(Photos: Paul Leclaire) Opernhaus Zürich revives its 2021 production of Richard Strauss’s “Salome,” directed by Andreas Homoki. The striking set design by Hartmut Meyer features two massive, crescent-shaped rotating structures—an evident nod to the libretto’s many references to the moon. One of these structures serves as a raked stage representing the terrace of Herod’s palace, while the other hovers above {…}
The London Philharmonic has announced its 2025-26 season. Edward Gardner conducts Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with Jennifer France. The program also includes Hans Abrahamsen’s “Let me tell you.” Performance Date: Oct. 3, 2025 Karina Canellakis conducts Stravinsky and L. Boulanger with soloists Véronique Gens, Andrew Staples, and Jean-Sébastien Bou. Performance Date: Oct. 22, 2025 Mark Elder teams up with Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha {…}
The Rotterdam Orchestra has announced its 2025-26 season. Here are the vocal performances for the season. The season opens with Dalia Stasevska conducting Aphrodite Patoulidou in a program of music by Meredith, Sibelius, Berio, Patoulidou, Sibelius, and Respighi. Performance Dates: Sept. 12, 2025 Lahav Shani conducts an all-Bruckner program, including his Te Deum and Symphony No.4 with Elza van der {…}
(Credit: Camilla Greenwell) At the very opening of Damiano Michieletto’s new production of “Carmen,” I was struck by a very vivid sense of déjà vu! Before the curtain rises, a very sombre, spectral lady enters the stage, dressed in black with lace mantilla. For a brief instant, I thought I was back, four days PREVIOUSLY in the same house, where {…}
The Royal Opera House is set to present Bizet’s “Carmen” in cinemas on May 1, 2024. The company will showcase the new production by Damiano Michieletto and will star Aigul Akhmentshina in the title role. She will be joined by Piotr Beczala as Don José, Kostas Smoriginas as Escamillo, and Olga Kulchynska as Micaëla. The cast will be rounded out by Blaise {…}
The Staatsoper Hannover has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Philip Glass’s “Satyagraha” will be conducted by Masaru Kumakura and directed by Daniel Kramer. The production will star Shanul Sharma, Meredith Wohlgemuth, Ketevan Chuntishvili, Beatriz Miranda, Lluís Calvet i Pey, Markus Suihkonen, Ruzana Grigorian, Darwin Prakash, and Markus Suihkonen. Performance Dates: Sept. 6-Oct. 31, 2024 Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” will receive a new {…}
The Royal Opera House is set to perform a new production of Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Damiano Michieletto. The opera will be performed between April 5 and May 31, 2024 and will be broadcast on May 1, 2024 in the cinema theatres of over 50 countries. Micheieletto has directed three other productions at the Royal Opera House including “Guillaume Tell {…}
The Lithuanian National Opera has announced its 2023-24 season. The season opens with Verdi’s “Aida” conducted by Sesto Quatrini and starring Kristīne Opolais, Kseniya Bakhritdinova, and Viktorija Miškūnaitė sharing the title role. They will be joined by Gaston Rivero, Liudas Norvaisas, Justina Gringytė, Tadas Girininkas, Liudas Mikalauskas, Arūnas Malikėnas, and Kostas Smoriginas. Performance Dates: Nov. 10-18, 2023 Vladimiras Prudnikovas will {…}
Wagner had been absent from Valencia’s Palau de les Arts for 10 years. So it is understandable that its return, especially with “Tristan und Isolde,” was a reason for great anticipation and expectation. What’s more, tickets were almost sold out for every performance, and the reception at the curtain call was loud and enthusiastic. Evocative & Original Àlex Ollé, a {…}
(Credit: Royal Opera House official website) The Royal Opera House has announced multiple cast changes for its upcoming productions of Puccini’s “Tosca,” Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” and Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale.” Per an official press release, Oksana Lyniv will conduct the full run of Tosca in 2021, replacing Francesco Ivan Ciampa who was due to conduct the performances on Dec. 11, 14 & {…}
(Credits: © Holger Hage / Deutsche Grammophon / Semperoper Dresden official website) The Belgrade Summer Festival has announced that mezzo-soprano superstar Elīna Garanča will perform the title role in a concert performance of George Bizet‘s operatic masterwork “Carmen” on July 4, 2021. Garanča will be joined onstage by American tenor Jonathan Tetelman in the role of Don José, and Lithuanian {…}