Johan Reuter, Susan Bullock, Natalya Romaniw, Elisabet Strid, Ricarda Merbeth & Russell Thomas Lead Finnish National Opera’s 2025-26 Season

The Finnish National Opera has announced its 2025-26 season. Premieres Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” will get a new production by Richard Jones and will be presented for the first time since 1996. The new Finnish translation by Mikko Koivusalo will star Tommi Hakala, Samuli Takkula, Tuija Knihtilä, Maiju Vaahtoluoto, Elli Vallinoja, Polina Liiv, Suvi Väyrynen, Emma Mustaniemi, Dan Karlström, and Roland Liiv. Antony Hermus conducts. Performance Dates: Oct. {…}

Feb 19, 2025

Royal Ballet and Opera 2024-25 Review: Festen

(Photo: Marc Brenner) Mark-Anthony Turnage is among the front rank of living British opera composers. With “Festen”, which opened at The Royal Opera last week, he now has five to his name, with a sixth to follow at Glyndebourne this autumn in the form of “The Railway Children” – a less harrowing subject than this adaptation of Thomas Vinterberg’s 1995 {…}

Jun 8, 2024

Susan Bullock, Stacey Alleaume, Helena Dix & Roland Wood Lead Scottish Opera’s 2024-25 Season

The Scottish Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera The season opens with Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex” with Stuart Stratford conducting and Roxana Haines directing. The cast will include Shengzhi Ren, Kitty Whately, Roland Wood, Callum Thorpe, Seumas Begg, and Emyr Wyn Jones. Performance Dates: August 12-19, 2024 Britten’s “Albert Herring” will be conducted by William Cole and directed by Daisy {…}

Mar 26, 2024

Liudmyla Monastyrska, Brandon Jovanovich & Janna Baty Lead New CD/DVD Releases

Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week, audiences will get to hear several world premieres, rarities, and several complete opera recordings. Giacomo Puccini: Manon Lescaut C Major releases Puccinios’ breakthrough opera with a cast that includes Liudmyla Monastyrska, David Bizic, Gregory Kunde, and Carlos Chausson. The Gran Teatre {…}

May 18, 2023

Natalya Romaniw, Elizabeth Llewellyn, Kate Lindsey & John Relyea Lead English National Opera’s 2023-24 Season

The English National Opera has announced its 2023-24 season. Gwyn Hughes Jones, Elizabeth Llewellyn, and Simon Bailey star in Britten’s “Peter Grimes” with Martyn Brabbins conducting David Alden’s production. Performance Dates: Sept. 21–Oct. 11, 2023 Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe” returns to the company with Chris Hopkins conducting the production by Cal McCrystal. Samantha Price, Ellie Laugharne, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Marcus Farnsworth, John Savournin, {…}

Oct 13, 2022

Atlanta Opera 2022-23 Review: Bluebeard’s Castle

Credit: Raftermen / Mihaela Bodlovic for Theatre of Sound/KSU The Atlanta Opera staged a powerful production of Daisy Evans and Stephen Higgins’ interpretation of Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle,” bringing to light the heartbreaking truth of people living with dementia and their caregivers. In this new production, instead of a collector of wives, Duke Bluebeard is the loving husband of his one and {…}

Sep 15, 2022

Michael Mayes & Susan Bullock Headline The Atlanta Opera’s ‘Bluebeard’s Castle’

The Atlanta Opera’s Discoveries Series is set to kick off the 2022-23 Season with Bela Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” on October 7- 9. The opera, which will be presented in association with Atlanta State University School of Music from Kennesaw, will star Michael Mayes and Susan Bullock. It will be directed by Daisy Evans and conducted by Stephen Higgins. “We’ve been {…}

May 19, 2022

Samantha Hankey, Susan Bullock, Roland Wood & Sinéad Campbell-Wallace Lead Scottish Opera’s 2022-23 Season

The Scottish Opera has announced its 2022-23 season featuring new productions, pop operas, and opera in concert. Opera The season opens with Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” starring Roland Wood, Jonathan McGovern, Zachary Altman, Hye-Youn Lee, Keel Watson, Pablo Bemsch, Shengzhi Ren, Kitty Whately, Lea Shaw, and Emyr Wyn Jones. Stuart Stratford conducts the production by Sir Thomas Allen. Performance Dates: May 28-June {…}

Mar 8, 2022

Greer Grimsley, Deanna Breiwick & Susan Bullock Lead Atlanta Opera’s 2022-23 Season

The Atlanta Opera has announced its 2022-23 season featuring some of the great classics in the repertoire. Mainstage Season Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” opens the season with Timothy Myers conducting the production by Tomer Zvulun. Yasko Sato stars in the title role with Gianluca Terranova, Nina Yoshida Nelsen, Julius Ahn, and Allen Michael Jones. Performance Dates: Nov. 5-13, 2022 Arthur Fagen {…}

Nov 2, 2021

Q & A: Gerald Finley & Susan Bullock on Theatre of Sound’s ‘Bluebeard’s Castle’

(Credit: Sim Canetty Clarke/ Christina Raphaelle) Gerald Finley and Susan Bullock are two world-class artists who have performed at all the major opera stages the world over. Collectively, they have appeared at The Metropolitan Opera, the English National Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Canadian Opera Company, Carnegie Hall, Opera North, La Scala, Sydney Opera, La Monnaie, {…}

Dec 14, 2020

Grange Park Opera 2020 Review: Owen Wingrave

Lockdown has meant more people than ever consuming opera through streams, broadcasts, and archive videos, often from leading houses. It has proved a mixed experience for many. The spectacle of opera, and its broad-brush gestures, can feel boxy on the small screen; so too can its emotional climaxes feel oddly overblown out of a theatrical context. There have been innovative {…}