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 {…}

Dec 7, 2021

Wiener Staatsoper Announces Reopening & Cast Changes for ‘Don Carlo’

(Credit: © Wiener Staatsoper / Michael Pöhn) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced that it will reopen its doors to the public with a performance of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” on Dec. 13, 2021 after a three-week closure due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19. The opera had its live online premiere on Dec. 5. “Don Giovanni” stars Hanna-Elisabeth Müller as Donna {…}

Dec 6, 2021

Juan Diego Flórez, Lisette Oropesa, Federica Lombardi, Étienne Dupuis & Kate Lindsey Lead Wiener Staatsoper’s Streaming Slate

(Credit: Wiener Staatsoper official website) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced the slate of operas that it will be presenting on its streaming platform over the next week. First up is a performance of Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” from 2016 which will showcase Valentina Naforniţă, Stephen Costello, Marco Caria, and Erwin Schrott. Marco Armiliato conducts a production by Otto Schenk. Streaming date: {…}

Dec 3, 2021

Kyle Ketelsen, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, Kate Lindsey & Philippe Sly Headline ‘Don Giovanni’ at Wiener Staatsoper

(Credit: © Peter Mayr) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced the upcoming premiere of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” which due to the nationwide lockdown in Austria, will be performed without live audiences. The cast for the opera includes Hanna-Elisabeth Müller as Donna Anna, Kate Lindsey as Donna Elvira, Philippe Sly as Leporello, Stanislas de Barbeyrac in the role of Don Ottavio, Ain {…}

Dec 1, 2021

Read ‘Come to Me, Darkness’ – An Opera Thriller

So for those wondering what this is, we are trying something a little new at OperaWire. Chris Ruel, one of our long-time writers, is in the midst of publishing his very first novel “Come to Me Darkness.” And what do you know? It’s set in the opera world and spotlights two singers, their love affair, their tortured pasts, and a {…}

Nov 30, 2021

Yannick Nézet-Séguin Withdraws From ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’ at Metropolitan Opera

(Credit: Hans van der Woerd) The Metropolitan Opera House has announced that its Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will not be conducting a run of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” in January 2022. Per a press release, Nézet-Séguin will be taking a brief, almost four-week sabbatical from all conducting duties commencing Dec. 19, 2021. “This short break will allow time for {…}

Nov 29, 2021

Kyle Ketelsen, Sir Bryn Terfel, Isabel Leonard & Andrea Carroll Lead Wiener Staatsoper’s Streaming Slate

(Credit: Wiener Staatsoper official website) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced the slate of operas that it will be presenting on its streaming platform over the next week. Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” from 2020 kicks off the slate. The opera spotlights Helene Schneiderman, Nicole Car, Anna Goryachova, Larissa Diadkova, Andrè Schuen, Bogdan Volkov, Dimitry Ivashchenko, Dan Paul Dumitrescu, Mykola Erdyk, and Johanna {…}

Nov 27, 2021

San Francisco Opera 2021-22 Review: Così Fan Tutte

On Nov. 21, 2021, the San Francisco Opera unveiled Michael Cavanagh’s new production of “Così fan tutte’ that rocked with energy, gaiety, verve, and abundance. The production worked on all fronts. The stage design, created by Erhard Rom, featured the so-called Wolfbridge Country Club, in the 1930s, complete with Fitness Center, Ballroom, Badminton Court, and Swimming Pool, unfolded lively and {…}

Nov 24, 2021

Michael Spyres, Golda Schultz, Sabine Devieilhe & Emily D’Angelo Lead Festival D’Aix-En-Provence’s 2022 Season

The Festival D’Aix-En-Provence has announced its 2022 slate featuring a varied repertoire and international stars. The festival will begin on July 4 and is set to run through July 23, 2022. Here is a look at the upcoming season: Mahler’s “Resurrection” will be conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in a production by Romeo Castellucci. Golda Schultz and Marianne Crebassa star. Performance {…}

Nov 19, 2021

Deutsche Oper Berlin Announces Cast Change for ‘Die Zauberflöte’

(Credit: Deutsche Oper Berlin official website) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that soprano Aleksandra Jovanović will not be appearing in the role of Die Königin der Nacht in Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” on Nov. 24, 2021. As a result, soprano Aleksandra Olczyk will take over the role. Olczyk joins a cast that includes Tobias Kehrer as Sarastro, Attilio Glaser as {…}

Nov 4, 2021

Matthias Goerne, Caroline Wettergreen & Gyula Orendt Lead Staatsoper Berlin’s ‘Die Zauberflöte’

(Credits: © Marie Staggat, Deutsche Grammophon / Bayerische Staatsoper official website / Gregor Hohenberg) The Staatsoper Unter den Linden will present the August Everding’s production of Mozart‘s singspiel “Die Zauberflöte” in December 2021. The opera stars Matthias Goerne and Grigory Shkarupa in the role of Sarastro; Siyabonga Maqungo and Peter Sonn as Tamino; Caroline Wettergreen as Die Königin der Nacht; {…}