Asmik Grigorian, Kate Lindsey, Jonathan Tetelman, Benjamin Bernheim, Elīna Garanča, Lisette Oropesa & Juan Diego Flórez Lead Salzburg Festival’s 2026 Season

The Salzburg Festival has announced its 2026 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Franck Ollu conducts Pascal Dusapin and Rita de Letteriis’s “Passion” starring Sarah Aristidou, Georg Nigl, and Schola Heidelberg. Performance Date: July 23, 2026 Asmik Grigorian stars as Bizet’s “Carmen” alongside Jonathan Tetelman, Kristina Mkhitaryan, and Davide Luciano. Teodor Currentzis conducts the production by Gabriela {…}

May 27, 2025

Christina Landshamer, Marianne Crebassa, Julia Lezhneva, Katharina Konradi & Bo Skovhus Lead Deutsche Radio Philharmonie’s 2025-26 Season

The Deutsche Radio Philharmonie has announced its 2025-26 season. Here are the vocal performances on offer. Michael Schønwandt and Christina Landshamer perform music by Mahler, Canteloube, and Chaminade. Performance Date: Sept. 14, 2025 Michael Schønwandt and Christina Landshamer perform music by Mahler, Canteloube, and Chaminade. Performance Dates: Sept. 25 & 27, 2025 Josep Pons and Marianne Crebassa team up for {…}

Mar 28, 2025

Michael Spyres, Pene Pati, Sabine Devieilhe, Étienne Dupuis & Stéphane Degout Lead Opera Comique’s 2025-26 Season

Opera Comique has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera The season opens with Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” with Michael Spyres, Héloïse Mas, Amina Edris, and Jean-Sébastien Bou. Pierre Dumoussaud conducts the production by Lotte De Beer. Performance Dates: Sept. 25-Oct. 5, 2025 Gluck’s “Iphigénie en Tauride” will star Tamara Bounazou, Theo Hoffman, Philippe Talbot, Jean-Fernand Setti, Léontine Maridat-Zimmerlin, Fanny Soyer, and Lysandre Châlon. Louis {…}

Nov 14, 2024

CD Review: George Benjamin & Martin Crimp’s ‘Picture a day like this’

Every six years or so, we’re gifted with an operatic gem from composer George Benjamin and playwright Martin Crimp. Their fourth and latest collaboration, “Picture a day like this,” is a revelation. This live recording, released by Nimbus Records, features the composer conducting the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the work’s 2023 Aix-en-Provence Festival premiere. While Benajmin and Crimp’s colleagues on {…}

Sep 13, 2024

Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Netrebko, Davóne Tines, Sonya Yoncheva & Zoltán Daragó Lead New CD/DVD Releases

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 one of the great tenors of his generation alongside some of the greatest sopranos in one album dedicated to Puccini. There are also world premiere recordings of new works and one debut album. Here is a {…}

Jul 24, 2024

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2024 Review: La Clemenza di Tito

(Credit: Vincent Beaume) We are in the middle of Sesto’s aria “Parto, Parto,” mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa sharing center stage with excellent clarinetist Nicola Boud, when we hear an explosion. As a long-time resident of the United States, my first thoughts were the most dreadful—gunshots, bomb, the apocalypse. Raphäel Pichon peacefully kept conducting, with longer pauses, perhaps, but, as the fear {…}

Mar 22, 2024

Marion Cotillard, Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau, Sonya Yoncheva, Juan Diego Flórez & Sabine Devieilhe Lead Philharmonie de Paris’ 2024-25 Season

The Philharmonie de Paris has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Orchestre de Paris Klaus Mäkelä conducts music by Beethoven, Peteris Vasks, and Tchaikovsky. Lisa Batiashvili is the soloist. Performance Date: Sept. 11, 2024 Stanislav Kochanovsky conducts a program of music by Tchaikovsky, Ravel, and Alexandre Tcherepnine. Golda Schultz stars. Performance Date: Oct. 9, {…}

Feb 29, 2024

John Osborn, Amanda Forsythe, Joélle Harvey & Christian Van Horn Lead Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s 2024-25 Season

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2024-25 season. Here are the vocal performances. Nicholas Kraemer conducts a program that includes the music of Händel, Beethoven, and Mozart. Soloists include Amanda Forsythe, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Josh Lovell, and Michael Sumuel. Performance Dates: Oct. 17-19, 2024 Fabien Gabel and Konstantin Krimmel team up for a program of music by Britten, Mahler, {…}

Jul 18, 2023

Festival d’Aix En Provence 2023 Review: Picture a Day Like This

(Photo Credit: Jean-Louis Fernandez) Reviewing a new opera is always a hard task. Beyond the many difficulties of reflecting on an extremely elaborate piece of work, after only one or two hearings, there is also a major difficulty for the critic when addressing unavoidable questions like, “is the new work any good?” This often transforms itself into a more dangerous {…}

Nov 23, 2022

Jonas Kaufmann, Lisette Oropesa & Anita Rachvelishvili Lead Festival d’Aix-en-Provence’s 2023 Season

Today, Pierre Audi announced the program for the seventieth-fifth Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. The festival will take place between the 4 th and 24th of July, 2023, staging six works, three operas in concert, and many recitals. The full program is below: The season opens with “The Threepenny Opera” by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill, and Elisabeth Hauptmann. Maxime Pascal conducts the production {…}

Jun 4, 2022

Eleonora Buratto, Magdalena Kožená, Ismael Jordi, Cecilia Bartoli & Juan Diego Flórez Lead Palau de Les Arts’s 2022-23 Season

The Palau de les Arts in Valencia has announced its 2022-23 season featuring opera, zarzuela concerts and inetrnational stars. Opera Jamie Man’s “Zelle” will be showcased with countertenor Steve Katona, Ryoko Aoki, Jackie Janssens, Asko|Schönberg, Wiek Hijmans, Joey Marijs, and Tatiana Rosa. Man conducts his work. Performance Date: Sept. 16, 2022 Alex Esposito, Eleonora Buratto, Silvia Tro Santafé, and Ismael {…}