(Photo: Mattia Gaido) Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” (1817) is quite different from the familiar children’s tale most of us grew up with. Librettist Jacopo Ferretti (1784-1852) opted for a more realistic Italian view of the fairy tale. His Cinderella is bereft of fairy godmother, magic carriage or glass slippers. Some attribute this rational approach to the Enlightenment, while others believe it {…}
The Rossini Opera Festival has announced the 2026 edition, which will celebrate its 47th edition. The festival will take place between August 11 and 23, 2026. The festival will open with a new production of “Le Siège de Corinthe” conducted by Carlo Rizzi and directed by Davide Livermore. The production will star Adrian Sâmpetrean, Matteo Roma, Maxim Mironov, Simon Orfila, {…}
(Credit: © Hugo Thomassen) The Dutch National Opera is set to present Bellini’s rarely performed “I Capuleti e i Montecchi.” The work will be staged from Dec. 7 to 28, 2025, featuring Antonino Fogliani leading the Netherlands Philharmonic, and Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz is making her DNO house debut in the role of Giulietta and mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya as Romeo. {…}
Vasilisa Berzhanskaya has announced she is returning to the soprano repertoire. The Russian singer took to social media and announced the news, stating, “Dear friends, I am thrilled to share an exciting development in my musical journey: I am returning to my original voice type, soprano. For those who know me well, this won’t be a surprise, as I started {…}
(Photo: Brescia e Amisano) It is rather curious that one of the most emblematic titles in the operatic canon has been staged so rarely on such an iconic stage as Teatro alla Scala: “Norma” by Vincenzo Bellini, which had its world premiere there in 1831 with Giuditta Pasta in the title role. That said, the few times it has returned {…}
The Teatro alla Scala is set to stream Bellini’s “Norma” on La Scala tv. The stream will be showcased on July 4, 2025, and will star Marina Rebeka in the title role, Freddie De Tommaso as Pollione, Michele Pertusi as Oroveso, and Vasilisa Berzhanskaya as Adalgisa. Fabio Luisi will conduct the new production by Olivier Py. “Norma” has not been {…}
The Teatro Regio di Parma has announced its 2026 season. Fabio Biondi conducts Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” in a production by Shirin Neshat. The production stars Carlo Vistoli, Francesca Pia Vitale, and Nadja Mchantaf. Performance Dates: Jan. 23-31, 2026 Dmitry Korchak, Carlo Lepore, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, and Giuliana Gianfaldoni star in Bellini’s “Norma.” Renato Palumbo conducts the production by Nicola Berloffa. Performance {…}
(Credit: Deutsche Oper) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced its 2025-26 season. Premieres Detlev Glanert ‘s “Die drei Rätsel” will be conducted by Dominic Limburg and directed by Brigitte Dethier. The production will star Martina Baroni, Philipp Jekal, Chance Jonas-O’Toole, Joel Allison, Padraic Rowan, Maria Vasilevskaya, and Alexandra Oomens. Performance Dates: Oct. 11, 2025-Feb. 15, 2026 Sir Donald Runnicles will {…}
The Opéra National de Paris has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with Puccini’s “La Bohème,” featuring Nicole Car, Yaritza Véliz, Charles Castronovo, Joshua Guerrero, Andrea Carroll, Étienne Dupuis, Xiaomeng Zhang, and Alexandros Stavrakakis. Domingo Hindoyan conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 12-Oct. 14, 2025 Cecilia Molinari leads Handel’s “Ariodante” alongside Luca Tittoto, Jacquelyn Stucker, Sabine Devieilhe, Rupert Charlesworth, Christophe Dumaux, {…}
Another day, another “Norma.” Not that that is a hardship: lucky Vienna, has two new productions in which to indulge. And they proved very different beasts. The opera hasn’t been staged at the Staatsoper for almost 50 years so it was long overdue to have an outing there. And Cyril Teste’s production did the job well enough, if not excitingly, {…}
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 ambitious vocal projects that include multiple world premieres, rarities, and homages to historical artists. Schubert/Beatles The New York Festival of Song releases Schubert/Beatles on NYFOS Records featuring baritone Theo Hoffman, pianists Steven Blier and Kunal Lahiry, {…}