LA Opera is set to present Verdi’s “Rigoletto” from May 31 through June 21, 2025. The opera will be presented in a production by Tomer Zvulun and conducted by James Conlon. In a statement, Christopher Koelsch said, “One of the groundbreaking trio of masterpieces from Verdi’s ‘middle period’ (along with ‘La Traviata’ and ‘Il Trovatore’), Rigoletto is an exceptionally powerful tragedy. {…}
The San Francisco Symphony has announced its 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Donald Runnicles conducts Alban Berg’s Seven Early Songs and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. Irene Roberts is a soloist. Performance Dates: Sept. 26-28, 2025 Jane Glover conducts Händel’s “Messiah” with Heidi Stober, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Josh Lovell, and Will Liverman. Performance Dates: Dec. 5 {…}
The Canadian Opera Company has announced its 2025-26 season. The company opens its new season with Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette” starring Bekhzod Davronov and Kseniia Proshina. The cast also includes Robert Pomakov, Gordon Bintner, Korin-Thomas Smith, Owen McCausland, Alex Halliday, and Alex Hetherington. Yves Abel conducts Amy Lane’s production. Performance Dates: Sept. 27-Oct. 18, 2025 Robert Carsen’s production of Gluck’s {…}
The San Francisco Opera has announced its 2025-26 season. The company is set to present its “Opera Ball,” co-presented with the San Francisco Opera Guild. Performance Date: Sept. 5, 2025 The season opens with Verdi’s “Rigoletto” with Eun Sun Kim conducting the work. Amartuvshin Enkhbat leads the cast in the title role alongside Adela Zaharia, Giovanni Sala, J’Nai Bridges, and {…}
The Atlanta Opera has unveiled its 2025-26 season. Verdi’s “La traviata” directed by Francesca Zambello opens the season. Soprano Mané Galoyan sings the role of Violetta, she is joined by tenor Long Long, and baritone Anthony Clark Evans. Evan Rogister conductors. Performance Dates: November 8, 11, 14, & 16, 2025 Up next is “La Belle et la Bête” by Phillip {…}
The Florida Grand Opera is set to perform Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore.” The opera which will be performed in Miami between Feb 1 and 4 and then in Fort Lauderdale between Feb 13 and 15, will be shown in a production by Matt Cooksey. Cooksey will draw attention to the relatable humanity in “The Elixir of Love,” calling Nemorino’s journey “one {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the productions. Verdi’s “Rigoletto” is set to star Igor Golovatenko, Soloman Howard, Javier Camarena, and Mané Galoyan. Enrique Mazzola conducts the production by Director Mary Birnbaum. Performance Dates: Sept. 14-Oct. 6 2024 Elza van den Heever, Russell Thomas, Mika Kares, and Brian Mulligan star in {…}
The Atlanta Opera has announced its 2024-25 Season. Here is a look at the diverse productions that will be performed. Discoveries Series: The Atlanta Opera immersive “Bohème Project” Following the present season’s traditional production of Puccini’s “La bohème,” in September the Atlanta Opera Discoveries series continues the “Bohème Project” with two immersive productions at Pullman Yards. Produced by Tomer Zvulun {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid continued its run of “Rigoletto” with a second cast under the musical direction of Nicola Luisotti. Since our earlier review of the first cast already explores the production itself, we will jump right into an analysis of the vocal performances. Étienne Dupuis was a lyrical Rigoletto, but far too lyrical. His warm and effortless timbre {…}
(Photo credit: Seattle Opera © Philip Newton) Why build an elaborate faux-underwater set for the Rhine scenes in Wagner’s “Ring” when you have an orchestra pit that can make a perfectly plausible stage river? It’s an idea so obvious, you think surely, it must have been tried already. This is the solution found by Brian Staufenbiel, tasked with staging “Das {…}
Houston Grand Opera is set to present “Giving Voice” for the third straight year. The showcase, which was created by tenor Lawrence Brownlee back in 2020, will feature Nicole Heaston alongside Blake Denson, Sun-Ly Pierce, William Guanbo Su, Peixin Chen, Key’mon W. Murrah, Ryan Speedo Green, and pianists Kevin J. Miller and Bin Yu Sanford. The program will include arias, {…}