Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get to hear a new album by two of bel canto’s greatest stars as well as a new recording of Wagner’s “Lohengrin.” There is also a new recording of “Turandot” in English. Golden Age PENTATONE celebrates the glittering world {…}
(© Enrico Nawrath) First seen on the Green Hill in 2023, the director of “Parsifal,” 55-year-old Jay Scheib, professor of music and theatre arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an American of international standing in the hi-tech world, is a technological wizard like no other! A couple of his credits include Thomas Adès’ “Powder Her Face” (New York {…}
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 {…}
(Photo: OMC Marco Borrelli) On Sunday March 2nd, 2025, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo presented a concert performance of Act two of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde.” The concert was billed as a prelude to the annual music festival Le Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, which will open on March 12th. The evening began with the {…}
(Photo credit: ©EnricoNawrath) In preparation for the new “Parsifal” at Bayreuth last year, one may have harbored preconceived doubts as to the very idea regarding the use of Augmented Reality eyeglasses. After attending this year’s performances, the doubts lingered; and although this production may not be considered a negative adventure per se, one may not view this experiment as a {…}
There is something to be said about the proverbial aura of live performances, especially in the case of “Parsifal” and recordings from its native Bayreuth. The pleasure is double – cynics might argue – in the absence of visual extravagance, incl. kinky stage designs and the intrusion of AR into the scenography. Thankfully, Deutsche Grammophon does not impose the latter; {…}
The CD release of “Parsifal” under Philippe Jordan is not exactly news. The production dates from the 2021 season of the Vienna State Opera when the gritty, and no less controversial, staging of Kirill Serebrennikov received widespread attention. It was a secular “Parsifal,” highly politicized, and more akin to the oppressive climate of the Soviet Gulag than the Romantic exclusivity {…}
The Semperoper Dresden has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Arrigo Boito’s “Mefistofele” is conducted by Andrea Battistoni and directed by Eva-Maria Höckmayr. The production will star Krzysztof Bączyk, Bekhzod Davronov, Marjukka Tepponen, and Martina Gedeck. Performance Dates: Sept. 28-Oct. 24, 2024 Richard Strauss’s “Intermezzo” will be conducted by Patrick Hahn and directed by Axel Ranisch. The cast will include Maria {…}
The Berlin Philharmonic is set to broadcast its New Year’s Eve gala starring Jonas Kaufmann. The orchestra will stream the concert on Dec. 31, 2023 on its Digital Concert Hall and in over 350 cinemas in Germany and Europe. Audiences will also be able to hear the program on the radio on rbbKultur. Kaufmann will perform the role of Sigmund {…}
Sony Classical has announced the release of a new “Parsifal” starring Jonas Kaufmann, Ludovic Tézier, and Elīna Garanča. The new recording slated for release on March 1, 2024, was recorded at the Wiener Staatsoper in 2021 without an audience. Kaufmann took to social media to announce the new release and said, “I am happy to announce the release of our {…}
Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” returns to the Metropolitan Opera for eight performances. The opera will open on Nov. 30 and will be performed through Dec. 23, 2023 with a cast that includes Austrian tenor Andreas Schager, South African soprano Elza van den Heever as Elisabeth, and Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova as Venus. The cast will be rounded out by German baritone Christian Gerhaher {…}