(Photo: Genevieve Girling) Händel’s magic operas, with their complicated love plots, sorceresses, gods, monsters and magical transformations set in an era of chivalric sensitivities, alongside a rigid musical structure of recitatives separated by arias that hold up the narrative, can be a nightmare for directors. Yet in the right hands, they become visually exciting and dramatically engaging spectacles, and Olivia {…}
The Dunedin Consort announces its 2026-27 lineup. This article only features vocal performances. Nardus Williams stars in ”Handel’s Leading Ladies.” John Butt directs. Performance Dates: Nov. 24 – 27, 2026 The singers and instrumentalists of Dunedin Consort present “Children’s Messiah” under the direction of Matthew Truscott. Performance Dates: Dec. 10 & 17, 2026 Rowan Pierce, Anita Monserrat, Ed Lyon, and Marcus Farnsworth {…}
(Photo: Bart Grietens) The production of “The Opera Circus” vividly revives the historical tradition of the Pasticcio, a staple of 18th-century operatic life. By weaving together a curated selection from Handel’s vast sprawling catalog—ranging from the iconic “Alcina” to the lesser-known gems of “Teseo”—the production team mirrors the composer’s own creativity brilliance. This format provides a flexible, 90-minute skeletal framework {…}
The Dunedin Consort announces its 2025-26 season. For the purpose of this article only voice performances are included. Bach’s “Matthew Passion,” BWV 244, features soloists Rowan Pierce, Hugh Cutting, Nicholas Mulroy, Marcus Farnsworth, Sarah Anne Champion, Hiroshi Amako, and Christopher Webb. John Butt directs. Performance Date: September 10, 2025 Bach’s “Markus Passion,” BWV 247, is presented with Concert Theatre Works. {…}
(Photo: Michele Monasta) The Greek gods are a colorful crowd, who enjoy nothing better than involving themselves in the world of Man. Woe betide anyone who is unfortunate enough to attract their attention, whether it be for good or ill; the gods act in their own interests, seeking pleasure and entertainment in all its forms wherever they can find them. {…}
(Credits: Bettina Stöß / Bernd Uhlig) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced all the premieres of its 2021-22 season. Here is a look. The “Best of Carmen” concert will spotlight Valeriia Savinskaia, Arianna Manganello, Elena Tsallagova, Matthew Newlin, Joel Allison, and Ève-Maud Hubeaux in the title role. Daniel Carter conducts a production by Silke Sense. Performance dates: Aug. 21 – {…}
(Credit: Deutsche Oper Berlin/Bettina Stöß) Based on a comedy by William Shakespeare, Britten and Pears’ “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” had its world premiere at the Aldeburgh Festival on June 11, 1960, with the composer conducting. Britten and Pears tried to bring Shakespeare’s magical world onstage both as a play and as a vocal piece. Alas, the opera has since struggled {…}
(Credit: Deutsche Oper Berlin/Leo Seidel) American Director Ted Huffman will stage the Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In this production of the masterwork at the largest Berlin’s opera house, Huffman brings a great deal of memories of Provincetown on Cape Cod. “I think of Provincetown as being akin to the forest in ‘A Midsummer {…}
OperaVision will present a live stream of Handel’s “Agrippina” from The Grange Festival on June 6, 2019. The stream kicks off at 7 p.m. local time. That’s around 1 p.m. EDT and 10 a.m. PST for the start time. It will be available for repeat viewings on Opera Vision until Dec. 12, 2019. The opera features Ashley Riches, Anna Bonitatibus, {…}
Concert performances of operas can be a rather mixed bag. The works themselves were concocted with the vision of being complete art forms and taking them out of this context can be difficult. Many operas can get away with it simply by the symphonic qualities of the music (see Wagner or Strauss). But this can take an even more complex {…}