The Teatro Bellini di Catania has announced a cast change for its production of “Aida.” The company said that Marigona Qerkezi would replace Valentina Boi for the performances on the Jan. 21 and 27. Qerkezi recently performed the work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera de a Coruna, Polish National Opera Teatr Wielki in Warsaw and at Dubai Opera House, {…}
(Image Courtesy of Savonlinna Festival) The Savonlinna Opera Festival has announced its 2026 season. Henning von Schulman, Kristian Lindroos, Lucrezia Drei, Iris Candelaria, Waltteri Torikka, Jérôme Boutillier, Johanna Nylund, and Sonja Herranen star in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro.” Johannes Erath directs and Andrea Sanguineti conducts. Performance Date: July 3-25, 2026 Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” will star Silja Aalto, Antony Ciaramitaro, {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced a cast change for its production of “Il Trovatore.” The company said that Marigona Qerkezi will sing the role of Leonora on July 9, 12, 16, and 19, 2025, replacing Eleonora Buratto. In a statement to social media, Qerkezi said, “I will be making my London Royal Opera House debut as Leonora in Giuseppe {…}
The Teatro de la Maestranza has announced its 2025-26 season. Two casts will perform Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” Alessio Arduini and Jan Antem star alongside Ekaterina Bakanova, Bryndís Guðjónsdóttir, Marco Ciaponi, Pablo Martínez, George Andguladze, Luis López, Julie Boulianne, Karen Gardeazabal, David Menéndez, Emmanuel Franco, Marina Monzó, Montserrat Seró, Ricardo Seguel, and Yoshihiko Miyashita. Iván López Reynoso and Mariano García Valladares {…}
(Photo: © Marigona Qerkezi press) Kosovo soprano Marigona Qerkezi gave her first performance at the age of six, in Ljubljana. She has performed on many international stages and has won scholarships from Croatia, Italy and Russia. She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the first prize at the Leyla Gencer Opera Competition and a special prize from the {…}
On Feb. 28, the Teatro Petruzzelli will present a production of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut.” The opera will star Marigona Qerkezi in the title role. This will be her role debut which she has noted is her “dream debut.” She will joined by Denys Pivnitskyi as Dees Greiux, and Biagio Pizzuti as Lescaut. Francesco Cilluffo conducts the production by Massimo Gasparon. In {…}
The Fondazione Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari has announced its 2025 season. Here is a look at the operas and concerts. Opera Verdi’s “Il Corasaro” is set to open the season with Rame Lahaj and Zizhao Guo sharing the lead role. They will be joined by Guanqun Yu, Benedetta Torre, Vladimir Stoyanov, Luca Galli, Vanessa Goikoetxea, and Carmen Lopez. Stefano Montanari conducts the {…}
The Teatro Lirico di Cagliari has announced its 2024-25 Season. Opera Cilea’s “Adriana Lecouvreur” will star Fiorenza Cedolins, Rachele Stanisci, Anastasia Boldyreva, Chiara Mogini, Marco Berti, Aleksandrs Antonenko, Enrico Marrucci, and Italo Proferisce. Fabrizio Maria Carminati conducts the production by Mario Pontiggia. Performance Dates: Oct. 25-Nov. 3, 2024 Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” will star Thomas Tatzl, Gurgen Baveyan, Lucrezia Drei, Ilaria {…}
The Teatro Municipale di Piacenza has announced a cast change for its production of “I Due Foscari.” The company said that Marigona Qerkezi will sing the role of Lucrezia Contarini replacing Marina Rebeka, who was originally announced. For her part, Qerkezi said, “Delighted to announce that I will be giving life to my beloved ‘Lucrezia Contarini’ in Verdi’s “I due {…}
The Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera The season opens with Verdi’s “La Traviata” with Giampaolo Bisanti conducting a production by Thaddeus Strassberger. Irina Lungu, Dmitry Korchak, and Simone Piazzola star. Performance Dates: Sept. 13-24, 2024 Leoš Janáček’s “Kát’a Kabanová” will star Anush Hovhannisyan, Anton Rositskiy, Nino Surguladze, Sergei Skorokhodov, Jana Kurucová, Dmitry Cheblykov, {…}
It’s been a tough year. Economic hardship. War. Increased social fracturing around the world. In the opera world, we’ve seen numerous companies cutting back on productions or simply canceling their seasons. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything to celebrate. And as we end 2023, here’s a look at some of the young singers who saw their careers shine whether {…}
