It has been 23 years since Daniel Barenboim offered three performances of Wagner’s comedy at Teatro Real. It was the first Laurent Pelly Wagner production, and therefore the expectations were high. And the result did not disappoint an enthusiastic audience which gave strong ovations at the curtain call. Pelly is a master in “comedy” and he recognizes that he doesn’t {…}
The Deutsche Oper am Rhein has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Verdi’s “Nabucco” will be directed by Ilaria Lanzino. Vitali Alekseenok and Katharina Müllner conduct a cast that includes Alexey Zelenkov, Eduardo Aladrén, Jussi Myllys, Liang Li, Svetlana Kasyan, and Marigona Qerkezi. Performance Dates: Sept. 15-Dec. 25, 2024 Christoph Stöcker and Katharina Müllner conduct Jerry Bock, Joseph Stein, and Sheldon Harnick’s {…}
The Komische Oper has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the operatic performances. Premieres George Petrou conducts Händel’s “Messiah” with Damiano Michieletto directing. The soloists will include Penny Sofroniadou, Julia Grüter, Rachael Wilson, Katharina Bradić, Julien Behr, Rupert Charlesworth, Philipp Meierhöfer, and Tijl Faveyts. Performance Dates: Sept. 21-Oct. 6, 2024 Franz Wittenbrink’s kinderoper “Die kleine Hexe” will {…}
Photo: © Monika Rittershaus “Così Fan Tutte” has become the most uncomfortable of the three Mozart-Da Ponte operas. “Le Nozze di Figaro” has secured itself as a revolutionary and anti-establishment opera. “Don Giovanni” is unavoidable and unforgettable. “Così,” on the other hand, struggled to find its public for most of the nineteenth century. Its plot is often seen as both {…}
The English National Opera has announced its 2023-24 season. Gwyn Hughes Jones, Elizabeth Llewellyn, and Simon Bailey star in Britten’s “Peter Grimes” with Martyn Brabbins conducting David Alden’s production. Performance Dates: Sept. 21–Oct. 11, 2023 Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe” returns to the company with Chris Hopkins conducting the production by Cal McCrystal. Samantha Price, Ellie Laugharne, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Marcus Farnsworth, John Savournin, {…}
Photo: © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL; What a season it has been for English National Opera. Threatened by Arts Council England with swingeing cuts and hare-brained, uncosted plans for relocation, the company has become one of the most prominent symbols for classical music’s ongoing struggle for survival in UK public culture. But the season has seen the company’s artistic and institutional resolve {…}
(Photo: Jean-Louis Fernandez) As a rule of thumb, you know that if you have to rely on the director’s program notes to make sense of what is happening on stage, then the production is likely to disappoint. Of course, even in such circumstances it is sometimes possible to develop an intuitive understanding, even where the explicit meaning remains elusive, which {…}
The English National Opera has announced its 2022-23 season featuring eight productions and seven operas. Leo Hussain conducts Puccini’s “Tosca” in a new production by Christof Loy. The cast will include Sinéad Campbell-Wallace, Adam Smith, and Noel Bouley. Performance Dates: Sept. 30–Nov. 4 2022 Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Yeomen of the Guard” will include Anthony Gregory, Neal Davies, Alexandra Oomens, Heather {…}
This week audiences will get two full opera recordings and two recital albums. Here is a look at this week’s new releases. Thaïs Unitel and C Major will release Massenet’s opera from January 2021. The production was directed by Peter Konwitschny and conducted by Leo Hussain. Nicole Chevalier and Josef Wagner lead the cast. L’Orfeo Leonardo García Alarcón leads the {…}
(Credits: LA Opera official website / Jan Windszus Photography / Lena Kern / Mark Janssen / Georg Schlosser / In Art Management official website) The Komische Oper Berlin has announced its 2021-22 season. Here is a look at the operatic and vocal performances. Opera – Premieres Enescu’s rarely performed masterwork “Œdipe” opens the season. The opera features Jens Larsen, Joachim {…}
(Image Source: Riccardo Fassi Official Website) The Royal Opera House has announced a major cast change for its upcoming production of “Don Giovanni.” Baritone Christopher Maltman has withdrawn from the performances on July 16 and 18, 2021 due to ongoing quarantine regulations that conflict with his scheduled performances in Rome and Salzburg. In his stead, audiences will hear bass Riccardo {…}