(Photo credit: Dario Acosta) One librettist, one actor, four singers, and ten composers join forces to make opera in a brand-new way as Opera Philadelphia presents the world premiere of “Complications in Sue.” This new opera unfolds in 10 vignettes by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson in his operatic debut. Each scene takes place in a different {…}
The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts has announced its 2026 season which will be held between June 12 and 28, 2026. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Festival Academy Masterclass will be led by Lise Davidsen. She will coach alumni singers from the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, each accompanied by acclaimed pianist James Baillieu. Performance {…}
(Photo credit: Chris Christodoulou) Marin Alsop will lead the Philharmonia Orchestra in the UK premiere and world premiere performance of Karpman and Gail Collins’ “Balls” with a full orchestra. Mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz takes on the role of Billie Jean King with tenor Nicky Spence as Bobby Riggs. Lotte Betts Dean, Eve Pearson Maxwell, Oliver Barker, and Mia Serracino-Inglott are among {…}
(Photo credit: Tristram Kenton) Profane escapes scale heights heretical in offbeat tales. These contests of one-upmanship with God breed killers; lesser sinners stray with strangers. Dvořák’s unnamed “Spectre’s Bride” – the leading lady of his 1885 cantata – steals away with a dead demon. Four decades later a Chinese adventurer is robbed and killed in Bartók’s “The Miraculous Mandarin,” a {…}
The Royal Ballet & Opera has announced a cast change for its “Jakub Hrůša and Friends in Concert” on Sept. 20, 2025. Tenor Pavel Černoch has withdrawn from the showcase due to illness. In his place, Nicky Spence will take on the tenor part in “The Spectre’s Bride.” Spence debuted with the company back in 2018-19 and has performed in {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week, audiences will be able to listen to the world premiere of a new work, a DVD of Weinberg’s opera from Salzburg, and a rarely performed opera by Giacomelli. Adoration Bright Shiny Things releases “Adoration,” the world premiere live recording of an {…}
(Credit: Kai Price) The Guildhall School has announced the Nicky Spence Scholarship for Vocal Studies students. The scholarship will be offered to singers who have been educated at a UK state school and would not otherwise have the financial means to accept an offer to study at the Guildhall. The school raised £50,000 for the scholarship, thanks to the generosity {…}
The Opéra de Rouen Normandie has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera Chelsea Lehnea, Leonardo Sanchez, and Anthony Clark Evans lead Verdi’s “La Traviata.” Dayner Tafur-Diaz conducts the production by Jean-François Sivadier. The opera will be livestreamed on Oct. 4, 2025. Performance Dates: Sept. 26-Oct. 7, 2025 Elsa Benoit and Samuel Hasselhorn lead Brahms’ Deutsche Requiem. Laurence Equilbey conducts the production {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week, audiences will get to hear two Strauss recordings and a complete recording of Lalo’s famed work. Jewish Vienna Chen Reiss and Daniel Grossmann team up with the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich for an album which highlights Vienna at the turn of {…}
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has announced its 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Kelsey Thomas and Edward Lloyd perform a lunchtime recital. Performance Date: Sept. 22, 2025 Geoffrey Paterson conducts Julian Bliss and Agustin Pennino in Boccherini, Bernstein, Copland, Einojuhani Rautavaara, and Sibelius. Performance Date: Oct. 11, 2025 Domingo Hindoyan conducts Brahms’ Requiem with Sophie Bevan and {…}
The Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España has announced its 2025-26 season. Here are the vocal performances. Concert Alban Berg’s “Wozzeck” will be conducted by David Afkham. Martin Winkler, Lise Lindström, Rodrigo Porras, Tansel Akzeybek, Jürgen Sacher, Stephen Milling, and Susana Gómez. Performance Dates: Oct. 3 & 5, 2025 Michael Laurenz, Christof Fischesser, Louise McClelland, Valentina Stadler, Tae Hwan Yun, {…}