Erika Grimaldi, Michael Sumel & Joélle Harvey Lead National Symphony Orchestra’s 2023-24 Season

The National Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2023-24 season. Here is a look at the vocal performance for the season. Gianandrea Noseda conducts soloists Denis Kozhukhin, Elena Stikhina, Sergey Skorokhodov, and Alexey Markov in Rachmaninoff’s “The Rock,” Piano Concerto No. 4, and “The Bells.” Performance Dates: Sept. 28-30, 2023 Kevin John Edusei and Katerina Burton lead a program that includes {…}

Feb 28, 2023

Arena di Verona Announces New ‘Rigoletto’ Production

The Arena di Verona has announced that it will present a new production of “Rigoletto” for its 2023 season. The new production will be an homage to the Italian neorealist cinema of the 50s. It will be directed by Antonio Albanese, who has previously directed at the Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, {…}

Dec 27, 2022

Francesco Meli & Eleonora Buratto Lead New ‘Don Carlo’ at Maggio Musicale

On Dec. 27, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is set to open a new production of Verdi’s “Don Carlo” in its four-act version. The production by Roberto Andò will be performed five times through Jan. 8 and will be conducted by Daniele Gatti. The cast will include Francesco Meli, Eleonora Buratto, Roman Burdenko, Massimo Cavalletti, Alexander Vinogradov, Ekaterina Semenchuck, and Mikhail {…}

Sep 16, 2022

Ruth Iniesta, Arsen Soghomonyan & Daniela Barcellona Lead Teatro Verdi Trieste’s 2022-23 Season

The Teatro Verdi Trieste has announced its 2022-23 season featuring six operatic productions. Daniel Oren and Ivan Ciampa conduct Verdi’s “Otello” in a production by Giulio Ciabatti. Arsen Soghomonyan stars alongside Lianna Haroutounian, Roman Burdenko, and Mario Bahg. Performance Dates: Nov. 4-15, 2022 Christopher Franklin conducts Puccini’s “La Bohème” with Carlo Antonio De Lucia directing. Lavinia Bini, Alessandro Scotto di {…}

Jun 23, 2022

Arena di Verona Announces Cast Change for ‘Aida’

The Arena di Verona has announced a cast change for its production of Verdi’s “Aida.” The company noted that the Veronese baritone Simone Piazzola will sing the role of Amonasro replacing Roman Burdenko who is ill. Piazzola is a well-known baritone who has performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Opéra de Paris, Berlin State Opera, Teatro La {…}

Jun 6, 2022

Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Netrebko, Marina Rebeka, Juan Diego Flórez & Sonya Yoncheva Lead Teatro alla Scala’s 2022-23 Season

(Credit: Brescia Amisano / Teatro alla Scala) The Teatro alla Scala has announced its 2022-23 Season featuring opera, recitals, and symphony concerts. Opera The season opens with Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov.” The production will be directed by Kasper Holten and conducted by Riccardo Chailly. The work will star Ildar Abdrazakov, Lilly Jørstad, Anna Denisova, Agnieszka Rehlis, Norbert Ernst, Alexey Markov, Ain {…}

Jun 4, 2022

Eleonora Buratto, Magdalena Kožená, Ismael Jordi, Cecilia Bartoli & Juan Diego Flórez Lead Palau de Les Arts’s 2022-23 Season

The Palau de les Arts in Valencia has announced its 2022-23 season featuring opera, zarzuela concerts and inetrnational stars. Opera Jamie Man’s “Zelle” will be showcased with countertenor Steve Katona, Ryoko Aoki, Jackie Janssens, Asko|Schönberg, Wiek Hijmans, Joey Marijs, and Tatiana Rosa. Man conducts his work. Performance Date: Sept. 16, 2022 Alex Esposito, Eleonora Buratto, Silvia Tro Santafé, and Ismael {…}

Jan 1, 2022

Svetlana Aksenova Replaces Angel Blue in Bayerische Staatsoper’s ‘La Bohème’

(Credit: Theater an der Wien official website) Soprano Svetlana Aksenova will replace Angel Blue in the role of Mimì in Puccini’s “La bohème” at the Bayerische Staatsoper for the performances on Jan. 5, 7 & 9, 2022. Aksenova joins a cast that includes Emily Pogorelc in the role of Musetta, Evan LeRoy Johnson as Rodolfo, Roman Burdenko as Marcello, Andrei {…}

Dec 10, 2021

Jonas Kaufmann, Elīna Garanča, Luca Salsi, Lisette Oropesa, Elena Stikhina, Asmik Grigorian Lead Salzburg Festival’s 2022 Season

(Credit: Anne Zeuner) The Salzburg Festival has announced its 2022 season, featuring eight operas, concerts, and international opera stars. For the purpose of this article we will focus on the vocal works only. Operas The season opens with Romeo Castellucci’s production of Béla Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle.” The opera stars Mika Kares and Aušrinė Stundytė in the lead roles, alongside soprano {…}

Aug 13, 2021

Lyric Opera of Chicago Updates ‘Macbeth’ Cast

The Lyric Opera of Chicago has updated the cast of Verdi’s “Macbeth.” Roma Burdenko will make his Chicago debut in the title role replacing Luca Salsi, who was originally announced. Burdenko is renowned at the Mariinsky Theatre, where he has starred in productions of “Il trovatore,” “La traviata,” “Un ballo in Maschera,” and “Simon Boccanegra.” He also performs regularly at {…}

Jul 30, 2021

DVD Review: Dutch National Opera’s ‘I Pagliacci/Cavalleria Rusticana’

Naxos has recently released the new production of Robert Carsen’s “I Pagliacci/Cavalleria Rusticana,” which opened the 2019/20 season at the Dutch National Opera. It is a new development, as historically it has been Opus Arte which release Amsterdam’s operatic DVDs. Opus Arte always included interesting footage from rehearsals and interviews with the cast and creative team in their DVDs. Naxos {…}