From September 21 to October 9, the Brussels opera house “La Monnaie” revived Laurent Pelly’s 2018 production of “Falstaff” at the Ópera Real in Madrid. Setting the drama in the present day, the French director successfully blends realism, comedy, and fantasy with constant inventiveness. There are dozens of inventive touches in the staging, and they never grow tiresome. From the {…}
La Monnaie de Mont has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera The season opens with Verdi’s “Falstaff” starring Simon Keenlyside in the title role, Lionel Lhote, Bogdan Volkov, Sally Matthews, Benedetta Torres, and Daniela Barcellona. Alain Altinoglu and Ouri Bronchti alternate and Laurent Pelly directs the new production. Performance Dates: Sept. 21-Oct. 9, 2025 Ricard Soler Mallol and Grey Filastine showcase {…}
The Royal Philharmonic has announced its 2025-26 season. Mahler, Bernstein, and Puccini will be conducted by Vasily Petrenko. The Philharmonia chorus will be showcased. Performance Dates: Oct. 21, 2025 Sir John Rutter celebrates his birthday with soloists Melanie Marshall and Jonathan Brown. Performance Dates: Nov. 5, 2025 Daniel Hyde conducts Poulenc’s “Gloria” with Sally Matthews. The program also includes music {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week, audiences will get a chance to hear a debut album, a rarely performed bel canto work, an original version of a famed Verdi work, and a DVD recording of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece. Birds Spanish soprano Serena Sáenz makes her album debut with {…}
The Garsington Opera has announced cast changes for its upcoming production of “Fidelio.” The company said, “Gérard Korsten is now unable to conduct our 2025 ‘Fidelio.’” As a result, “We are pleased to announce that our Artistic Director Douglas Boyd will now conduct this revival of John Cox’s classic production.” Additionally, the company said, “We are also delighted to announce {…}
The Opéra de Rouen Normandie has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera Joyce El-Khoury stars in Verdi’s “Aida” alongside Adam Smith, Alisa Kolosova, Adolfo Corrado, and Nikoloz Lagvilava. Pierre Bleuse conducts the production by Philipp Himmelmann. Performance Dates: Sept. 27-Oct. 5, 2024 Sally Matthews, John Findon, Paula Murrihy, and Caroline Wettergreen headline Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” with Ben Glassberg. The production {…}
Opera Vlaanderen has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the season. Opera Elena Guseva and Ana Naqe Star in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” alongside Łukasz Załęski and Vincenzo Neri. Daniela Candillari conducts the production by Mariano Pensotti. Performance Dates: Sept. 8-Oct. 16, 2024 Gluck’s “Iphigénie en Tauride” is set to star Michèle Losier, Kartal Karagedik, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Wolfgang Stefan {…}
(Photo: Richard Hubert Smith) Whether you like Barrie Kosky’s stagings or not, they always have an enormous presence. Think of the Marlene Dietrich-inspired gorilla suit in his “Carmen” for the Royal Opera House, the inflatable Beckmesser caricature in the Nuremberg trial “Meistersinger”, or the eerie sea of ash and candles in his “Saul” for Glyndebourne. The latter, highly acclaimed, meant {…}
The Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España has announced its 2023-24 season. Here are the vocal performances. David Afkham opens the season with Rachmaninoff and Elgar. Soloists include Frank Peter Zimmermann, Anush Hovhannisyan, Pavel Petrov, and Anatoli Sivko. Performance Dates: Sept. 22-24, 2023 Juanjo Mena conducts Brindley Sherratt in a program of music by Mussorgsky, Inés Badalo, and Tchaikovsky. Performance {…}
The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin has announced its 2023-24 season. Here are the vocal performances for the season. Robin Ticciati conducts Wu Wei, Karen Cargill, and Allan Clayton in Gustav Mahler’s “The Song of the Earth.” The program also includes Unsuk Chin’s ›Šu‹ for sheng and orchestra. Performance Date: August 30, 2023 Cornelius Meister conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with soloists {…}
Belgium’s La Monnaie du Mont has announced its 2023-24 season with world premieres, a new Ring Cycle, and many classic works. The season opens with the world premiere of Bernard Foccroulle and Matthew Jocelyn’s “Cassandra.” Kazushi Ono conducts the work with a cast that includes Katarina Bradic Jessica Niles Susan Bickley, Sarah Defrise, Paul Appleby, Joshua Hopkins, and Gidon Saks. {…}