Anna Netrebko, Elīna Garanča, Anja Harteros, Sonya Yoncheva, Piotr Beczała Highlight Opernhaus Zürich’s 2021-22 Season

The Opernhaus Zürich has announced its 2021-22 season. Here is the full slate. Operas – Premieres Richard Strauss‘ “Salome” will star Elena Stikhina, Kostas Smoriginas, Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, Michaela Schuster, Mauro Peter, and Siena Licht Miller. Simone Young conducts the production by Andreas Homoki. Performance dates: Sep. 12 – Oct. 17, 2021 Verdi‘s “Il Trovatore” will spotlight Quinn Kelsey, Marina Rebeka, {…}

Apr 27, 2021

Salzburg Whitsun Festival Confirms 2021 Edition

(Photo Credit: © Decca/Uli Weber) The President of the Salzburg Festival Helga Rabl-Stadler confirmed that the 2021 edition of the Whitsun festival will take place in May. “Yes, all the events will take place, and the Board of Directors is in full agreement with the Festival’s Director Cecilia Bartoli,” said Rabl-Stadler in a press statement. Rabl-Stadler added that she regrets {…}

Apr 9, 2021

Anita Rachvelishvili, Elenora Buratto & Elsa Dreisig Lead New CD/DVD Releases

This week DVDs from 2020 festivals will be released while a choral album will showcase new works from some of Latvia’s renowned composers. Let’s take a look! Aeternum SKANi will release Aeternum, a 3-year project from the State Choir “Latvija” and its Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Māris Sirmais, to mark Latvia’s 2018 centenary celebrations. The album features 77 of {…}

Mar 31, 2021

Lea Desandre & Jakub Józef Orliński Lead Baroque Night Livestream From Aix-en-Provence

(Credits: © Julien Benhamou / Kamil Szkopik) The Festival de Pâques will present a night of baroque music to be live-streamed on March 31, 2021 at 8:30 p.m. The performance will star mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre and counter-tenor Jakub Józef Orliński. The two singers will perform works by Jean-Philippe Rameau, Giulio Caccini, Henry Purcell, Georg Friedrich Händel, Thomas Dunford, Reynaldo Hahn, {…}

Mar 31, 2021

Opéra de Rouen Normandie Cancels April Performances

(Credit: Opera Online) Opéra de Rouen Normandie has announced the cancellation of April performances due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic concerns. Among the affected performances are the recital of Lea Desandre on April 7, as well as the presentations of Gérard Pesson’s opera “Trois Contes” on April 8 & 9. The opera was set to star Camille Merckx, Marc Mauillon, {…}

Dec 21, 2020

Staatsoper Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin Announce Major Scheduling Changes in 2021

(Credit: © dpa/visitBerlin website / Gunnar Geller) The Staatsoper unter der Linden has canceled all performances until the end of January 2021. Among the performances canceled are premieres of Mozart’s “Idomeneo” with Andrew Staples, Lea Desandre and Evelin Novak, and Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” which was supposed to star Simone Schneider, Klaus Florian Vogt, René Pape and Greer Grimsley. Meanwhile, Komische Oper {…}

Dec 10, 2020

Anna Netrebko, Charles Castronovo, Elīna Garanča & Cecilia Bartoli Lead Salzburg Festival’s 2021 Season

(Credits: © Dario Acosta / Charles Castronovo official website / Deutsche Oper am Rhein official website / Kristian Schuller/Decca) The Salzburg Festival has announced its 2021 edition, featuring 8 operas and numerous concert performances. Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” will feature Mika Kares as Il Commendatore, Nadezhda Pavlova as Donna Anna, Michael Spyres in the role of Don Ottavio, Federica Lombardi as {…}

Oct 16, 2020

Opéra Comique in Paris Reschedules ‘Hippolyte et Aricie’

(Credit: Opéra Comique) The Opéra Comique in Paris has rescheduled the performance dates and times of Philippe Rameau’s opera “Hippolyte et Aricie,” in order to comply with the Presidential order regarding the overnight curfew in the next four weeks. The production, which was originally slated to run between Nov. 12 and Dec. 12, 2020, will be redesigned to begin at {…}

Oct 8, 2020

Evelin Novak Takes Over For Olga Peretyatko In ‘Idomeneo’ at Staatsoper Berlin

(Photo Credit: Berliner Festspiele official website) Staatsoper unter der Linden has announced that soprano Evelin Novak will perform the role of Elettra in all the performances of the opera in the 2020-21 season. Novak will replace soprano Olga Peretyatko. Evelin Novak will join that cast that includes Lea Desandre in the role of Idamante, Victoria Randem as Ilia, Linard Vrielink {…}

Aug 28, 2020

Les Arts Florissants’ 2020 Dans Les Jardins de William Christie Festival Concludes This Weekend

Les Arts Florissants’ 2020 “Dans Les Jardins de William Christie” Festival opened in Thiré, France on August 22 with a performance of Handel’s “L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato,” the composer’s pastoral based on the poetry of John Milton. The production kicked off the annual event that combines the thrilling beauty of Baroque music and the art of gardens. The {…}

Aug 25, 2020

Salzburg Festival 2020 Review: Così Fan Tutte

(Credit: Monika Ritterhaus) Who would have thought that an opera could be staged in just a few weeks? Probably the fastest production in the world was the minimalist, but extremely lively production of Mozart’s opera “Così Fan Tutte” staged at this summer’s Salzburg Festival. The tension of times – pandemic, anniversary, unexpected project, opportunity to return to work, new roles, {…}

lea desandre