(Photo by Anna Maggý) The Royal Opera House will present the UK premiere of Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s chamber opera “UR_” in a new production running May 27 to June 2, 2027, at the Linbury Theatre. “UR_” was composed by Thorvaldsdottir, who also created the work’s narrative, words, and phonetic textures, with title and additional text by Mette Karlsvik. The {…}
(Photo Credit: Brescia/Amisano) In 2026 Teatro alla Scala once again presents “Turandot.” This is one of the house’s emblematic titles, this time reviving the production by Davide Livermore, originally conceived in 2024 to mark the centenary of Giacomo Puccini’s death. This revival gains additional significance as it joins the celebrations of the hundredth anniversary of the opera’s world premiere in 1926. {…}
(Credit: MarcoBorrelli) The Royal Opera House has announced a cast change for its production of “Rigoletto.’ The company said that Luca Salsi replaces Daniel Luis de Vicente in the title role. Salsi is a renown Verdi interpreter who has performed the role at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and Teatro La Fenice, among others. {…}
The Royal Opera has announced its 2026-27 season. New Productions Evgeny Titov directs a new production of Wagner’s “Parsifal,” conducted by Jakub Hrůša. Stanislas de Barbeyrac sings the title role, with Ekaterina Gubanova as Kundry, Christian Gerhaher as Amfortas, Brindley Sherratt as Gurnemanz, and Mark Stone as Klingsor. Performance Dates: Oct. 1–17, 2026 Philipp Stölzl directs a new production of {…}
(Credit: ©2026 Monika Rittershaus) Despite the numerous positive accounts of Barrie Kosky’s “Siegfried” that gave me hope for a rich and nuanced performance, I found the singing, acting and stage design to be flat, unconvincing and shallow. As a devoted Wagnerite, I do not feel that most of the performers truly understood the vast musical work that they were performing. {…}
The Royal Opera & Ballet has announced a cast change for its perfomance of “Siegfried” on March 21, 2026. The company said that Tommi Hakala will replace Christopher Maltman in the role of the Wanderder. Maltman also took to social media and said, “Sometimes, like the poor Wanderer above, events don’t unfold as you would like or as you expect. {…}
Jonas Kaufmann has revealed that he will not be returning to the Metropolitan Opera or the Royal Opera House. In a new interview with the Times of London which is set to air on Jan. 2 on the BBC, the tenor said that he had no plans with either theaters for several reasons. At the Met, Kaufmann said he didn’t {…}
(Photo: Camilla Greenwell) Pinching twitching nerves, Czech master Janáček’s angst-ridden “The Makropulos Case” warns of extra life. Lead role Emilia Marty’s present incarnation joins a palimpsest: Eugenia Montez, Ellian MacGregor, Ekaterina Myshkin, Else Müller and the titular Elina Makropulos. A magical elixir has sustained her for three centuries. Strife drives the aria-void work. Through strings unhinged, alarming accidentals and duplicitous {…}
Katie Mitchell has announced she is retiring from directing opera due to misogyny ahead of her upcoming production of Janáček’s “The Makropulos Case” at the Royal Opera. In an interview with the Times, the British director said, “I’m definitely bringing my work in opera to a close because of the misogyny. “The dissonance between doing feminist deconstructions and, sometimes, the {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced a cast change for “The Magic Flute.” The company said that Lucy Crowe will replace Julia Bullock, who is ill for performances on Oct. 10, 12, 14, 17, 20, and 25, 2025. Meanwhile, Chelsea Zurflüh will replace Lucy Crowe on Oct. 23, 28, 30, Nov. 1, and 3, 2025. Bullock took to social media {…}
(Photo credit: Tristram Kenton) Profane escapes scale heights heretical in offbeat tales. These contests of one-upmanship with God breed killers; lesser sinners stray with strangers. Dvořák’s unnamed “Spectre’s Bride” – the leading lady of his 1885 cantata – steals away with a dead demon. Four decades later a Chinese adventurer is robbed and killed in Bartók’s “The Miraculous Mandarin,” a {…}