(Photo: Michele Monasta) Prior to the premiere of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’s new production of John Adam’s opera “The Death of Klinghoffer” on April 19, the Italian Music Critics Association gathered for its 45th “Franco Abbiati” annual awards ceremony to celebrate Italian opera’s achievements of 2025. The theater of the Maggio Musicale was chosen as the venue for the presentations {…}
(Photo: Marcello-Orselli) “Tristan und Isolde” is a colossal work, not only for its length (five hours, including two 30-minute intermissions), or for the influence of the famous Tristan chord on Western music, but also for the symbolism it represents. Wagner was hugely influenced by Schopenhauer’s philosophy when he wrote this masterpiece, while conducting an affair with Mathilde, the wife of {…}
(Photo: Amati Bacciardi / ROF 2025) Soirées musicales After the triumph of his last opera, “Guillaume Tell,” Gioachino Rossini decided to abandon theatrical composition and retire to his home in Paris to recover from nervous exhaustion. Even so, he never stopped writing music: he composed for himself, for Olympe Pélissier–whom he married in 1846 after the death of Isabella Colbran–and {…}
(Photo: Gianfranco Rota) An early gem by Donizetti is reborn as part of the #donizetti200 project during the Donizetti Opera Festival’s tenth anniversary. This festival reaffirmed its commitment to recovering lesser-known works from the Bergamo composer’s catalogue, presenting this year the second version of “Zoraida di Granata.” Originally premiered in 1822 and revised by Donizetti himself in 1824, this opera {…}
(Photo credit: Mark Allan) The English Concert announces the details of its spring 2025 spring season. Soprano Lucy Crowe performs a program of works by Handel and Corelli, under the baton of The English Concert’s founder, Trevor Pinnock. Performance Date: January 30, 2025 (Wigmore Hall) Up next sopranos Isabel Schicketanz and Joanna Songi, mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardot, tenor Samuel Boden, and {…}
(Photo © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton) There was much to fuel the excitement around a brand new production of Franz Lehár’s “The Merry Widow” for Glyndebourne Festival Opera this year. It’s the first time the work has ever been mounted there, and it’s always a treat to see what the slickly-oiled operatic operation, with its six weeks of {…}