The Dutch National Opera is set to present Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra.” The company will present the opera as part of the Holland Festival and Fabio Luisi will conduct the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Jetske Mijnssen will direct the new production. The new production by Mijnssen sets Verdi’s opera in 1881, the year the revised version premiered and when Italy was united {…}
(Credit: ©2026 Marc Brenner) “There’s a storm brewing…it’s going to get darker,” observes assassin Sparafucile. How right he is! Moments later, he’s stuffing the pure and innocent, murdered Gilda into a body bag downstairs while his sister is gyrating on top of the dastardly Duke of Mantua upstairs; pretty much as dark as it gets. ‘Manosphere’ and ‘Toxic Masculinity’ are the {…}
The Edinburgh International Festival has announced its 2026 season. Here are the vocal performances. Opera Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s “The Galloping Cure” will make its world premiere with Stuart Stratford conducting the Scottish Opera and Tom Morris directing. Performance Dates: August 9-12, 2026 Konstantin Krimmel lead Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” with Brindley Sherratt, Louise Alder, Giovanni Sala, Janai Brugger, Michael Sumuel, William Thomas, and Hera {…}
On Feb. 26, the Wiener Staatsoper is set to stream “Luisa Miller” in a new production by Philipp Grigorian. The opera will be conducted by Michele Mariotti and will star Roberto Tagliavini as Walter, Freddie De Tommaso as Rodolfo, Daria Sushkova as Federica, Marko Mimica as Wurm, Nadine Sierra in the title role, and George Petean as Miller. The stream {…}
(Credit: Susanne Hassler-Smith) “Luisa Miller” by Giuseppe Verdi is a tragic tale of love destroyed by social hierarchy and political intrigue. The young peasant Luisa Miller is in love with Rodolfo, who is in fact the son of the powerful nobleman Count Walter, though he has been living in disguise. Their relationship is opposed by Rodolfo’s father, who intends him {…}
On Jan. 21, 2027, Anna Netrebko will return to Mannheim for an evening of opera arias, duets, and trios. The concert will be held at the Rosengarten, and she is set to be joined by Brian Jagde and George Petean, and the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Marco Armiliato. The concert will include works by Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo {…}
(Credit: Monika Rittershaus) “La Forza del Destino” has always been considered a transitional work in Giuseppe Verdi’s output, bridging the purely romantic operas of his early period and the mature works where his musical language became more dramatic, direct, and personal. It was composed on a commission from the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg, where it premiered in 1862. The {…}
The Teatro dell’Opera di Roma is set to team up with Rai Cultura for the 2025-26 season. The company will present four operas, “Tosca,” “Lohengrin,” “Tancredi,” and “Falstaff.” “Tosca” will be presented on Nov. 1, 2025, on Rai 3, with Daniel Oren conducting a cast that includes Eleonora Buratto as Tosca, Jonathan Tetelman as Cavaradossi, and Luca Salsi as Scarpia. {…}
(Credit: Matthias Baus) My first glimpse of Anna Netrebko was in a performance of Donizetti. She was beautiful, bright, and dynamic — singing while darting around the stage and even somersaulting onto a couch. Here was an opera singer who, in one moment, ended the notion that operatic divas are just singing pieces of furniture. At the Staatsoper Unter den {…}
The Wiener Staatsoper has announced two cast changes for its April 15 performance of “Andrea Chénier.” The company said that Saioa Hernandez will replace Sonya Yoncheva in the role of Maddalena, while George Petean will sing the role of Carlo Gerard replacing Luca Salsi. Hernandez took to her social media and said, “I’m happy to announce that tomorrow I’ll be {…}
The Wiener Staatsoper has announced a cast change for its April 12 performance of “Andrea Chenier.” The company said that George Petean will sing the role of Gerard, replacing Luca Salsi, who is ill. The change follows the opening night performance in which David Babayants jumped in mid-performance for Salsi making his house debut. He said, “First of all, I {…}