On Dec. 5, 2025, Opera Rara will team up with the BBC Symphony Orchestra to present the final 1921 version of Puccini’s “La rondine.” The performance will be at London’s Barbican Centre, and this will mark the first time the complete third version of “La Rondine,” the one which Puccini was most committed to but never heard in his lifetime {…}
A new organization representing the UK’s opera sector, the UK Opera Association (UKOA), has officially launched, uniting 20 founding companies to advocate for opera’s future and strengthen its presence across the country. UKOA, which was founded by Birmingham Opera Company, British Youth Opera, Buxton International Festival, English National Opera, English Touring Opera, Garsington Opera, The Grange Festival, Glyndebourne, Longborough Festival {…}
Opera Rara has announced two new international partnerships at the start of its 55th season. The company’s newest partners are the Donizetti Opera Festival and Bloomsbury Publishing. This season launches the collaboration with Opera Rara and Bergamo’s Donizetti Opera Festival. Over the course of six concerts across three years, all of Donizetti’s solo songs will be performed by young artists {…}
Opera Rara announces its 55th season. Concerts The Salon Series recital co-presented with Temple Music Foundation features baritone Germán Enrique Alcántara and pianist Anna Tilbrook. Performance Date: October 10, 2025 The final, 1921 version of Puccini’s “La rondine” features Ermonela Jaho, Iván Ayón-Rivas, Nicola Alaimo, Ellie Neate, Juan Francisco Gatell, Jessica Robinson, Julieth Lozano, Joanna Harries, Robert Lewis, and William {…}
“Simon Boccanegra” – in its standard 1881 revision – is an undisputed, though infrequently performed, masterpiece. But what of its very first iteration from 1857? Its premiere, at Venice’s La Fenice, famously turned into a fiasco. Julian Budden, for example, admitted to the hostility with which the libretto was received, while Verdi himself, in a letter to Giraldoni, wryly picked {…}
Opera Rara is set to stream its March 16 concert featuring Michael Spyres and Marie-Nicole Lemieux. The showcase, which took place at Cadogan Hall on March 10, will be available to stream on Opera Rara’s YouTube for 30 days starting on March 16, 2025. The performance featured several songs by Donizetti, interspersed with works by Berlioz. The two singers were {…}
Opera Rara has announced the 2025 schedule The first series of “Lives in Song” is hosted by Flora Willson and Roger Parker. Donizetti—Episode 2 will examine the music of Gaetano Donizetti and tell the story of his life through some of the songs he composed. Stream Date: Jan. 16, 2025 Opera Rara’s second Salon Series recital for emerging artists will {…}
(Credit: (c) Simon Weir) Opera Rara is set to stream its upcoming performance of Rosa Feola at Wigmore Hall on Nov. 2, 2024. The famed soprano will perform as part of the “Donizetti Song Project” alongside Carlo Rizzi at the piano and Sally Pryce on harp. The performance features songs by Donizetti as well as a modern-day premiere. Also on {…}
Opera Rara is set to present its second “Donizetti and Friends” recital on May 23, 2024. The showcase, which will take place at Wigmore Hall, will feature Artist Ambassador Ermonela Jaho. She is joined by Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi. They will perform numerous songs by Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Gounod, and Viardot. Also performing at the concert is violinist Marco Rizzi {…}
In 2023, Carlo Rizzi and the British label of Opera Rara resurrected Mercadante’s unjustly neglected “Il Proscritto” – the story of the exile Giorgio Argyll’s return to Scotland and the ensuing, tragic love triangle at the heart of Salvadore Cammarano’s rather unlikely libretto. In 2024, conductor Rizzi turns his attention to another exile: the former tribune Settimio who is the {…}
Opera Rara has announced a cast change for its concert performance of “Simon Boccanegra.” The company said, “We’re sorry to not be able to work with Nicola Alaimo again this year as he’s had to withdraw from ‘Simon Boccanegra’ due to illness. We wish Nicola a very speedy recovery! We’re happy to announce that our Simon will now be Germán {…}