Ludovic Tézier, Saioa Hernández, Mika Kares, Ewa Plonka Headline Savonlinna Opera Festival’s 2025 Season

The Savonlinna Opera Festival has unveiled its 2025 season. First up is the “550 Years of Olavinlinna” anniversary concert. Erkki Lasonpalo conducts. Soloists will be announced at a later date. Performance Date: July 3, 2025 Ludovic Tézier, Saioa Hernández, Goran Juric, and Johan Krogius headline “Macbeth.” Lorenzo Passerini conducts Ralf Långbacka’s production. Performance Date: July 4 – 15, 2025 Yves Abel conducts {…}

Jun 18, 2024

Staatsoper Berlin 2024 Review: Khovanshchina

(Photo: Monika Rittershaus) Due to the pandemic, the new production of “Khovanshchina” planned for 2020 could only be realized this season at the Staatsoper unter den Linden. Now, Modest Mussorgsky’s monumental, melancholy music unfolds in all its splendour, not least thanks to the phenomenal performance of the chorus. “Khovanshchina” is an unfinished opera in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky, which {…}

Apr 18, 2024

Golda Schultz, Michael Volle & Rolando Villazón 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 explore a new album by one of the most acclaimed Mozart sopranos of our time and a new Ring Cycle. There are some rarely performed composers being explored. La Serenissima Composer and vocalist Esbe will release her {…}

Mar 22, 2024

Opéra de Paris 2024 Review: Simon Boccanegra

(Photo credit: Vincent Pontet-OnP) A few years ago, when Bieito’s staging of “Simon Boccanegra” premiered at the Paris Opera, the reviews were abysmal. Few things are as catchy in the opera world as negative consensus. I got to see the same production with a very similar cast last weekend, and, somehow, I think it was one of the most emotional {…}

Sep 11, 2023

Bayreuth Festival 2023 Review: Der Ring des Nibelungen

(Photo: © Enrico Nawrath) As the final cycle of Bayreuth’s 2023 “Ring des Nibelungen” came to a close, the air remained electric with the sounds of Wagner’s apocalyptic horns and the swirling raptures of the Rhine. Camps came away divided into those either outraged or captivated by director Valentin Schwarz‘s reinvention of the Walsung’s messy journey into oblivion. To be {…}

Aug 30, 2023

Bayreuth Festival Announces 2024 Season

The Bayreuth Festival has announced its 2024 season. The festival will open with Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” starring Andreas Schager, Günther Groissböck, Camilla Nylund, Olafur Sigurdarson, Birger Radde, and Ekaterina Gubanova. Semyon Bychkov conducts the production by Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson. Performance Dates: July 25-August 26 2024 Günther Groissböck, Klaus Florian Vogt, Markus Eiche, Olafur Sigurdarson, Jens-Erik Aasbø, and Elisabeth Teige {…}

Jun 19, 2023

Bayreuth Festival Announces Cast Change for ‘Götterdämmerung’ & ‘Tannhäuser’

The Bayreuth Festival has announced a cast change for two productions. The company said that due to health reasons Dmitry Belosselskiy has canceled his participation in the festival. As a result, Mika Kares will take over the role of Hagen in the “Götterdämmerung” and Günther Groissböck in the role of Landgrave Hermann in the “Tannhäuser.” Kares will make his debut {…}

May 5, 2022

Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros, Brian Jagde & Charles Castronovo Lead Bayerische Staatsoper’s 2022-23 Season

The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced its 2022-23 season featuring 10 new productions. Premieres Benedict Andrews directs Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” with Vladimir Jurowski conducting a cast that includes Louise Alder, Avery Amereau, Konstantin Krimmel, Sebastian Kohlhepp, Sandrine Piau, and Christian Gerhaher. Performance Dates: Oct. 26, 2022-July 17, 2023 Wagner’s “Lohengrin” will be conducted by François-Xavier Roth and directed by film director {…}

Jan 7, 2022

Asmik Grigorian Replaces Sonya Yoncheva in Berliner Philharmoniker’s ‘Iolanta’

(Credit: Algirdas Bakas) The Berliner Philharmoniker has announced that soprano Sonya Yoncheva has canceled her participation in the title role in Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta” for concert performances of the opera on Jan. 12, 14 & 15, 2022 due to flu. As a result, soprano Asmik Grigorian will take over the role, making her Berliner Philharmoniker house debut. Grigorian joins a cast {…}

Dec 10, 2021

Jonas Kaufmann, Elīna Garanča, Luca Salsi, Lisette Oropesa, Elena Stikhina, Asmik Grigorian Lead Salzburg Festival’s 2022 Season

(Credit: Anne Zeuner) The Salzburg Festival has announced its 2022 season, featuring eight operas, concerts, and international opera stars. For the purpose of this article we will focus on the vocal works only. Operas The season opens with Romeo Castellucci’s production of Béla Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle.” The opera stars Mika Kares and Aušrinė Stundytė in the lead roles, alongside soprano {…}

Jun 14, 2021

Anna Netrebko, Renée Fleming, Sonya Yoncheva, Anita Rachvelishvili & Lise Davidsen Headline Berlin Philharmonic’s 2021-22 Season

(Credits: Dario Acosta / Andrew Eccles/Decca / Javier del Real / Dario Acosta / Ray Burmiston) The Berlin Philharmonic has announced its 2021-22 season, spotlighting some of the world’s greatest performers. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on vocal works. Here is the full slate: The Bundesjugendchor presents works by Brahms, Schumann, di Laso, Harvey, Rihm, and {…}

mika kares