“I want to fly with the music; we have to swim inside the music,” said Michele Mariotti in 2017, when Lisette Oropesa appeared in a rehearsal video for the Royal Opera House’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Fast forward to 2026, and she still sings the “Mad Scene” with unequivocal ease; her voice soars to vertiginous heights before collapsing into the {…}
EuroArts has announced a recording of “Lucia di Lammermoor’ featuring Lisette Oropesa. The recording features the soprano alongside Stefan Pop as Edgardo, Mattia Olivieri, and Riccardo Zanellato. They are joined by the Coro del Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania and Orchestra del Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania. Fabrizio Maria Carminati conducts. Oropesa has been celebrated for her interpretation of Lucia which {…}
The Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari has announced its 2026 season. Opera Niccolò Piccinni’s “La Cecchina” opens the season with Daniele Luchetti directing. Stefano Montanari conducts a cast that includes Ana Maria Labin, Francesca Benitez, Krystian Adam, Francesca Aspromonte, Paola Gardina, Michela Antenucci, Christian Senn, and Pietro Spagnoli. Performance Dates: Jan 21-28, 2026 Vincenzo Milletari will conduct Verdi’s “Falstaff” with Luca Ronconi directing. The production will star Milan {…}
The Teatro La Fenice has announced its 2025-26 season. Opera The season opens with Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” with Ivor Bolton conducting a new production by Paul Curran. The cast includes Daniel Behle, Cecilia Molinari, Nicolò Balducci, and Francesca Aspromonte. Performance Dates: Nov. 20-30, 2025 Luca Micheletti directs Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” with Renato Palumbo conducting. Luca Salsi, Francesco Meli, {…}
(Credit: ©2025 Marc Brenner) This David McVicar production of “Faust” is its sixth incarnation. It is a cornucopia of demonic dabbling and delightful witticism combined with some rather dark, if not thoroughly perturbing, moments; balanced with some stellar acting and some pretty glorious singing! Under revival director Peter Relton we are presented here with a gamut of prancing devils, cabaret girls {…}
(Photo: c. StefanPop.com) Romanian tenor Ștefan Pop is considered among today’s leading lyric tenors and he is best known for bel canto repertoire. He is the recipient of several awards including, in 2010, Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition and the Seoul International Music Competition. Born in Bistrita, and having a strong musical background after studying the violin for twelve years, he {…}
The Berlin State Opera has announced a cast change for its April 26 performance of “Norma.” The company said that Stefan Pop will sing the role of Pollione, replacing Dmitry Korchak. Pop is well known for his work in Bel Canto operas and has sung Pollione at the Teatro La Fenice, Teatro San Carlo, Teatro Real, Teatro Carlo Felice, Teatro {…}
Rai5 is set to present the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma’s opening night production of Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra.” Rai Cultura will produce the recording which will be shown at 7:15 p.m. on Nov. 27, 2024. The production will be directed by Richard Jones with sets and costumes by Antony McDonald. Michele Mariotti will conduct the production which will star Luca Salsi {…}
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna has announced its 2025 season. Opera The season opens with Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West” with Riccardo Frizza conducting a cast that includes Carmen Giannattasio, Angelo Villari, and Claudio Sgura. Paul Curran directs. Another cast includes Ann Petersen, Amadi Lagha, and Gustavo Castillo. Performance Dates: Jan. 24-30, 2025 Jessica Pratt, Giovanni Sala, Marko Mimica, and Lucas Meachem lead Donizetti’s {…}
(Credit: Teatro alla Scala / Brescia – Amisano) Lisette Oropesa is recording Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.” The Soprano took to social media to announce the upcoming album and noted that the opera will be recorded in Sicily. The cast will include Stefan Pop as Edgardo, Mattia Olivieri as Enrico, and Riccardo Zanellato as Raimondo. Maestro Fabrizio Maria Carminati will conduct. Oropesa {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the season. Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” will open the season with a cast that includes Luca Micheletti, Ying Fang, Huw Montague Rendall, Jacquelyn Stucker, and Ginger Costa-Jackson. Performance Dates: Sept. 2-15, 2024 Verdi’s “La Traviata” will feature two casts. The first cast will be headlined {…}