Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. As the holiday arrives, audiences will be able to experience a Puccini extravaganza as well as world premiere recording and debut albums. There are also two DVDs that should be seen. Giacomo Puccini – The Warner Classics Edition Celebrated for his masterful compositions {…}
(Photo credit: Monika Rittershaus) Who’s afraid of double bills? We all love “Cav.” and “Pag.,” and there is some room in everyone’s heart for a “The Human Voice” meets “Bluebeard’s Castle;” nevertheless, Gluck’s Iphigenia operas performed together was a bit of a challenge. The operas, lasting two hours each, are easily stand-alone pieces, and—even though they share a protagonist—they appear {…}
The Greek National Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. Corinne Winters, Véronique Gens, Tassis Christoyanniszu, Alexandre Duhamel, Dionysios Sourbis, and Stanislas de Barbeyrac star in Gluck’s “Iphigénie en Aulide” & “Iphigénie en Tauride” double bill. Michael Hofstetter conducts the new production by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Performance Dates: Oct. 10-30, 2024 Rachmanioff’s “Aleko” and Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” will be presented in a double {…}
Arte is set to present three of Festival Aix-En-Provence’s productions on its streaming platform. It all starts with “Iphigénie en Aulide-Iphigénie en Tauride” on July 11 and will be available until Dec. 11, 2025. The productions stars Corinne Winters, Russell Braun, Véronique Gens, Alasdair Kent, Nicolas Cavallier, Soula Parassidis, Florian Sempey, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, and Alexandre Duhamel. Emmanuelle Haïm conducts the production by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Then on July 12, {…}
(credit: Luca Pezzani) On Oct. 6, the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma is set to present the first act of Wagner’s “Die Walküre” in concert form. The concert will mark the debut of Omer Meir Wellber with the company. The concert will be broadcast on Radio3 Rai. The concert will feature Stanislas de Barbeyrac who makes his role debut as Siegmund, {…}
The Théâtre des Champs-Elysées has announced its 2023-24 season featuring opera, opera in concert, and recitals. Here is a look at the vocal performances of the season. Opera Thomas Hengelbrock conducts Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” in a production by Damiano Michieletto. Marina Viotti, Levy Sekgapane, Edward Nelson, and Peter Kálmán. Performance Dates: Oct. 9-19, 2023 Mozary’s “Die Zauberflöte” will be conducted {…}
(This review is for performances of Nov. 13 and 14. Performed was the 1874 three–act version of the opera.) On paper, few performances of Offenbach’s “La Périchole” could be more exciting than this new production at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées: Laurent Pelly is arguably the director most knowledgeable about Offenbach’s affairs working right now; Marc Minkowski conducting Les Musicians du {…}
The Concert de Paris 2022 is set to take place on July 14, 2022. For this year’s program, several opera stars and musicians have been assembled including Lea Desandre, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Nadine Sierra, and Erwin Schrott. They will be joined by pianist Alice Sara Ott, cellist Gautier Capuçon, and violinist Leonidas Kavakos. The will be joined by the Chœur {…}
Insula Orchestra is set to present Beethoven’s “Fidelio” in Brussels, London, and Paris. The company kicks off its “Fidelio” tour with a May 8 showcase in BOZAR, Brussels before presenting the piece at the Barbican Centre in London in a semi-staged showcase. That performance is slated for May 11, 2022. The tour will be capped by three performance at La {…}
The Berlin State Opera has announced its 2022-23 season featuring a new Ring Cycle. The Ring Cycle Daniel Barenboim conducts a new production of Wagner’s epic The Ring Cycle by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” is set to star Michael Volle, Lauri Vasar, Siyabonga Maqungo, Rolando Villazón, Claudia Mahnke, Anett Fritsch, Anna Kissjudit, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Stephan Rügamer, Mika Kares, {…}
The Théâtre des Champs-Elysées has announced its 2022-23 season featuring productions, operas in concerts, recitals, and orchestra performances. Here is a look at the vocal performances this season. Productions Gluck’s “Orphée et Eurydice” will star Jakub Józef Orliński and Regula Mühlemann. Thomas Hengelbrock conducts the production by Robert Carsen which also stars Elena Galitskaya. Performance Dates: Sept. 21-Oct. 1, 2022 {…}