San Francisco Opera is set to present Strauss’ “Elektra” from June 7–27, 2026. The opera will be conducted by Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim in a production by Keith Warner. The production will star Elena Pankratova in her company debut in the title role alongside Elza van den Heever as Chrysothemis. Michaela Schuster will portray Klytemnestra while {…}
Oper Frankfurt has announced its 2026-27 season, marking Intendant Bernd Loebe’s 25th season with the company. New Productions Karsten Januschke conducts Tchaikovsky’s “Mazeppa” in a Frankfurt premiere, directed by Matthew Wild with set and costume designs by Herbert Murauer. Petr Sokolov, Nombulelo Yende, Alexander Roslavets, Mikhail Pirogov, Karolina Makuła, Jarrett Porter, Jihun Hong, and Kudaibergen Abildin make up the cast. {…}
The BBC Proms has announced its 2026 season. Here are the vocal performances. The festival opens on with pianist Yunchan Lim and tenor Thomas Atkins joining Dalia Stasevska and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for music by Ravel, Copland, Gershwin and Finzi. There will also be a world premiere by Josephine Stephenson. Performance Date: July 17, 2026 Gianandrea Noseda leads Beethoven’s Symphony {…}
The Philharmonie de Paris has announced its 2026-27 season. Here are the vocal performances for the season. Yannick Nezet-Seguin will conduct Elza van den Heever and the Met Orchestra in a program of Strauss music. Performance Date: Sept. 1, 2026 Yannick Nezet-Seguin and Joyce DiDonato team up with the Met Orchestra for Mahler and Kaija Saariaho. Performance Date: Sept. 2, {…}
(© Enrico Nawrath) A well-loved conductor at the Bayreuth Festival, Christian Thielemann, who made his début on the Green Hill in 2000 overseeing a dynamic performance of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” served Bayreuth as its music director from 2015 to 2020. Therefore, it is good to see him back this year conducting “Lohengrin” which he originally took charge of in {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced its 2026 season. Nathalie Stutzmann conducts “Rienzi” with Andreas Schager, Gabriela Scherer, Jennifer Holloway, Michael Nagy, and Matthias Stier. Magdolna Parditka and Alexandra Szemeredy direct the rarely performed work. Performance Dates: July 26-August 26, 2026 Christian Thielemann will conduct The Ring Cycle, which Marcus Lobbes will curate. Michael Volle, Alexander Grassauer, Klaus Florian Vogt, Anna Kissjudit, Evelin Novak, Christa {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced its annual Summer HD Festival, which will return to Lincoln Center Plaza. The festival will run between August 22 and September 1. THE 2025 MET SUMMER HD FESTIVAL SCHEDULE The festival opens with “Maestro” starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan. The Academy Award–nominated biopic tells the story of the legendary American conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein {…}
(Photo: ©2025 Chris Lee) Conductor and Lerman-Newbauer Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the Met Orchestra at NYC’s Carnegie Hall for a special night featuring Richard Strauss works on Thursday, June 12, 2025, showcasing one of the world’s leading lyric-dramatic sopranos, Elza van den Heever, who just concluded her season of performances as Salome at Met Opera. The night was full of standing {…}
(© Paola Kudacki / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra is set to present two concerts at Carnegie Hall. The first will be held on June 12 and will feature Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Elza van den Heever in an all-Strauss program. The concert will include “Der Rosenkavalier Suite,” Selected Orchestral Songs, and “Ein Heldenleben.” The second concert will be held on June {…}
San Francisco Opera is set to present Mozart’s “Idomeneo” from June 14–25, 2025. Caroline H. Hume Music Director, Eun Sun Kim is set to conduct a production by Lindy Hume. The cast will include American tenor Matthew Polenzani in the title role of Idomeneo alongside Daniela Mack as Idamante, Ying Fang as Ilia, Elza van den Heever as Elettra, and tenor {…}
Oper Frankfurt has announced its 2025-26 season. Premieres Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” will star Teona Todua, Karolina Bengtsson, Kelsey Lauritano, Taehan Kim, Sakhiwe Mkosana, Magnus Dietrich, Andrew Kim, Bianca Tognocchi, Elizabeth Reiter, Liviu Holender, and Sebastian Geyer. Thomas Guggeis conducts the production by Mariame Clément. Performance Dates: Sept. 21, 2025-Jan. 17, 2026 Alexander Tsymbalyuk leads Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” with Karolina {…}