The Théâtre Champs-Élysée has announced its 2019-20 season featuring five opera productions, numerous concert performances, operas in concerts, a Beethoven celebration and a number of recitals. For this season announcement we have narrowed it down to only vocal or operatic performances. Here is a look at the massive season. Deborah Cohen directs a new production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” with {…}
This weekend is all about the stars. From Vienna to Germany to the United Kingdom, every cast has some of the world’s greats performing. Check out this weekend’s picks! Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci – Wiener Staatsoper, Austria Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s production continues at the Vienna house with a starry cast that includes Yonghoon Lee singing Turiddu and Fabio Sartori as Canio. Elina Garanca stars {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper revealed its 2019-20 season, which unsurprising features dozens of operas. Almost every single one is impeccably cast, but few standout as the must-see showcases of the season. 7 Deaths of Maria Callas Maria Callas is more than an operatic icon at this point – she’s a legend and this work seems intent on exploring that very nature {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced its 2019-20 season, which is undeniably one of the biggest there is. It includes eight new productions to go along with a plethora of revivals. New Productions Jonas Kaufmann and Marlis Petersen headline a new production of Korngold’s “Die Tote Stadt” with Simon Stone directing. Kirill Petrenko conducts the production which also stars Andrzej Filonczyk, Jennifer Johnston, {…}
The Baden-Baden Festival has announced its 2019-20 season with a number of great performers and concerts. For this article, we have only concentrated on vocal and opera events. here is a look. Fall Festival John Neumeier directs Gluck’s “Orfeo et Eurydice” with Alessandro de Marchi conducting. Performance Dates: Sept. 27-19, 2019 Dorothee Mields sings a program centered on Der Orpheus-Mythos {…}
The Opéra National de Paris has announced its 2019-20 seasons which will feature a total of 19 operas and the entire Ring Cycle in an all-new production. Bellini’s “I Puritani” opens the season in a production by Laurent Pelly. Elsa Dreisig takes the leading role with Javier Camarena and Francesco Demuro sharing the role of Arturo. Riccardo Frizza conducts the {…}
Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West” will be showcased on PBS’s Great Performances From The Met this Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. The broadcast will kick off at 12 p.m. EDT and will showcase Jonas Kaufmann as Dick Johnson with Eva-Maria Westbroek as Minnie. This HD showcase was best known for being the long awaited return of Kaufmann to the Met after {…}
This week, two major releases will be available commercially by three of the most acclaimed artists in the industry. Here is a look at what we recommend this week. Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch Diana Damrau and Jonas Kaufmann team up for an album that puts a spotlight on Wolf’s complete Italian Lieder with pianist Helmut Deutsch. The new CD comes after {…}
The holiday season is a time for fun. In many places, operetta takes on a more central role in the repertoire being performed. And as such, we see many prominent singers take a stab at the lighter works. Enter tenor Jonas Kaufmann, who is set to celebrate the New Year in his role debut as Eisenstein in “Die Fledermaus.” Kaufmann, {…}
Can great singing justify the whole opera production? This season director Amélie Niermeyer presented a new production of Verdi’s masterpiece “Otello” at the Bayerische Staatsoper. In this controversial production any heroic as well as historical context was removed. Instead of a story of an exhausted hero, broken under the pressure of doubts and jealousy, we received a story of a {…}
On Monday, Jonas Kaufmann received the Maximilian Order, the highest award that an artist from the Free State of Bavaria can receive in Munich. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) praised Kaufmann as the “tenorissimo of our time” and noted that he is “the most sought after, most versatile, and exciting tenor among opera singers in the world.” Kaufmann was honored {…}