(Credit: © Ilkka Saastamoinen) Sebastian Fagerlund‘s new opera, based on Karl Ove Knausgård’s novel “Morgenstjernen” in Swedish or “The Morning Star” in English, inhabits that rare territory where literature, music, and visual spectacle converge to create something genuinely original — unsettling and beautiful at the same time. Gunilla Hemming’s libretto doesn’t so much adapt Knausgård’s labyrinthine 666-page narrative as distill {…}
The Finnish National Opera’s Chief Conductor Hannu Lintu has been charged with a drug offense. The national broadcaster YLE reported that the offense was committed in Vantaa on November 7, 2023 and that a court date has yet to be announced. In a statement, the conductor said the case was about ordering sleeping pills by mail. He said, “I have {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced a conductor change for its production of “Pelléas et Mélisande.” According to a statement from conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, “For personal reasons, I have to limit my activities in the coming months and therefore very much regret that I have to cancel my participation in the new production of Claude Debussy’s ‘Pelléas et Mélisande’ at the {…}
Portugal’s Gulbenkian Orchestra has named a new Music Director. Hannu Lintu will take the title of the Portuguese orchestra starting during the 2023-2024 season. Lintu has conducted regularly with the Gulbenkian during the last years in dozens of concerts. This season the conductor has already had concerts that have included the Thomas Ades Concerto and a Mahler song cycle. He {…}
