Klangvokal Music Festival Dortmund 2026 Review: Les Boréades

(Photo: Oliver Hitzegrad) A volatile world of sonic storms, earthquakes, and lightning flashes (forces of nature tightly bound to dangerous political subversion) was completely locked away when Jean-Philippe Rameau’s last opera, “Les Boréades,” was abruptly shelved in 1763. Paranoid of the libretto’s Masonic undercurrents, French royal censorship chose to suppress an extraordinary amount of musical energy. The score’s modern resurrection {…}

Apr 17, 2026

Huw Montague Rendall, Pene Pati, Freddie De Tommaso, Mihai Damian, Pretty Yende, Sabine Devieilhe, Elina Garanča Perform in Les Grandes Voix | Les Grands Solistes’ 2026-27 Season

(Photo credit: Watson, Leedom, Gibson, Filip) Les Grandes Voix | Les Grands Solistes announces 2026-27 season. Here’s a look at the vocal performances. A concert version of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” stars Huw Montague Rendall, Emöke Baráth, Lauranne Oliva, Adrien Fournaison, Eva Zaïcik, Diana Montague, Jennifer Courcier, Raphaël Brémard, and Nicolas Brooymans. Francesco Corti conducts B’Rock Orchestra. Performance Date: {…}

Apr 8, 2026

Opernhaus Zürich 2025-26 Review: Scylla et Glaucus

(Photo: Monika Rittershaus) The “Zürich Barock” Festival at the Zurich Opera House presents a rarity: “Scylla et Glaucus” by Jean-Marie Leclair, a composer best known for instrumental music, especially for the violin, which he himself played with great virtuosity. The opera premiered in 1746 and enjoyed moderate success, but soon disappeared from the repertoire. Its first modern performance took place {…}

Apr 8, 2026

Sonya Yoncheva, Jakub Józef Orliński, Nadine Sierra, Sabine Devieilhe, Franco Fagioli, Théo Imart & Catherine Trottmann Lead Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles’ 2026-27 Season

The Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles has announced its 2026-27 season. Opera Salieri’s “Tarare” is set to star Reinoud Van Mechelen, Éléonore Pancrazi, Jean-François Lapointe, Gwendoline Blondeel, Enguerrand de Hys, Alexandre Adra, Jean-Gabriel Saint-Martin, Alexandre Baldo, Clara Penalva, and Isaure Brunner. Théotime Langlois de Swarte conducts the production by Jean-Romain Vesperini. Performance Dates: Oct. 10-18, 2026 Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” will {…}

Feb 22, 2026

Klangvokal Music Festival Dortmund Unveils 2026 Season Featuring Pene Pati, Varduhi Abrahamyan & Daniel Behle

(Photo credit: Kirschbaum) Klangvokal Music Festival Dortmund announces its 2026 season. The season opens with Jean-Philippe Rameau’s “Les Boréades.” Reinoud Van Mechelen, Gwendoline Blondeel, Lisandro Abadie, Tomáš Král, Robert Getchell, Philippe Estèphe, and Lore Binon make up the cast. The Belgian period ensemble a nocte temporis acommpanies. Performance Date: May 22, 2026 Tenor Pene Pati presents the concert, “Neapolitan Canzoni” {…}

Nov 5, 2025

Opéra Royal Château de Versailles 2025-26 Review: Cendrillon

(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 {…}

Mar 27, 2024

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Review 2024: David et Jonathas

Photo credit: © Philippe Delval / théâtre de Caen Charpentier’s “David et Jonathas” is a forgotten gem. The French composer was an expert in dramatic pace. His operas flow as normal plays do. The singing line hardly distorts the text, making the watching experience extremely accessible even for intermediate French speakers. Moreover, in “David et Jonathas” we find some of {…}

Jun 24, 2021

Christina Gansch, Adriana Gonzalez, Rame Lahaj & Irene Roberts Headline Opéra National de Lorraine’s 2021-22 Season

(Credit: Opéra National de Lorraine) Opéra National de Lorraine in Nancy, France has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on the vocal works only. Opera Rossi’s “Le Palais Enchanté” opens the season. The opera spotlights Victor Sicard as Orlando, Arianna Vendittelli as Angelica/Alceste, Fabio Trümpy as Ruggiero, and Mark Milhofer as Atlante. The {…}

Jun 17, 2021

Valentina Nafornița, Gaëlle Arquez & Franco Fagioli Headline Opéra Royal de Versailles’ 2021-22 Season

(Credit: EPV / Christian Millet) Opéra Royal de Versailles has announced its 2021-22 season, featuring number of rarely performed operas and vocal works. Here is the full slate. Opera André Grétry’s opera “Richard Cœur de Lion” features Rémy Mathieu as Blondel and Pierre Derhet in the title role. The cast will be rounded out by Melody Louledjian, Marie Perbost Antonio, {…}

Jun 8, 2021

Marina Rebeka, Ermonela Jaho, Golda Schultz, Rachel Willis-Sørensen & Ludovic Tézier Headline Radio France’s 2021-22 Season

Radio France has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purpose of this article we will focus only on the vocal works. Here is a look. Operas Ravel’s “L’Enfant et les sortilèges” spotlights Jodie Devos, Clara Guillon, Adèle Charvet, Marie Lenormand, Élodie Méchain, Antoine Normand, Régis Mengus, and Paul Gay. Mikko Franck conducts. Performance date: Oct. 1, 2021, Philharmonie de Paris {…}

Jun 6, 2021

Roberto Alagna, Catherine Hunold, Véronique Gens & Valerio Contaldo Headline Opéra de Massy’s 2021-22 Season

(Credits: Gregor Hohenberg/Sony Music / Brennecke Art official website / Franck Juery / Alpha Classics / Operabase official website) Opéra de Massy in France has announced its 2021-22 season. Here is the full slate. Operas Bizet‘s “Carmen” opens the season. Thomas Bettinger performs Don José, Christian Helmer portrays Escamillo, and Ahlima Mhamdi takes on the title role. The cast also {…}