Juan Diego Flórez, Magdalena Kožená & Eveylyn Helitzius Lead Top 6 International Weekend – (9/20-22

(Credit: Baus-La Monnaie /Catherine Ashmore- Royal Opera House/Javier del Rey-Teatro Real) This weekend will feature two productions of the epic “Don Carlo” in two different versions, a world premiere, a soprano taking on four roles in one opera, a Janacek work, and a star couple in one of Massenet’s greatest works. Here is what we recommend for the weekend. Macbeth {…}

Carmela Remigio, Roberta Mantegna & Claudia Pavone Highlight Teatro Verdi Trieste’s 2019-20 Season

The Teatro Verdi Trieste has announced its 2019-20 season featuring a number of new productions. The season opens with Puccini’s “Turandot” starring Mlada Khudoley, Marcelo Puente, Desirée Rancatore, and Andrea Comelli. Nikša Bareza conducts the production by legendary soprano Katia Ricciarelli. Performance Dates: Nov. 29-Dec. 8, 2019 Fabrizio Maria Carminati conducts Katia Ricciarelli’s production of Verdi’s “Aida.” The opera will star Anna Litvinova, Gianluca Terranova, Anastasia Boldyreva, and Andrea Borghini. {…}

Plácido Domingo, Marina Rebeka & Rolando Villazón Highlight Hamburg State Opera’s 2019-20 Season

The Hamburg State Opera has announced its 2019-20 season featuring six new productions and a number of revivals. There is also a mix of contemporary repertoire with classic and repertory staples. Here is a look at what to expect. New Productions  Elbenita Kajtazi, Renate Spingler, Hellen Kwon, Peter Galliard, Stefan Sevenich, Iwan Iwanowitsch, and Julian Arsenault star in a new production of Shostakovich’s “The {…}

Semperoper Dresden 2017-18 Review – La Forza del Destino: Mark Wigglesworth’s Music Making Overcomes Uneven Leads in Unique Production

Dresden’s Semperoper’s production of “La Forza del Destino” showed how Verdi once again cut a big swathe in subject matter: the idea of fate, “schicksal,” “destino”, destiny, and its power over human emotions and actions. Prize-winning British conductor Mark Wigglesworth led the orchestra through the highs and lows of the tension in such a dialectic, never sacrificing the glories of {…}

Plácido Domingo, Angela Gheorghiu & Rolando Villazón Headline Semperoper Dresden’s 2018-19 Season

(Credit: © Semperoper Dresden/Klaus Gigga) The Semperoper Dresden has announced its 2018-19 season featuring a number of superstars and nine new productions of operettas, chamber opera, and grand opera. As always, the following will only cover the operas that will be shown next season and not the ballets that were also included in the season announcement. New Production  Arnold Schönberg’ {…}

Canadian Opera Company 2016-17 Review – Tosca: Adrianne Pieczonka Slays As Puccini’s Tortured Diva

Sopranos dead by the final curtain are a dime a dozen; murderous sopranos are rarer; sopranos who slay murderous roles scarcer still. As “Tosca,” in the Canadian Opera Company’s revival of Puccini’s beloved work which opened on April 30th, Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka died, murdered, and slayed, not necessarily in that order. A Triumphant Diva Her death should have been {…}