A new cast took over the Met Opera’s run of “Don Giovanni” on Nov. 6, 2025 to stunning results. I’ve said this before, but casting is such a complex task in the opera world. Most of these productions have to be cast years before they take place and often rely on projections of where certain artists will be vocally and {…}
The Grammy nominations have been announced. Here are the vocal performances nominated: The Best Opera Recording nominees are Heggie’s “Intelligence” (Kwamé Ryan, Jamie Barton, J’Nai Bridges & Janai Brugger; Blanton Alspaugh, producer), Huang Ruo’s “An American Soldier” (Carolyn Kuan, conductor; Hannah Cho, Alex DeSocio, Nina Yoshida Nelsen & Brian Vu; Adam Abeshouse, Silas Brown & Doron Schachter, producers), Kouyoumdjian’s “Adoration” {…}
(Photo: Evan Zimmerman) The Metropolitan Opera’s season premiere of Carrie Cracknell’s revived production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” debuted on October 28, 2025 with a stellar cast lineup including Isabel Leonard, Kristina Mkhitaryan, Michael Fabiano, Benjamin Taylor, Scott Conner, Madison Leonard, Briana Hunter, Adam Plachetka, Michael Adams, and Aaron Blake. The original debut of this production took place during the 2023-24 {…}
(Credit: Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to present Strauss’ “Arabella” for the first time since 2014. The company will present Otto Schenk’s 1983 production, with sets designed by Günther Schneider-Siemssen, costumes by Milena Canonero, and lighting by Gil Wechsler. The work will star Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen in the title role and Tomasz Konieczny as {…}
(credit Yunchis Artyom5) This week the Metropolitan Opera’s “La Boheme” returns to the stage with a young cast of rising stars. Among them will be Juliana Grigoryan, who will sing her first lead role at the Metropolitan after debuting in 2024. The Armenian soprano will sing the role of Mimi, which she has already performed at the Ravenna Festival and {…}
(Credit: Evan Zimmerman / Metropolitan Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to present Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Puccini’s “La Bohème” in Live in HD. The company will showcase the work on Nov. 8 with a cast that includes soprano Juliana Grigoryan as Mimì and tenor Freddie De Tommaso as Rodolfo. They will be joined by soprano Heidi Stober and baritone {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced a cast change for its Oct. 14, 2025, performance of “La Sonnambula.” The company said that Lawrence Brownlee will perform the role of Elvino, replacing Xabier Anduaga, who is ill. Brownlee performed the role on Oct. 11, also replacing Anduaga. He is currently in rehearsals for “La Fille du Régiment,” which opens on Oct. 17, {…}
(Credit: Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition will host its annual Gala Recital at The Lotos Club on Nov. 12, 2025. The evening begins with a welcome reception at 6 p.m., followed by the recital at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7:45 p.m. The event will be hosted by Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel {…}
(Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera) Metropolitan Opera’s season premiere of Ivo van Hove’s production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” took place on September 24, 2025. Van Hove’s production originally debuted at Ópera National de Paris in 2019 at the Palais Garnier and OperaWire reviewed the performance in detail, specifically highlighting the set design and overall aesthetic. It is also important {…}
The Franco Zeffirelli production of “Turandot” at the Metropolitan Opera is iconic and a known quantity at this juncture, so I won’t be rehashing much about it here. But in watching the Sept. 30, 2025 performance of the Puccini opera, I was reminded about its enduring power. Part of that mainly came from the audience with whom I witnessed the {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced a cast change for “Don Giovanni.” The company said that Kathleen O’Mara will sing the role of Donna Anna on Oct. 20 and 25, replacing Federica Lombardi. O’Mara took to social media to announce the news and said, “Surprise!!! I’m am so excited to share that I will be stepping in to sing Donna Anna {…}