(Credit: Ken Howard) The Metropolitan Opera is set to revive Carrie Cracknell’s production of Bizet’s “Carmen.” The work will be performed 13 times with mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard taking on the lead role alongside tenor Michael Fabiano and Matthew Polenzani. The cast will also include soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan as Micaëla and bass-baritone Adam Plachetka as Escamillo. Fabien Gabel, in his company debut, {…}
(Photo credits: Artist’s website, Gonz, Astelum, Bakas) WQXR and Carnegie Hall announce the schedule for the 15th anniversary season of Carnegie Hall Live. This article only features classical vocal performances. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir presents an “All-Arvo Pärt” program. Tõnu Kaljuste directs. Performance Date: October 23, 2025 Soprano Asmik Grigorian, mezzo-soprano Deniz Uzun, tenor Joshua Guerrero, and bass Tareq {…}
The San Diego Symphony will open its 2025–26 season with a performance honoring two of France’s most renowned composers. The showcase, which will be conducted by Music Director Rafael Payare, will feature Debussy’s “L’isle joyeuse,” Caplet’s orchestration of Debussy’s “La boîte à joujoux,” and a semi-staged presentation of Ravel’s “L’enfant et les sortilèges.” The latter will be headlined by mezzo-soprano {…}
Aigul Akhmetshina has been forced to cancel her first performance of “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” at the Opéra de Paris on June 28, 2025. The mezzo took to social media and said, “Dear friends, I’m really sad to announce that I won’t be able to sing the first night of ‘Il Barbiere di Siviglia’ at the Opera Bastille this Saturday {…}
Reputedly, music is the medicine for sorrow and the companion to joy—“laetitia comes,” as the Latin has it. What’s more, it has the miraculous ability not only to make time stand still but to conjure, simultaneously, rapid flights of emotion. Music, in short, lays bare our humanity, distilled to its finest. Such is the theme—more or less—of Will Liverman’s “Dunbar/Moore {…}
(Photo: Ken Howard/ Metropolitan Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to revive Bartlett Sher’s production of Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” for 12 performances, beginning on April 15, 2025. The opera will first star Isabel Leonard as Rosina, Lawrence Brownlee as Count Almaviva, and Davide Luciano as Figaro. The cast is rounded out by Nicola Alaimo and Alexander Vinogradov. The {…}
Carnegie Hall has announced its 2025-26 season. “With every season, Carnegie Hall seeks to offer audiences a panoramic view of the world’s leading artists and ensembles with every performance promising to be something truly extraordinary,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall, in an official press release. “Looking to 2025–2026, we’re especially excited about our next festival {…}
(Credit: Boston Symphony Orchestra) The Tanglewood Festival has announced the 2025 season. In a statement by Andris Nelsons, the conductor said, “We are excited for another fantastic summer at Tanglewood, full of exceptional music in the beautiful surroundings of the Berkshires. We are delighted to perform Puccini’s ‘Tosca’ with Kristine Opolais and Bryn Terfel, and excerpts from Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet; with {…}
On Jan. 7, the New York Philharmonic concluded its four concert performances of Strauss’s “Also sprach Zarathustra.” The concert cycle featured Strauss’s famed tone poem, Berlioz’s Song Cycle “Les nuits d’été” and a 2021 piece by Samy Moussa entitled “Elysium.” The result of the concert was a mismatched evening featuring some very inspired playing. “Elysium” The concert opened with Moussa’s {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will hear new recordings of two famed works, one in the French repertoire and the other in the Italian repertoire. There will also be holiday recordings and some world-premiere pieces. Changing Navona releases Choral Chameleon, under the direction of Vince {…}
Houston Grand Opera is set to release a recording of “Werther” starring Matthew Polenzani and Isabel Leonard. The album will hit digital storefronts starting on Nov. 15, 2024. The Act one Prélude is currently available for streaming on Apple Music Classical, Spotify, and Amazon Music. The opera is conducted by Robert Spano and also stars Jasmine Habersham and Sean Michael {…}