Michael Spyres, Huw Montague Rendall, Freddie Ballentine, Elsa Dreisig, Lauranne Oliva, Stéphane Degout, & Julie Roset Lead Opéra national du Rhin’s 2026-27 Season

The Opéra national du Rhin has announced its 2026-27 season. Marko Letonja and Michael Spyres team up with Brigitta Listra and the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg for an evening of music by Wagner, Massenet, Schreker, Bizet, Korngold, and Richard Strauss. Performance Date: Sept. 14 & 15, 2026 Samuel Hasselhorn and Ammiel Bushakevitz perform in recital. Performance Date: Oct. 13, 2026 {…}

Apr 21, 2026

Anna Netrebko, Sondra Radvanovsky, Saioa Hernández, Brian Jagde, Ludovic Tézier, Lisette Oropesa, Jakub Józef Orliński, Sonya Yoncheva, Marina Rebeka, Xabier Anduaga, Mané Galoyan, & Benjamin Bernheim lead Teatro Real de Madrid’s 2026-27 Season

The Teatro Real de Madrid has announced its 2026-27 season. Opera Sondra Radvanovsky and Saioa Hernández lead Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” with Lucas Meachem, Szymon Mechliński, Brian Jagde,, Michael Fabiano and Jorge de Leon. Nicola Luisotti conducts Carlos Wagner’s production. Performance Dates: Sept. 23-Oct. 11, 2026 Paul Agnew conducts Handel’s “Riccardo Primo, rè d’Inghilterra” with Jakub Józef Orliński, Melissa Petit, Alex Rosen, {…}

Apr 15, 2026

Saioa Hernández, Xabier Anduaga, Aleksandra Kurzak, Roberto Alagna, Tomasz Konieczny, Federica Lombardi, Julieth Lozano, Elsa Dreisig, & Juliana Grigoryan Lead Deutsche Oper Berlin’s 2026-27 Season

The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced its 2026-27 season. Premieres “Mittwoch aus Licht” will be conducted by Maxime Pascal and directed by Susanne Kennedy. Performance Dates: Sept. 19-27, 2026 Wagner’s “Der fliegende Holländer” will be conducted by Anna Handler and Giedrė Šlekytė and directed by Milo Rau. The opera will star Tareq Nazmi, Aušrine Stundytė, Attilio Glaser, Stephanie Wake-Edwards, Omar {…}

Apr 7, 2026

Jakub Józef Orliński, Elsa Dreisig, Christina Landshamer & Wiebke Lehmkuhl Lead new CD/DVD Releases

Welcome back as we explore the latest CD and DVD releases from around the opera world. This week two prominent artists releases new album. There are also several choral works releases. Invocation Erato releases French-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig’s new album which features 17 arias and songs by 14 composers, sung in six languages, and recorded with Massimo Zanetti and the {…}

Feb 25, 2026

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg 2026 Review: I Capuleti e i Montecchi

(Photo: Jann Wilken) Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie is not an opera house, yet it regularly presents high-calibre concert performances of opera and oratorio—projects that inevitably place artistic and operational pressure on the city’s Hamburg State Opera. This Bellini evening continued that pattern. With Ensemble Resonanz returning after their previous notable “Norma,” the hall again became a theatre of the imagination. In its {…}

Dec 4, 2025

Asmik Grigorian, Kate Lindsey, Jonathan Tetelman, Benjamin Bernheim, Elīna Garanča, Lisette Oropesa & Juan Diego Flórez Lead Salzburg Festival’s 2026 Season

The Salzburg Festival has announced its 2026 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Franck Ollu conducts Pascal Dusapin and Rita de Letteriis’s “Passion” starring Sarah Aristidou, Georg Nigl, and Schola Heidelberg. Performance Date: July 23, 2026 Asmik Grigorian stars as Bizet’s “Carmen” alongside Jonathan Tetelman, Kristina Mkhitaryan, and Davide Luciano. Teodor Currentzis conducts the production by Gabriela {…}

Nov 22, 2025

Teatro alla Scala 2024-25 Review: Così fan tutte

(Photo: © Vito Lorusso / Teatro alla Scala) During the Classical period, audiences entertained themselves with theatrical farces, literary comedies and other artistic forms that, besides amusing, also served as social critique. “Così fan tutte,” premiered in Vienna in 1790, is a direct heir to that tradition. Mozart’s work explores seduction, fidelity and the illusion of love. Its characters take {…}

Sep 21, 2025

Angela Gheorghiu, Magdalena Kožená, Sabine Devieilhe, Brian Mulligan, Jennifer Holloway, & Gaëlle Arquez 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 be able to hear several rarely performed baroque works as well as a Wagner work and a celebration of Angela Gheorghiu’s landmark recordings. Arvo Pärt: And I heard a voice Estonian vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis and their leader Jaan-Eik Tulve release a {…}

Sep 9, 2025

Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen 2025 Review: Die Zauberflöte (Semi-Staged)

(Photo: Patric Leo) On a memorable evening, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, joined by a distinguished cast of soloists, delivered a striking semi-staged rendition of Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte.” Under the inspired baton of youthful Tarmo Peltokoski, the performance unfolded as a fresh, witty reimagining that captured both its gravitas and playful spirit. Semi-Staged Production & Visual Details Director Romain Gilbert’s concept {…}

Jul 16, 2025

Festival Aix-en-Provence 2025 Review: Louise

Full disclosure: my definition of purgatory is a Christof Loy opera staging. They are not infernal—there is always some redemption—and they used to be good. But now, they are definitely not for me. That mono-scenario, that preference for milk-aisle lighting and the somewhat surreal stagings. I get it, some people might like it. I am even friends with some of {…}

May 20, 2025

Joyce DiDonato, Corinne Winters, Nahuel Di Pierro, Stéphane Degout & Brenda Rae Lead Grand Théâtre de Genève’s 2025-26 Season

The Grand Théâtre de Genève has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera Mark Elder will conduct a new production of Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” starring Daniel Johansson, Samuel Sakker, Jennifer Davis, Victoria Karkacheva, Franz-Josef Selig, and Stéphane Degout. Tatjana Gürbaca directs. Performance Dates: Sept. 21-Oct. 4, 2025 Debussy’s “Pelléas & Mélisande” will star Björn Bürger, Mari Eriksmoen, Leigh Melrose, Nicolas Testé, Sophie Koch, {…}