(Credit: Javier del Real) To close out its run of “Il Trovatore,” the Teatro Real de Madrid presented a cast featuring Saioa Hernández, Celso Albelo and Artur Ruciński (Marina Rebeka was originally scheduled but cancelled). Celso Albelo who took charge of the title role has an exceptional, unique voice. High voices are lighter and smaller, their middle range is usually {…}
Teatro Real de Madrid closed its season with 17 performances of its own production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Il Trovatore.” There was no fixed casting for the run, especially after the cancellation of Anna Netrebko, with five sopranos, four tenors, three baritones, and five mezzo sopranos rotating across the different performances. OperaWire attended the performance on July 8, which marked the {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid has announced a cast change for its July 20, 2026 performance of “Il Trovatore.” The company said that Saioa Hernández will sing the role of Leonora replacing Marina Rebeka, who is ill. Hernández took to social media and said, “Who would have thought yesterday, after finishing the performance I thought would be my last as {…}
The Teatro La Fenice has announced its 2026-27 season. Opera The season opens with Giorano’s “Fedora” in a production by Hugo de Ana. The opera will be conducted by Donato Renzetti and will star Maria Agresta, Vincenzo Costanzo, Ekaterina Bakanova, and Simone Piazzola. Performance Dates: Nov. 13-22, 2026 Maria José Siri, Manuela Custer, Roberto De Candia, and Joseph Dahdah star {…}
The company ABAO-Bilbao Opera closed its 2025-26 season with Giordano’s masterpiece “Andrea Chénier.” A luxury cast was led by opera star Michael Fabiano, alongside the rising Spanish soprano Saioa Hernández and the extraordinary baritone Juan Jesús Rodríguez. A co-production between ABAO and the Festival de Peralada, it presented beautiful and meaningful sets and costumes designed by Ricardo Sánchez Cuerda and {…}
On May 23, the Bilbao Opera is set to close its 74th season with Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier.” The work will be performed through June 1 for four performances with Michael Fabiano singing the title role, alongside Saioa Hernández as Maddalena di Coigny. Juan Jesús Rodríguez rounds out the cast of leads in the role of Carlo Gérard. The cast will {…}
The Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla has announced its 2026-27 season. Here are the vocal performances. Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Silvia Tro Santafé, Enea Scala, and Marko Mimica perform Verdi’s “Requiem” with Lucas Macías conducting. Performance Dates: Sept. 17 & 18, 2026 Leonor Bonilla, Rachel Wilson, Jorge Navarro Colorado, and Julien Ségol lead Händel’s “Messiah” with Martyna Pastuszka conducting. Performance Dates: Dec. {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid has announced its 2026-27 season. Opera Sondra Radvanovsky and Saioa Hernández lead Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” with Lucas Meachem, Szymon Mechliński, Brian Jagde,, Michael Fabiano and Jorge de Leon. Nicola Luisotti conducts Carlos Wagner’s production. Performance Dates: Sept. 23-Oct. 11, 2026 Paul Agnew conducts Handel’s “Riccardo Primo, rè d’Inghilterra” with Jakub Józef Orliński, Melissa Petit, Alex Rosen, {…}
The Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège has announced its 2026-27 season. Opera Giampaolo Bisanti conducts Verdi’s “Macbeth” with Stefano Poda directing. Luca Micheletti, Ewa Płonka, Ricardo Fassi, and Matteo Desole. Performance Dates: Sept. 18-29, 2026 Ravel’s “L’Heure espagnole” and “L’Enfant et les Sortilèges” will be conducted by Jean-Yves Ossonce and directed by Jean-Louis Grinda. The production will star Vincent Ordonneau , {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced its 2026-27 season. Premieres “Mittwoch aus Licht” will be conducted by Maxime Pascal and directed by Susanne Kennedy. Performance Dates: Sept. 19-27, 2026 Wagner’s “Der fliegende Holländer” will be conducted by Anna Handler and Giedrė Šlekytė and directed by Milo Rau. The opera will star Tareq Nazmi, Aušrine Stundytė, Attilio Glaser, Stephanie Wake-Edwards, Omar {…}
The Staatsoper Hamburg has announced its 2026-27 season. Premieres Tomáš Hanus and Daniele Squeo lead Verdi’s “Macbeth” in a production by Tobias Kratzer. The cast includes Kartal Karagedik, Simon Keenlyside, Alexander Vinogradov, Aleksei Kulagin, Nino Machaidze, and Dovlet Nurgeldiyev. Performance Dates: Sept. 12-Oct. 20, 2026 Tohar Gil conducts Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” in a new production by Nils Voges. Aebh {…}