Jonas Kaufmann, Andrè Schuen, Elsa Dreisig, Lauranne Oliva, Ermonela Jaho, Mané Galoyan Headline Aix-en-Provence 2025 Festival

The Festival d’Aix-en-Provence has announced its 2025 festival. Opera First up is “Don Giovanni” in a production by Robert Icke starring Andrè Schuen, Krzysztof Bączyk, Golda Schultz, Magdalena Kožená, Amitai Pati, Clive Bayley, Madison Nonoa, and Paweł Horodyski. Sir Simon Rattle conducts. Performance Dates: July 4 – 18, 2025 Charpentier’s “Louise” stars Elsa Dreisig, Adam Smith, Sophie Koch, Grégoire Mour, Roberta {…}

Jul 17, 2024

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2024 Review: Pelléas et Mélisande

(Photo credit: Jean-Louis Fernandez) Eight years ago, Katie Mitchell’s staging of “Pelléas et Mélisande” was opera-lovers’ favorite summer topic. Echoes of its greatness could be heard in the wintery Brazilian July, and in the fall, when I was in Scotland, people still commented how great—or heterodox—it was. Its return to Aix’s stage reminds us of its scenic beauty and proves {…}

Jul 17, 2024

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2024 Review: Lea Desandre + Thomas Dunford

(Photo credit: Julien Benhamou) Let’s talk about chemistry. Cher and Sonny had it; so did Joey and Chandler. And, nowadays, the duo with the most chemistry in classical music is French-Italian mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre and French lutenist Thomas Dunford (D+D for the fans). The concert was extremely solar, gleeful, and gay, reflecting their bright partnership. Their youthful joyfulness even brightened {…}

Jul 16, 2024

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2024 Review: Madama Butterfly

(Photo credit: © Ruth Walz) Puccini in Aix-en-Provence is not an obvious combination, and it was not until 2019 with Christophe Honoré’s “Tosca” production that Lucca’s maestro made his debut in the festival. It was an ultra-revisionist “Tosca”: two primissime donne on the stage, several videoclips, and many other bold choices. It was glorious and thought-provoking. Therefore, expectations for a “Madama {…}

Jul 13, 2024

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2024 Review: Songs and Fragments

(Photo credit: Monika Rittershaus) Who’s afraid of a double bill? Part two. If Gluck’s Iphigénies required stamina from Aix operagoers, the double bill of Peter Maxwell Davies’s “Eight Songs for a Mad King” and György Kurtág’s “Kafka-Fragments” beseech us to be attentive. It was just an hour and a half of music, and the performances were vivid. But the musical {…}

Jul 10, 2024

Festival d’Aix en Provence 2024 Review: ‘Iphigénie en Aulide’ & ‘Iphigénie en Tauride’

(Photo credit: Monika Rittershaus) Who’s afraid of double bills? We all love “Cav.” and “Pag.,” and there is some room in everyone’s heart for a “The Human Voice” meets “Bluebeard’s Castle;” nevertheless, Gluck’s Iphigenia operas performed together was a bit of a challenge. The operas, lasting two hours each, are easily stand-alone pieces, and—even though they share a protagonist—they appear {…}

Jun 4, 2024

Julia Bullock Withdraws from Festival d’Aix En Provence’s ‘Pelléas et Mélisande’

The Festival d’Aix en Provence has announced a cast change for its production of “Pelléas et Mélisande.” The company said that due to personal reasons, Julia Bullock will not be able to come to Aix this summer. Chiara Skerath will take over the role of Melisande. Bullock took to social media and said, “It’s with some sadness to share that {…}

Jul 27, 2023

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2023 Review: Così Fan Tutte

Photo: © Monika Rittershaus “Così Fan Tutte” has become the most uncomfortable of the three Mozart-Da Ponte operas. “Le Nozze di Figaro” has secured itself as a revolutionary and anti-establishment opera. “Don Giovanni” is unavoidable and unforgettable. “Così,” on the other hand, struggled to find its public for most of the nineteenth century. Its plot is often seen as both {…}

Jul 21, 2023

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2023 Review: Pretty Yende in Recital

(Photo credit: Festival d’Aix-en-Provence © Vincent Beaume) In an arbored patio, Pretty Yende, ethereally sings the final terzett of the last Petrarch sonnet by Liszt, “ed era il cielo a l’armonia sí intento,” “che non se vedea in ramo mover foglia,” “tanta dolcezza avea pien l’aere e ’l vento.” (“and heaven so intent upon the harmony, no leaf was seen {…}

Jun 12, 2023

Festival d’Aix-En-Provence Announces Cast Change for ‘Le Prophète’

(credit: Kristin Hoebermann) The Festival d’Aix-En-Provence has announced a cast change for its concert performance of Meyerbeer’s “Le Prophète.” The company said that Elizabeth DeShong will sing the role of Fidès replacing Anita Rachvelishvili, who was originally announced. DeShong performs regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Dallas Opera, and Royal Opera House. She has also performed with the {…}

Dec 15, 2022

Five Opera Companies Join Forces to Research More Sustainable Means of Opera Creation

Five opera companies are joining forces to research ways for opera creation to be more sustainable. The companies in question include La Monnaie / De Munt, the Théâtre Chatelet, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Opéra de Paris, and the Opéra de Lyon. Entitled “Collectif de 17h25” the project will initiate a study of the “study of the possibilities for standardizing structural {…}

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