On June 28, 2026, the Central Square at the foot of the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw will present Puccini’s “Tosca.” The opera will star Sonya Yoncheva in the title role alongside Jonathan Tetelman as Cavaradossi and George Gagnidze as Scarpia. The artists will be accompanied by the excellent orchestra Sinfonia Varsovia and conducted by Bassem Akiki. Yoncheva {…}
It is time to wrap up the year and look back at our favorite moments and performers. After releasing our favorite performances of 2025 and showcasing our rising stars of the year, it’s time for OperaWire’s annual tradition of naming our top singers of the year, honoring the opera stars that had major, and in some cases, career-defining, years. So without further ado {…}
(Credit: Metropolitan Opera / Ken Howard) Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” is set to return to the Metropolitan Opera for 15 performances. The Anthony Minghella production will open on Jan. 9 and run through March 28 with different casts. The January performances will feature Ailyn Pérez as Cio-Cio-San, tenor SeokJong Baek as Pinkerton, Hyona Kim as Suzuki and baritone Andrzej Filończyk as {…}
The Festival Aix-En-Provence has announced its 2026 season. Opera Leonardo García-Alarcón conducts Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” with Clément Cogitore directing. The production will star Ying Fang, Mauro Peter, Sabine Devieilhe, Sean Michael Plumb, Brindley Sherratt, and Edwin Crossley-Mercer. Performance Dates: July 2-21, 2026 Klaus Mäkelä conducts Strauss’ “Die Frau one Schatten” in Barrie Kosky’s production. The cast will include Michael Spyres, Vida Miknevičiūtė, Nina {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. The holiday season has begun, which means operetta and this week there is an important remastering being released. There is also a new DVD of an important baroque work with a leading soprano. Die Fledermaus Decca rereleases Herbert Von Karajan’s classic 1960 “Die {…}
(Credit: Karen Almond / Met OPera) The Metropolitan Opera will continue its HD season with Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier.” The opera will be screened to movie theaters on Dec. 13 and will star Sonya Yoncheva and Piotr Beczała. They will be joined by Principal Guest Conductor Daniele Rustioni and baritone Igor Golovatenko in Nicolas Joël’s 1996 production. The HD will mark {…}
(Credit: Karen Almond / Met Opera) Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier” is a glorious opera. Full of lush melodies, an elegant libretto, tense dramatic set pieces, and a propulsive pace it always baffles me how little attention it has gotten at the Metropolitan Opera in recent years. Since premiering in 1921, it has had 186 performances with the most recent prior to {…}
(Credit: Manfred Baumann) Soprano Sonya Yoncheva is one of the most unique modern opera stars in the world. Where most take the conventional path, the soprano tends to experiment and move in directions that are constantly surprising. She’s engaged with the baroque repertoire, the bel canto, works by Mozart, romantic repertory, and verismo with a fluidity and mastery that few {…}
(Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to present Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier” for the first time since 2014. The opera will be presented six times between Nov. 24 and Dec. 13, 2025, and will star tenor Piotr Beczała, soprano Sonya Yoncheva, and baritone Igor Golovatenko. The opera will reunite Beczała and Yoncheva after performing in a {…}
Sonya Yoncheva has canceled her performance of “Iolanta” at the Wiener Staatsoper on Sept. 10, 2025. The soprano took to social media and said, “Dear All, some of you have noticed that I couldn’t take part at the Gala in Vienna last Sunday. The night before while performing ‘Iolanta’ at the Wiener Staatsoper, I felt an incredible physical fatigue, which {…}
Sonya Yoncheva and Freddie de Tommaso are set to revive Giordano’s “Marina.” The performances will be held on Feb. 12 and 14, 2026 at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan and will feature the world premiere of the lost opera in a critical edition by ura di Andreas Gies, Editio Princeps, Libreria Musicale Italiana, Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Umberto {…}