(Credit: Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera) For the second time this season, the Metropolitan Opera is reviving “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.” Unlike the first cast, which was showcasing several established Met Opera veterans, this second cast featured rising stars. In many ways, this second revival exemplified the Met’s future and artists who will most likely become established faces on the {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera) The Metropolitan Opera’s 2024–25 Live in HD season concludes with Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.” The performance will be held on May 31 and will feature superstar Aigul Akhmetshina as Rosina alongside rising star Jack Swanson as Count Almaviva. They will be joined by Andrey Zhilikhovsky as Figaro, Peter Kálmán as Dr. Bartolo, and Alexander Vinogradov {…}
Glyndebourne Festival has announced its 2026 season. New Productions Puccini’s “Tosca” will be directed by Ted Huffman with two casts. Robin Ticciati conducts the first run with a cast that includes Caitlin Gotimer as Floria Tosca, Matteo Lippi as Mario Cavaradossi, and Vladislav Sulimsky as Baron Scarpia. Jordan de Souza conducts the second cast that includes Natalya Romaniw as Floria {…}
(Photos: Marco Borrelli) The Opéra de Monte-Carlo ushered in the new year with two standout productions as part of the “Mozart in Monaco” festival, organized by the resident Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. The festival’s first offering was a semi-staged “Don Giovanni,” presented by the Wiener Staatsoper on January 19th. Cecilia Bartoli, director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, continued her fruitful {…}
(Photo credit: Agnese Zeltiņa) Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love” (L’elisir d’amore) is frequently appreciated for its vibrant comedy and charming music. However, this opera offers a depth that goes beyond surface-level amusement, engaging themes of love, illusion, and societal structures in nuanced ways. Traditional productions often miss the deeper layers of the opera, focusing instead on its comedic aspects. In {…}
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo has announced its 2024-25 season. Festival Centenaire Puccini Giacomo Sagripanti conducts Puccini’s “La Rondine“ in Concert. Pretty Yende, Charles Castronovo, Deanna Breiwick, Juan Francisco Gatell, and Roberto de Candia. Performance Date: Oct. 30, 2024 Anna Netrebko, Nino Machaidze, Mariam Battistelli, Yusif Eyvazov, and Florian Sempey lead Puccini’s “La Bohème.” Biagio Pizzuti, Giorgi Manoshvili, and Matteo Peirone {…}
Photo: Marco Borrelli On Sunday January 28th, 2024, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo gave the penultimate performance of a new production of Handel’s “Giulio Cesare in Egitto,” the third in a series of Handel productions featuring Cecilia Bartoli, following “Ariodante” in 2019 and “Alcina” in 2023, both staged by Christof Loy. This time, the staging was entrusted to Davide Livermore, scenographer {…}
Opera Monte Carlo has announced its 2023 season featuring many of the greatest artists of our time. Cecilia Bartoli stars in Handel’s “Alcina” with Philippe Jarroussky, Sandrine Piau, Varduhi Abrahamyan, Maxim Mironov, and Peter Kalman. Gianluca Capuano conducts the production by Christof Loy. Performance Dates: Jan. 20-26, 2023 Gianluca Capuano conducts Rossini’s “Stabat Mater” with Maria Agresta, Varduhi Abrahamyan, Celso {…}
Müpa Budapest has announced its 2022-23 season featuring a number of concerts and great artists. Here is a look at the vocal performances of the season. Musical Stage Aapo Häkkinen conducts Schubert’s “Alfonso und Estrella” with Patrick Grahl, Lydia Teuscher, Krešimir Stražanac, Johannes Weisser, and Arttu Kataja. Performance Dates: Nov. 17, 2022 Nikolas Nägele conducts the Bel Canto Aria evening {…}
(Credit: Hungarian State Opera) The Hungarian State Opera has announced an upcoming run of Offenbach’s “Les contes d’Hoffmann.” These performances of the famed Offenbach work will be the first at the opera house in 25 years. The opera will have two casts, and soprano Klára Kolonits will perform the four heroines alongside Péter Kálmán as four villains, Viktória Mester in {…}
MÜPA Budapest has announced its streaming slate for the month of June. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be mainly on operatic performances, all of them coincidentally (or not) of Wagner works. First up will be “Wagner Magic I.” which will star Iréne Theorin, Annette Dasch, Tomasz Konieczny, and Magnus Vigilius as they take on music from {…}
