Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Ludovic Tézier, Marina Rebeka, Elīna Garanča, Jessica Pratt, Luca Salsi, Aleksandra Kurzak & Francesco Meli Lead Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’s 2027 Season

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced its 2027 season. Opera Kristina Mkhitarian star in Verdi’s “La Traviata” with Anthony Ciaramitaro, Luca Salsi, and Min Kim. Performance Dates: Jan. 15-22, 2027 Baldassarre Galuppi’s “Il mondo alla roversa o sia le donne che comandano” will star finalists of the International Pietro Antonio Cesti Baroque Singing Competition in Innsbruck. Chiara Cattani conducts the {…}

Jun 7, 2026

Deutsche Oper Berlin 2025-26 Review: Siegfried

(Photo Credit: Bernd Uhlig) Deutsche Oper’s Ring Cycle started promisingly with an original staging of “Das Rheingold,” with provocative ideas, irreverence and even humor. However, unfortunately it continued with a constant rehashing of ideas, which proved inadequate for the gigantic enterprise that is Wagner’s “Ring.” After a vocally satisfactory but scenically uninspired “Die Walküre,” matters deteriorated considerably on May 29 {…}

Jun 6, 2026

Deutsche Oper Berlin 2025-26 Review: Das Rheingold

(Photo Credit: Bernd Uhlig) Stefan Herheim’s take on “The Ring” promises to be an interesting one: original, irreverential and, most of all, not trying to shock for the sake of it. This is my impression based on “The Ring’s” first installment. The imagery and the cultural references are approachable and familiar to the average German operagoer: Loge, who dominates this {…}

Nov 5, 2025

Cast Change: Christopher Maltman Steps into Paris Opera’s ‘Die Walküre’

The Opéra de Paris has announced a cast change for its production of “Die Walküre.” The company said that Iain Paterson, who is ill, has cancelled the dress rehearsal, preview, and premiere of “Die Walküre.” As a result, the role of Wotan will be performed by Christopher Maltman on 8 and 11 November 2025.” Maltman is a well-known singer who has {…}

Mar 12, 2025

Asmik Grigorian, Sonya Yoncheva, Judit Kutasi, Maximilian Schmitt, & Soloman Howard Star in George Enescu International Festival 2025

(Photo credits: Vedinaș, Behrmann, & Adjahoe) The George Enescu International Festival 2025 announces its star-studded lineup. This article only features vocal works. The opening concert features the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. Iosef Ion Prunner and Cristian Măcelaru conduct. Performance Date: August 24, 2025 Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen performs with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra under the direction of Keri-lynn Wilson. {…}

Feb 5, 2025

Opéra National de Paris 2024-25 Review: Das Rheingold

(Photo: Herwig Prammer / OnP) A very promising night indeed: Paris Opera takes its first step toward its new Ring under the direction of Calixto Bieito—one of the most exciting artists in his field—and with a promising cast. The stakes are particularly high for the company president, Alexander Neef, who would crowd his tenure with a Wagner Ring in continental {…}

Dec 13, 2024

Opéra National de Paris 2024-25 Review: The Rake’s Progress

(Photo: Guergana Damianova) There is a question that has tormented opera fanatics for at least a century: how can opera go on? What sound represents the future of opera? While many, especially in the mid-20th century, leaned toward musicality that was either dramatically disruptive or staunchly conservative, Stravinsky forged a career where he managed to be both. In a world {…}

Jul 24, 2024

Deutsche Oper Berlin 2023-24 Review: Siegfried

(Photo: Bernd Uhlig) “Siegfried” is a deceptively complicated opera, perhaps one of the most difficult in all “Der Ring” to pull off both musically and scenically. The main reason is that much of Wagner’s storytelling brings its characters to realizations within themselves, with inner drives and motivations lashing out often in vehemence and violence. What’s more, the once-recognizable leitmotifs are {…}

Jul 19, 2024

Deutsche Oper Berlin 2023-24 Review: Das Rheingold

(Fotos von Bernd Uhlig, Kontakt: bernd.uhlig.fotografie@t-online.de) It does seem that the 2021 Deutsche Oper Berlin’s Ring has been somewhat of a success over the last few years. And this is good for opera. A major achievement, this as other cycles, after the centennial Patrice Chéreau staging have created negative stirrings, indeed vivid contestations largely due to mistaken stage-director conceptions ingrained {…}

Jun 11, 2024

Deutsche Oper Berlin 2023-24 Review: Der Ring des Nibelungen

(Photo credit: Bernd Uhlig) The man who gave the opera world its most dazzling 21st century “Parsifal,” Stefan Herheim, continues his quest to interrogate the Romantic text that is Richard Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelungen.” Inspired refreshing of a 150-year-old work of art can provide new insights and flashes of illumination. But conceptual pyrotechnics can just as easily destroy its {…}

Apr 29, 2024

Olga Peretyatko, Nina Stemme, Alessandro Corbelli & Kate Aldrich Lead New CD/DVD Releases

Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get a taste of rare works by French and Italian composers. Here is a look at this week’s new releases. Kozłowski Requiem The Singapore Symphony Orchestra and its Music Director Hans Graf present a recording of Józef Kozłowski’s Requiem, {…}