(Photo Credit: Marty Sohl / Met Opera) I’ve seen “La Bohème” many times, which means I usually know within a few minutes how it’s going to go. Puccini doesn’t ask for permission to rip your heart out; an unrelenting sense of tragedy is the hallmark of his work. At some point, the opera either grabs you, or it doesn’t, and {…}
(Credit: Lewis Valdes) To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the world premiere of Puccini’s “Turandot,” the Florida Grand Opera revived the iconic work for the first time since 2010. For the occasion, the company’s CEO Maria Todaro took the stage to give the audience a brief intro to the evening and its significance for the community, while also previewing what {…}
“Puccini Heroines,” “Puccini’s Heroines,” “Heroines”—or “Eroine”—of Puccini. This myriad of near-identical album titles reflects the indiscriminately amorous fascination the composer’s female protagonists have exerted upon a century of operatic singers and spectators alike (after all, 2026 marks the centennial of “Turandot”). Therefore, another “Puccini Heroines”—this time from Pentatone—comes as little surprise. It features Sondra Radvanovsky, whose career has followed the {…}
Puccini’s “La Bohème” will hit UK cinemas on March 3, 2026, in a striking new film adaptation set in present-day East London. The work was reimagined by writer and director Robin Norton-Hale, who is also Artistic Director and CEO of English Touring Opera and the founder of OperaUpClose, and stars Scottish tenor Matthew in his breakout feature film debut as {…}
Art City Opera will present its first fully staged production with Puccini’s “Suor Angelica.” The production, set to open Feb. 20 and running through Feb. 23 at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA, will star soprano Ryan Colbert in the title role, alongside mezzo-soprano Rebecca Sacks as the Princess. The cast is completed by Philadelphia-area singers. Julian Grabarek serves {…}
Massachusetts’ Cambridge Symphony Orchestra (CSO) will open its 2025–26 season with “Beginnings,” a semi-staged performance of Puccini’s “La Bohème.” The performance on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. local time at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium will be conducted by Music Director Cynthia Woods. The cast stars Kayla Harriott as Mimì, Eric Botto as Rodolfo, Melissa Joseph as Musetta, Ron Loyd {…}
(Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera) Puccini’s “La Bohème” is the Met’s warhorse. Since the inception of Franco Zeffirelli’s iconic production in 1981, it might very well be the emblem of grand opera in the world’s most epic 4,000-seat opera house. The audience still goes nuts when the curtain rises on Act two and the house tends to sell well {…}
OperaUpClose will tour a new production of Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi,” across the UK in Spring 2026. The new take on the opera, renamed to “Gianni Schicchi (or Where There’s a Will),” is reimagined in English language by writer Hannah Kumari and composer Vahan Salorianand features six singers and a chamber ensemble. It will be directed by PJ Harris and stars {…}
Tri-Cities Opera is set to open its 2025–2026 season with Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.” The third installment in Puccini’s “Il Trittico” will be performed on Oct. 10, 11, and 12, 2025, at the Tri-Cities Opera Center in a production directed by Patrick Hansen. Giovanni Reggioli leads a cast starring Peter Kendall Clark, Kate Johnson, Jason Gonzalez, and Hailey Cohen. “People sometimes {…}
CHORALSPACE is set to present Puccini’s “Messa di Gloria” from October 1-4, 2026. The organization will present the Puccini work at several venues, including the Teatro Verdi in Florence, with Sir Simon Halsey conducting. Additionally, the organization will honor the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. The program will thus include the world premiere of a {…}
(Photo: Cory Weaver) Some operas are able to provide an opulent reminder of just why opera exists and how it can conquer hearts and minds. Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème” is at the top of that list. Even 130 years after its debut, this comedic tragedy, set in the Latin Quarter of Paris, remains the most popular and most frequently produced {…}