The Birgit Nilsson Festival has announced its 2026 season. Here is the a look at the vocal performances. Opera singer and actor Richard Hamrin, together with pianist Eric Skarby, takes the audience on a personal journey through the life and music of this magnificent and controversial prima donna. Performance Date: August 3, 2026 Two of Sweden’s most beloved opera stars {…}
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced its 2026 season. Michele Gamba conducts Massimo Popolizio’s production of Puccini’s “Tosca.” Chiara Isotton and Marta Mari sing the title role alongside Vincenzo Costanzo and Bror Magnus Tødenes as Cavaradossi and Alexey Markov and Claudio Sgura as Scarpia. Opening Date: Jan. 11, 2026 Robert Carsen directs “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci” with Riccardo Frizza conducting. Corinne Winters, Brian {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week, audiences will get to hear two Strauss recordings and a complete recording of Lalo’s famed work. Jewish Vienna Chen Reiss and Daniel Grossmann team up with the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich for an album which highlights Vienna at the turn of {…}
The Royal Danish Opera has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera Daniele Squeo and Lukas Beikircher conduct Puccini’s “Tosca” with Francesca Tiburzi and Marigona Qerkezi sharing the title role. Matteo Lippi, Carlos Cardoso, Johan Reuter, and Daniel Luis de Vicente also star. Kasper Holten directs. Performance Dates: August 31, 2025-Jan. 24 2026 Evan Rogister conducts George Benjamin’s “Written on Skin” in a stage production by Katie Mitchell. Daniel {…}
(Photo: Richard Hubert Smith) Whether you like Barrie Kosky’s stagings or not, they always have an enormous presence. Think of the Marlene Dietrich-inspired gorilla suit in his “Carmen” for the Royal Opera House, the inflatable Beckmesser caricature in the Nuremberg trial “Meistersinger”, or the eerie sea of ash and candles in his “Saul” for Glyndebourne. The latter, highly acclaimed, meant {…}
The BBC Proms has announced its 2023 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Paul Lewis, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Dalia Stasevska perform the first night of Proms. Performance Date: July 14, 2023 Early music vocal ensemble Stile Antico explores the many facets of William Byrd. Performance Date: July 15, 2023 Soprano Rainelle {…}
Photo credit: ROH Salome © Tristram Kenton David McVicar’s production of Richard Strauss’ “Salome”, designed by Es Devlin, was first seen in 2008, and is receiving its fourth revival at Covent Garden with Bárbara Lluch at the helm. It opened the night following the death of Queen Elizabeth II – “Don Giovanni” the night before was cancelled in the circumstances {…}
CueTV is set to stream Dvorak’s “Rusalka” in a production from the Teatro Real de Madrid. The new production showcases Dvorak’s main character as a ballet dancer with injured feet who relies on crutches to aid her movement. Directed by Christof Loy, the production is set in the foyer of an opera house. Ivor Bolton conducted a cast that included {…}
This week audiences can experience a new solo album by one of opera’s reigning divas, two new albums by a great coloratura, a world premiere and two new DVDs from recent productions. Here is a look at this week’s new releases. Amata dalle Tenebre Deutsche Grammophon releases Anna Netrebko’s new album “Amata Dalle Tenebre,” which marks the soprano’s first studio {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced its next two weeks of streams that will feature Teresa Stratas, Carol Vaness, Samuel Ramey, Ben Heppner, Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Lawrence Brownlee, and Sondra Radvanovsky. The first week’s theme will be “Happy Mother’s Day” while the second will shine a spotlight on “National Council Auditions Alumni.” All streams are available directly on the company’s official website. Week {…}
The Glyndebourne Festival has announced a revised 2021 season that will run from May 20 to August 29. “Kát’a Kabanová” will open the festival in a new production by Damiano Michieletto. The cast will include Kateřina Knĕžíková, Aigul Akhmetshina, Katarina Dalayman, Nicky Spence, Alexander Vassiliev, David Butt Philip, and Thomas Atkins. Performance Dates: May 29-June 19, 2021 Giancarlo Andretta conducts Mariame Clément’s production of Rossini’s {…}
