(Photo: Antoine François Prévost’s novel, “The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut,” was published in France in 1731 to great success. Its scandalous subject matter—featuring protagonists who live together out of wedlock, a Manon obsessed with greed to the point of prostitution, and a des Grieux who cheats at cards for money, with both ultimately landing in {…}
(Credit: Luigi Caputo) The Salzburg Whitsun Festival has announced its 2022 slate, focusing on the Spanish city of Seville. “There are said to be 153 operas set in and around Seville. It is a city which unites a unique mixture of proud ancient cultures which has generated and inspired incredibly varied music and enchants visitors with its stunningly bright light, {…}
The Opernhaus Zürich has announced its 2021-22 season. Here is the full slate. Operas – Premieres Richard Strauss‘ “Salome” will star Elena Stikhina, Kostas Smoriginas, Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, Michaela Schuster, Mauro Peter, and Siena Licht Miller. Simone Young conducts the production by Andreas Homoki. Performance dates: Sep. 12 – Oct. 17, 2021 Verdi‘s “Il Trovatore” will spotlight Quinn Kelsey, Marina Rebeka, {…}
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo has announced its 2020-21 season featuring five opera productions, concerts, and galas. Albin Grau conducts a cine concert of “Nosferatu.” Performance Dates: Oct. 21, 2020 Cecilia Bartoli headlines an evening of Baroque music alongside Sofia Vinnik, Petr Nekoranec, and José Coca Loza. Gianluca Capuano conducts a production by Jean-Louis Grinda. Performance Date: Nov. 19, 2020 Frédéric {…}
(Image Source: Official Website Opernhaus Zürich) Opernhaus Zürich has announced that it will start streaming operas on its official website starting on March 27, 2020. The service will last until June 1 with the company presenting operas between Fridays at 6 p.m. through Sunday at midnight. All works will be presented with subtitles in English, French, and German. “We now {…}
Javier Camarena made history on Feb. 16, 2020 encoring in “La Fille du Régiment” after receiving a standing ovation. During the semi-staged performance at the Bella Artes in Mexico of Donizetti’s comic masterpiece, Camarena once again encored the aria “Ah! Mes amis,” making it his first encore in Mexico, his native country. Camarena was celebrating his 15th anniversary on stage {…}
This weekend is Valentine’s Day so we tried to choose works with great love stories. Here are this weekend’s top five operas to see! Don Carlos – Opera Royal de Wallonie, Belgium Gregory Kunde sings the final performance of Verdi’s epic in the title role. He is joined by Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, Kate Aldrich, Lionel Lhote, and Roberto Scandiuzzi. Paolo Arrivabeni {…}
(Credit: © Olaf Struck) It’s the first week of the year and many festivals are underway. This week we focus on some of the standard repertoire and some rising stars. L’Elisir d’Amore – Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Austria Sesto Quatrini conducts Dorothea Kirschbaum’s production of “L’Elisir d’Amore” with a cast that includes Benedetta Torre, Sam Handley, Jonathan Abernethy, Mikołaj Trąbka, and {…}
This weekend sees two world premieres continue their first runs. It will also include a major role debut for a rising star tenor, one acclaimed production, and one rarely-performed work. Les Bienveillantes – Opera Vlaanderen, Belgium Peter Rundel conducts Hector Parra’s new opera in a production by Calixto Bieto. The work stars Peter Tantsits, Rachel Harnisch, Natascha Petrinsky, and Günter {…}
The Zurich Opera has announced its 2019-20 season which will feature a whopping 11 opera premieres and 17 opera revivals. Premieres “The Makropulos Case” will be the first offering of the season with Evelyn Herlitzius starring as Emilia Marty. Other cast members will include Sam Furness, Kevin Conners, Deniz Uzun, Scott Hendricks, and Spencer Lang, among others. Dmitri Tcherniakov will direct while {…}
Happy New Year! It’s the first weekend of the year and we’ve got one packed with many operatic classics and some rarities. We’re also excited to see one of today’s greatest mezzos celebrate her 30th anniversary at the Zurich theater. Here is a look at what’s in store for you to see. Andrea Chénier – Wiener Staatsoper, Austria Gregory Kunde, Luca Salsi, {…}