The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced a cast change for its production of Wagner’s “Parsifal” on June 2, 2023. The company said that baritone Tommi Hakala will sing the role of Amfortas, replacing Matthias Goerne. Hakala has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Staatsoper Dresden, Strasbourg, Copenhagen, De Vlaamse Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Savonlinna Opera Festival, De Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, {…}
The Volksoper Wien has announced its 2023-24 season. Here are the opera productions. New Productions Strauss’ “Salome” will star Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, Ursula Pfitzner, Astrid Kessler, Tommi Hakala, and JunHo You. Omer Meir Wellber conducts the Salzburger Festspiele 1992 by Luc Bondy. Performance Dates: Sept. 15-Oct. 29, 2023 Offenbach’s “Die Reise zum Mond” is set to be conducted by Alfred Eschwé and {…}
The Finnish National Opera has announced its 2022-23 Season featuring new productions and classic opera. Here is a look at the opera productions for the season. “Between” features music by Kaija Saariaho, Matias Vestergård, and Sebastian Hilli. Clément Mao-Takacs conducts a cast that includes Thomas Kellner, Tuuli Lindeberg, and Peter Herresthal. Performance Dates: August 31-Sept. 3, 2022 “CircOpera 2.0″ will {…}
The Savonlinna Opera Festival has announced its 2022 festival, which will feature five operas and several concerts. First up will be a new production of Verdi’s “Aida” by director Phillipp Himmelmann who asserts that “’Aida’ must be retold, because the world has changed irrevocably.” The opera will star Adina Aaron and Helena Juntunen sharing the title role alongside Gaston Rivero, {…}
On Sept. 1, the Finnish National Opera will stream “COVID fan tutte” by Mozart and Minna Lindgren. The production, which opened the 2020-21 season, will be showcased on the company’s Stage24 and Yle Areena at 7 p.m. European time. “COVID fan tutte” is an adaptation of Mozart’s famed “Così Fan Tutte” and uses lockdown experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic. The {…}
September brings the opening of several major companies in Europe. And that means new streaming opportunities of concerts and operas. Before we kick off our list, don’t forget to check out important discussions taking place regarding issues of race and equality in opera with such programs as Karen Slack’s “KikiKonversations,” Kenneth Overton’s “Black Opera Live,” and Mark S. Doss’ “Heart and Soul” series {…}
(Image Provided by Savonlinna Opera Festival) The Savonlinna Opera Festival has announced that it will broadcast Karita Mattila’s recital to homes around the world starting on July 1, 2020. The broadcast will be made in collaboration with Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle. ”I’m really looking forward to singing at the castle and performing with Ville the program we specifically put together {…}
The Savonlinna Opera Festival has announced three performances for this summer. The festival, which has moved its originally planned 2020 edition to 2021, will open its three-concert series with a recital by Karita Mattila. Accompanied by Ville Matvejeffin, the soprano will perform music by Puccini, Dvořák, Brahms, Sibelius, Merikanto, Wagner, Mackeben, Romberg, and Gershwin. Performance Date: July 1, 2020 Aulis {…}
(Credit: Marica Rosengård) The Finnish National Opera is restructuring its 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The company has announced that the first opera in the autumn repertoire will be “Covid fan tutte,” featuring soprano Karita Mattila and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. The new libretto to the score of Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” will be written by Minna Lindgren and {…}
The Malmö Opera has announced its 2020-21 season. The Swedish opera house kicks off its season with “Transformations in Hell.” The opera by composer Isabelle Aboulker and librettist Jean-Pierre Vaguer will be directed by Dite Hammar and stars Tor Lind The, Hanna Fritzson, Linnea Andreassen, and Teresia Books. Performance Dates: July 25 – August 22, 2020 Next on the slate {…}