(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 {…}
Ludovic Tézier has withdrawn from his March 30 performance of “Simon Boccanegra” at the Berlin State Opera. The baritone took to social media and said, “Dear friends, I have to withdraw from the next ‘Simon Boccanegra,’ this coming Sunday 30th, in my beloved Staatsoper Berlin. It is a real sad news for me, as I love this show and the {…}
The Dutch National Opera has announce dits 2025-26 season. Elena Stikhina and Natalya Romaniw star in Puccini’s “Tosca” with Joshua Guerrero and Gevorg Hakobyan. Nathalie Stutzmann conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 3-25, 2025 “Operetta Land” will be performed featuring music by Johann Strauss II, Jacques Offenbach, and Arthur Sullivan. Steef de Jong, Raoul Stefani, Marc Pantus, Laetitia Gerards, Elenora Hu, Frederik {…}
The Festival Verdi is set to present Verdi’s “Attila” in two concert performances. Riccardo Frizza will return to the festival to conduct after his acclaimed performances of “Simon Boccanegra” in 2022. He will lead a cast that includes Giorgi Manoshvili as Attila, George Petean as Ezio, Marta Torbidoni as Odabella, and Luciano Ganci as Foresto. Frizza will conduct the Filarmonica {…}
When I asked soprano Aida Garifullina, in an earlier interview, what dream role she aspired to sing, she responded: “To be honest, I’m singing it at the moment…‘Traviata’ is my favorite opera.” And, on the opening day of this performance, almost 30 years since Richard Eyre’s celebrated first production of it, she sang her heart and soul out to prove it. {…}
“Andrea Chénier” is the greatest masterpiece of Umberto Giordano, one of the most prominent exponents of Verismo. The plot is based on historical events: poet and scholar André Chénier, who had sympathized with revolutionary ideas, was guillotined in 1794 during the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution of 1789. The libretto features a love story between Chénier and Maddalena {…}
The Teatro Regio di Parma has announced its 2025 season. Verdi’s “Giovanna d’Arco” opens the season with Luciano Ganci, Nino Machaidze, and George Petean. Michele Gamba conducts the production by Emma Dante. Performance Dates: Jan. 24-Feb. 1, 2025 Pier Luigi Pizzi’s production of Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” returns with Davide Luciano, Maria Kataeva, Ruzil Gatin, Roberto de Candia, and {…}