moves the action to the 1920s. Performance Dates: Oct. 19 – 27, 2024 Next up is Louisa Proske’s production of “Rinaldo” starring Anthony Roth Costanzo, {…}

Dec 3, 2023

Best of 2023: OperaWire’s Top Ten Rising Stars 2023

It’s been a tough year. Economic hardship. War. Increased social fracturing around the world. In the opera world, we’ve seen numerous companies cutting back on productions or simply canceling their seasons. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything to celebrate. And as we end 2023, here’s a look at some of the young singers who saw their careers shine whether {…}

Nov 1, 2023

Operalia Competition Announces 2023 Finalists

The Operalia Competition has announced its 2023 finalists. Following a day of semifinals, 11 singers will compete in the opera finals while five singers will compete in the Zarzuela finals. Here are the finalists: Finalists Opera Semyon Antakov, baritone, Russia Caitlin Gotimer, soprano, USA Navasard Hakobyan, baritone, Armenia Eugénie Joneau, mezzo-soprano, France Taehan Kim, baritone, South Korea Omer Kobiljak, tenor, {…}

elena villalon