(Photo: © Wiener Staatsoper / Marcel Urlaub) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro” remains the gold standard of operatic comedy, effortlessly blending sparkling wit with sharp social critique. It takes Pierre Beaumarchais’s controversial play and transforms it into a breathtaking duel of wits unfolding over a single chaotic day. Barry Kosky’s Concept Director Barrie Kosky, in his 2023 production, {…}
(Photo: MOF) Director Daniele Menghini returned to the Macerata Opera Festival (MOF) for this season’s revival of the 2022 production of Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.” Dedicated to Director Graham Vick, this beloved and contemporary production tells the entertaining story of Italy’s modern man through the perspective of social media’s delusional gaze. Conductor Jacopo Brusa led the FORM-Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana, {…}
The Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville has announced its 2026-27 Season Opera The Bayreuth Festival Orchestra under Pablo Heras-Casado will lead scenes from the Ring Cycle with Katharina Wagner directing and Catherine Foster, Klaus Florian Vogt and Nicholas Brownlee as soloists. Performance Date: Sept. 2, 2026 Pavol Breslik, Nina Minasyan, Riccardo Fassi, Maxim Lisiin, and Anna-Doris Capitelli lead Gounod’s {…}
The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced its 2026-27 season. Shirin Neshat directs Verdi’s “Aida” with four sopranos taking on the title role. Anna Netrebko, Anna Pirozzi, Olga Maslova, and Ewa Plonka star alongside Ekaterina Semenchuk, Ksenia Dudnikova, Fiorenza Cedolins, Yusif Eyvazov, Piotr Beczała, Arsen Soghomonyan, Artur Ruciński, Igor Golovatenko, Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar, Riccardo Fassi, George Andguladze, Manuel Fuentes, Alexander Köpeczi, {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced its 2026-27 season. Premiere Productions The first production of the season will be Wagner’s “Siegfried” with Benjamin Bruns, Matthias Klink, Nicholas Brownlee, Georg Nigl, Timo Riihonen, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Simone Schneider, and Miina-Liisa Värelä. Vladimir Jurowski conducts the production by Tobias Kratzer. Performance Dates: Oct. 29, 2026-July 29, 2027 Nadine Sierra and Lisette Oropesa alternate as {…}
(Photo: Studio UV – Fondazione Teatro Donizetti) At the beginning of the 1840s, Gaetano Donizetti was the most celebrated Italian opera composer in Europe. After conquering Paris with adaptations of his Italian successes and new works such as “La fille du régiment” and “La favorite,” his life unfolded in constant travel between the continent’s principal musical centers. He composed with {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced its 2025-26 season. Premieres Maurizio Benini conducts Verdi’s “Rigoletto” in a new production by Barbara Wysocka. Bekhzod Davronov, Igor Golovatenko, Ludovic Tézier, Serena Sáenz, Nadine Sierra, Riccardo Fassi, and Elmina Hasan star. Performance Dates: March 7-24, 2026 & July 28 & 31, 2026 Lotte de Beer directs a new production of Gounod’s “Faust” with Jonathan {…}
(Photo: ©2025 Camilla Greenwell) I have been somewhat critical in the past of Adele Thomas’ staging of one of Verdi’s most potent works. With its painfully dark tale told in a rather insidious manner, employing the use of creepy props and actors infused with more than a generous helping of Hieronymus Bosch influence; alas, perplexingly, this time round it kind {…}
The Festival Verdi has announced its 2024 season. The festival will take place in Parma and Busseto from Sept. 21 and Oct. 21, 2024. Opera The season opens with the Verdi Street Parade at the Parma, Centro storico and Oltretorrente. Performance Date: Sept. 21, 2024 Verdi’s “Macbeth“ will be presented at the Teatro Regio di Parma in its French version {…}
The Wiener Staatsoper has announced a cast change for its Nov. 6 performance of “Le Nozze di Figaro.” The company said that Riccardo Fassi will sing the role of Figaro replacing Peter Kellner. Fassi has performed at the Wiener Staatsoper, the Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Opera de Paris, the Royal Opera House, and the Berliner Staatsoper. He has performed the {…}
(Credit: Michele Crosera) After 1,100 years as an independent state, Napoleon’s invasion of Venice in 1797 brought the Venetian Republic to an end. Once the Queen of the Adriatic, with an empire extending throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, it has since been reduced to a small city in the north-east of Italy, with a declining population and overrun by tourists. Unfortunately, {…}