Jessica Pratt, Carolina López Moreno, Brian Jagde, Corinne Winters, Francesco Meli, Asmik Grigorian & Luca Salsi Lead Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’s 2026 Season

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced its 2026 season. Michele Gamba conducts Massimo Popolizio’s production of Puccini’s “Tosca.” Chiara Isotton and Marta Mari sing the title role alongside Vincenzo Costanzo and Bror Magnus Tødenes as Cavaradossi and Alexey Markov and Claudio Sgura as Scarpia. Opening Date: Jan. 11, 2026 Robert Carsen directs “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci” with Riccardo Frizza conducting. Corinne Winters, Brian {…}

Jun 12, 2025

Luca Salsi, Brian Jagde, Francesco Meli, Annalisa Stroppa, Rosa Feola, & Gregory Kunde Lead Teatro La Fenice’s 2025-26 Season

The Teatro La Fenice has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera The season opens with Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” with Ivor Bolton conducting a new production by Paul Curran. The cast includes Daniel Behle, Cecilia Molinari, Nicolò Balducci, and Francesca Aspromonte. Performance Dates: Nov. 20-30, 2025 Luca Micheletti directs Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” with Renato Palumbo conducting. Luca Salsi, Francesco Meli, {…}

May 31, 2025

Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Netrebko, Sondra Radvanovsky, Ludovic Tézier, Aigul Akhmetshina, Marina Rebeka, Pretty Yende, Anita Rachvelishvili & Elīna Garanča Lead Teatro San Carlo’s 2025-26 Season

The Teatro San Carlo has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with Riccardo Frizza conducting Cherubini’s “Medea” in a production by Mario Martone. Sondra Radvanovsky stars in the title role alongside Francesco Meli, Giorgi Manoshvili, Désirée Giove, and Anita Rachvelishvili. Performance Dates: Dec. 3-16, 2025 Jessica Pratt, Maria Agresta, Désirée Giove, Francesco Demuro, and Mimmo Borrelli star in Ennio {…}

May 31, 2025

The Top Five of the New Season at Teatro alla Scala

(Photo: Ansa Matteo Corner) This Monday, the long-awaited press conference was held to unveil the Teatro alla Scala’s 2025–26 season. The lineup promises to shine with big names, new productions, and ambitious projects. That’s why we’re bringing you a Top five list of the unmissable highlights of the new season! Number 1: A Bold Opening As tradition dictates, the season {…}

May 26, 2025

Anna Netrebko, Sara Jakubiak, Luca Salsi, Francesco Meli, Marina Rebeka, Michael Volle & Camilla Nylund Lead Teatro alla Scala’s 2025-26 Season

The Teatro alla Scala has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” featuring Alexander Roslavets, Sara Jakubiak, Najmiddin Mavlyanov, Alexander Kravets, Valery Gilmanov, Yevgeny Akimov, Jirí Rajniš, Oleg Budaratskiy, Ekaterina Sannikova, Goderedzi Janelidze, Elena Maximova, Natalya Romaniw, Huanhong Li, and Vasyl Solodkyy. Riccardo Chailly conducts the new production by Vasily Barkhatov. Performance Dates: Dec. {…}

May 15, 2025

Teatro Carlo Felice to Present ‘Carmen’ Headlined by Annalisa Stroppa

(Credit: Marcello Orselli) On May 16, the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova is set to present Bizet’s “Carmen.” The production by Emilio Sagi will be conducted by Donato Renzetti and will star Annalisa Stroppa in the title role. Stroppa has become well known for her interpretation, and she will be joined by Francesco Meli, Luca Tittoto, and Giuliana Gianfaldoni. There {…}

Mar 31, 2025

Teatro Alla Scala Previews 2025-26 Season, Starring Sara Jakubiak, Anna Netrebko, Roberto Alagna & Luca Salsi

The Teatro alla Scala has advanced plans for the Teatro alla Scala’s 2025-26 season. The season will open with Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” directed by Vasily Barkhatov and Sara Jakubiak. Riccardo Chailly will conduct. In February 2026, the company will give the entire “Ring Cycle” with Simone Young and Alexander Soddy. In April, the company will revive “Turandot” in {…}

Mar 10, 2025

Joyce DiDonato, Erin Morley, Francesco Meli, Julia Bullock & Lidia Fridman Lead Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s 2025-26 Season

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has announced the 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Orchestra Daniela Candillari conducts Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater” with Giulia Semenzato and Jennifer Johnson Cano. The program includes Jennifer Gunn as a soloist and music by Simon, Barber, and Musgrave. Performance Dates: Oct. 3 & 4, 2025 Manfred Honeck conducts Mozart’s “Requiem” with Jeanine {…}

Jan 31, 2025

Teatro San Carlo Announces Cast Change for ‘Tosca’

The Teatro San Carlo has announced a cast change for its upcoming production of Puccini’s “Tosca.” The company said, “We regret to inform our audience that Jonas Kaufmann has been forced to cancel his participation in the role of Cavaradossi in the opera ‘Tosca’ for an occurred date change, with the result of an unsolvable calendar incompatibility.” As a result, {…}

Nov 30, 2024

Q & A: Francesco Meli Addresses Il Giornale Comments & How to Perform Verdi’s ‘Otello’ in a Modern Context

(Credit: Victor Santiago) This past week, Francesco Meli made his role debut as “Otello” in Verdi’s masterpiece. It marked his 18th Verdi role and a return to the Venice house where has sung many of those Verdi works. But in the run-up to the premiere of the opera, Meli’s comments in an interview with Il Giornale became the center of {…}

Nov 25, 2024

Francesco Meli Disagrees with Being a White Otello

Francesco Meli is sharing his thoughts about performing a white Otello in his role debut in Verdi’s masterpiece at the Teatro La Fenice. In an interview with Il Giornale, the Italian tenor said that his Otello would be white because the director had decided that there would be no paint to darken the tenor’s face. However, Meli said that he {…}