The Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera The season opens with Bellini’s “Norma” with Leonardo Sini conducting a production by Hugo De Ana. The cast will include Jessica Pratt and Irina Lungu in the title role alongside Antonio Poli, Elisa Balbo, Aya Wakizono, Carlo Lepore, and Alessio Cacciamani. Performance Dates: Jan. 18-26, 2025 Mozart’s “Don {…}
(Photo credit: Michele Crosera) Having seen more versions of “Don Giovanni” than there are sands on the beach, I can attest that the greatness of the opera is seldom undermined by a less than optimum staging. However, when the staging is good—or even great—, one feels that there is no better opera than “Don Giovanni.” The revival of Damiano Michieletto’s {…}
Welcome back for this week’s edition of the CD and DVD releases on offer in the opera world. This week is particularly crowded with releases of Maria Callas by Warner Classics to celebrate her centennial. There are also a number of debut albums as well as the second album to one of the biggest rising tenors of his generation. Audiences {…}
Welcome back to this week’s look at the newest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. Among the major options are three DVD releases, a world premiere, and a film album by the world’s most famous tenor. Here’s the rundown. Oklahoma Chandos Records releases a recording of Rodger’s & Hammerstein’s beloved musical, “Oklahoma” led by acclaimed conductor John Wilson. The {…}
The Opéra de Marseille has announced its 2023-24 season. Opera Meyerbeer’s “L’Africaine” will star Hélène Carpentier, Laurence Janot, Florian Laconi, Jérôme Bouteiller, and Karine Deshayes. Roberto Rizzi Brignoli conducts the production by Charles Roubaud. Performance Dates: Oct. 3-10, 2023 Paolo Arrivabeni conducts Verdi’s “Attila” with Angela Meade, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, Juan Jesús Rodriguez, and Antonio Poli. Performance Dates: Oct. 29-Nov. 4, {…}
The Teatro Massimo di Palermo has announced its 2022-23 season. Opera The season opens with the new creation “Kaiserrequiem” by Omer Meir Wellber and Marco Gandini. The work, which unites “Der Kaiser von Atlantis” by Viktor Ullman and the Mozart’s Requiem will be conducted by Omer Meir Wellber and directed by Marco Gandini. Markus Werba, Karl Huml, Antonio Gares, Cameron {…}
The Fondazione Petruzzelli has announced its 2023 season featuring eight productions. The season will open with Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” with Cecilia Molinari, Amira Elmadfa, Levy Sekgapane, Cesar Cortes, Markus Werba, Gurgen Baveyan, Gianluca Buratto, Nicolò Donini, Marco Filippo Romano, and Stefano Marchisio. Stefano Montanari conducts Davide Livermore’s production. Performance Dates: Jan. 22-29, 2023 Ian Storey, Elena Gabouri, Jane {…}
The Teatro dell’opera di Roma is set to present Bernstein’s “Mass” in a production for the first time in Italy. The masterwork will be performed at the Terme di Caracalla starting July 1 and subsequent performances are scheduled for July 3 and 5. The new production will be directed by Damiano Michieletto, who was in charge of the 2020 Rigoletto {…}
The Teatro La Fenice is set to return to Piazza San Marco in Venice. The opera company will present Orff’s “Carmina Burana” conducted by Fabio Luisi on July 9. The event is being realized in collaboration with il Comune di Venezia and sponsored by Intesa Sanpaolo. The Orchestra and chorus of the Teatro La Fenice will be joined by soloists Regula {…}
The Wiener Staatsoper has announced its 2022-23 season featuring six new productions, all of which are themed around Mahler. Premieres Lorenzo Viotti conducts “Von Der Liebe Tod” which includes Mahler’s “Kindertotenlieder” and “Das klagende Lied.” Calixto Bieito directs the production which stars Vera-Lotte Boecker, Tanja Ariane Baumgartner, Daniel Jenz, and Florian Boesch. Performance Dates: Sept. 29, 2022-May 16, 2023 Philippe Jordan {…}
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna has announced its 2022 season featuring several new productions and star singers. Here is a look at this season’s lineup. Puccini’s “Tosca” inaugurates the season with Hugo De Ana directing. Daniel Oren conducts the production which is set to star María José Siri, Roberto Aronica, Mikheil Sheshaberidze, Svetlana Kasyan, Erwin Schrott, Dalibor Jenis, and Claudio {…}