At the beginning of the 19th century, a small Venetian theatre called San Moisè was dedicated to the genre of the “farsa”—short, semi-serious one-act operas performed by a small company of six or seven singers, without a chorus, and accompanied by a modest orchestra. The barely twenty-year-old Gioachino Rossini found this environment ideal for honing his compositional skills and establishing {…}
The Grand Théâtre de Genève has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera Mark Elder will conduct a new production of Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” starring Daniel Johansson, Samuel Sakker, Jennifer Davis, Victoria Karkacheva, Franz-Josef Selig, and Stéphane Degout. Tatjana Gürbaca directs. Performance Dates: Sept. 21-Oct. 4, 2025 Debussy’s “Pelléas & Mélisande” will star Björn Bürger, Mari Eriksmoen, Leigh Melrose, Nicolas Testé, Sophie Koch, {…}
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera Productions Jakob Lehmann conducts Berlioz’s “La Damnation de Faust” in a production by Silvia Costa. Benjamin Bernheim, Viktoria Karkacheva, Christian Van Horn, and Thomas Dolié star. Performance Dates: Nov. 3-15, 2025 Offenbach’s “Robinson Crusoé” will be conducted by Marc Minkowski and directed by Laurent Pelly. Lawrence Brownlee, Julie Fuchs, Laurent {…}
(Foto: Monika Rittershaus / Courtesy of Opernhaus Zürich) George Frideric Händel composed “Agrippina” during his Italian tour, a work that marked a pivotal moment in his career. It solidified his grasp of Italian opera, represented his first genuine operatic triumph, and remains the earliest of his operas for which the complete score has survived intact. The libretto, written by Cardinal {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. As the holiday arrives, audiences will be able to experience a Puccini extravaganza as well as world premiere recording and debut albums. There are also two DVDs that should be seen. Giacomo Puccini – The Warner Classics Edition Celebrated for his masterful compositions {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. It’s a star-studded lineup of releases with Zarzuela, bel canto, modern works, and experimental albums by leading opera singers. Mis Amores son las Flores Lisette Oropesa releases her latest album dedicated to Zarzuela. In a statement, the soprano said, “I’m so happy to {…}
(Credit: Julien Benhamou) Nahuel di Pierro has joined IMG Artists for general management excluding Italy The bass will be represented by Artist Manager Callan Coughlan from the London office and Senior Assistant Artist Manager Claire Louis from the France office. The Argentine bass is known for his baroque, classical, and bel canto repertoire interpretations and has performed at the Teatro Colón, {…}
(Photo credit: Monika Rittershaus) “So, who is signing the work?” an operagoer asks Raphaël Pichon and Claus Guth at a lunchtime panel about their opera-project “Samson.” The music is Rameau’s, but it is not that simple. According to Guth (and his Wikipedia search), Rameau did indeed compose a “Samson” with a libretto by Voltaire; however, it is all lost. Pichon {…}
Arte is set to present three of Festival Aix-En-Provence’s productions on its streaming platform. It all starts with “Iphigénie en Aulide-Iphigénie en Tauride” on July 11 and will be available until Dec. 11, 2025. The productions stars Corinne Winters, Russell Braun, Véronique Gens, Alasdair Kent, Nicolas Cavallier, Soula Parassidis, Florian Sempey, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, and Alexandre Duhamel. Emmanuelle Haïm conducts the production by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Then on July 12, {…}
Opernhaus Zürich has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Samuel Penderbayne’s “Wir pfeifen auf den Gurkenkönig” will be conducted by Thomas Barthel and Ann-Katrin Stöcker. Claudia Blersch directs the production which will star Liliana Nikiteanu, Sylwia Salamonska, Irène Friedli, Philipp Mayer, Stanislav Vorobyov, Valeriy Murga, Gary Martin, Martin Zysset, Carl Hieger, Christian Sturm, Indyana Schneider, Céline Akçağ, Sylwia Salamonska, and Rebeca {…}
(Credit: Teatro alla Scala / Brescia – Amisano) Medici.TV is set to stream the Teatro alla Scala’s new production of Cherubini’s “Médée.” The streaming platform will showcase the opera on Jan. 27 in co-production with Rai. Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka stars in the title role in a new production by Damiano Michieletto. She is joined by a cast that includes {…}
