(Photo: Baptiste Lacaze) Gioachino Rossini’s “Cendrillon,” the French language version of “La Cenerentola,” tells the story of Cinderella in real-life and not fairytale. The French translation, by Louis-Ernest Crevel de Charlemagne (1868), brings to life Jacopo Ferretti’s libretto, which follows the story of a young woman abused by her stepfather, Don Magnifico, and two stepsisters, Eléonore and Isabelle. Cinderella’s real {…}
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 {…}
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, {…}
(Photo: Daniel Dittus) Composed at the height of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s operatic reform, “Iphigénie en Tauride” distills classical tragedy into a work of striking emotional clarity and structural restraint. Without the conventional Da Capo arias and secco recitatives, Gluck integrates voice and orchestra to convey psychological depth and moral conflict. The opera’s tension between barbarism and humanity is rendered through {…}
The Royal Opera of the Château de Versailles has announced its 2025-26 season. Productions Rossini’s “Cendrillon” will be sung in French and will star Gaëlle Arquez, Patrick Kabongo, Gwendoline Blondeel, Éléonore Pancrazi, Jean-Gabriel Saint-Martin, Alexandre Baldo, and Nicolas Brooymans. Gaétan Jarry conducts the Julien Lubek and Cécile Roussat direct. Performance Dates: Oct. 11-18, 2025 Purcell’s “Didon et Énée” will star {…}
(Photo: ©OMC Marco Borrelli) A Parisian critic during the belle époque once wrote about the Opéra de Monte-Carlo: “If only the Paris Opera could assemble for one special performance a cast equivalent to the one that the inhabitants of the little earthly paradise on the Mediterranean will be able to applaud all winter long!” (La Renaissance musicale, October 8, 1881) {…}
Medici.tv pays tribute to Maurice Ravel on the 150th anniversary of his birth with a deep dive into his complete works and more. Two livestreams of composer’s instrumental work kick off the anniversary festivities. On March 27, the platform will livestream Ravel’s complete operatic masterpieces. One century to the day after its premiere at the very same venue, “L’Enfant et {…}
The Teatro dell’Opera di Roma has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera The season opens with Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra“ in a production by Richard Jones. Michele Mariotti conducts the production with a cast that includes Luca Salsi in the title role, Eleonora Buratto, Stefan Pop, and Michele Pertusi. The opening night will be streamed on Rai5 and Radio3. Another cast will {…}
On July 14th, Le concert de Paris will take place in celebration of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The open-air classical concert of the French capital will be in front of the iconic Hotel de Ville and will showcase Cristian Macelaru conducting the Orchestre National de France and the Chorus of Radio France. Soloists will include Nadine Sierra, Lang Lang, {…}
(Photo credit: Emilie Brouchon / Opéra national de Paris) I’ve been told that one reads “Don Quichotte” three times in life: in one’s twenties to laugh, in one’s forties to think, and in one’s sixties to cry. This saddening saying reflects the multivocal quality of the Chevalier of La Mancha’s myth: painfully delusional and carnally human, his hallucinatory deeds are {…}
The Opéra de Lille has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera Nicola Porpora’s “Polifemo” will feature Kangmin Justin Kim, Marie Lys, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, Delphine Galou, José Coca Loza, and Florie Valiquette. Emmanuelle Haïm conducts the production by Bruno Ravella. Performance Dates: Oct. 8-16, 2024 Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s “David et Jonathas” will star Petr Nekoranec, Gwendoline Blondeel, Jean-Christophe Lanièce, Lucile Richardot, Étienne Bazola, {…}