Roberto Alagna, Catherine Hunold, Véronique Gens & Valerio Contaldo Headline Opéra de Massy’s 2021-22 Season

(Credits: Gregor Hohenberg/Sony Music / Brennecke Art official website / Franck Juery / Alpha Classics / Operabase official website) Opéra de Massy in France has announced its 2021-22 season. Here is the full slate. Operas Bizet‘s “Carmen” opens the season. Thomas Bettinger performs Don José, Christian Helmer portrays Escamillo, and Ahlima Mhamdi takes on the title role. The cast also {…}

May 28, 2021

Véronique Gens, Sophie Koch, Roderick Williams & Lionel Lhote Lead Festival Berlioz 2021

(Credits: Franck Juery / Vincent Pontet / Groves Artists official website / Jacques Leinne) The Festival Berlioz has announced its 2021 edition that is set to take place from August 19 until August 30. For the purpose of this article, we will focus only on vocal performances. Mezzo-soprano Sophie Koch performs works by Hector Berlioz alongside Pascal Rophé, who conducts {…}

Apr 28, 2021

Enea Scala, Michael Fabiano, Corinne Winters, Barbara Hannigan, Davinia Rodriguez, Stéphanie d’Oustrac Lead La Monnaie’s 2021-22 Season

(Photo Credits: In Art Management / © Jiyang Chen / Gillian Riesen / © Raphael Brand / LA Opera official website / © Jean-Baptiste Millot) La Monnaie De Munt has announced its new 2021-22 season, consisting of 12 operas and seven recitals. Here is the full slate. Operas Kris Defoort and Peter van Kraaij’s opera “The time of our singing” {…}

Dec 30, 2020

Obituary: French Top Music Scholar Florence Badol-Bertrand Dies

(Credit: © Georges Rivoire) France’s leading music scholar Florence Badol-Bertrand has died in Saint-Etienne on Dec. 26. Badol-Bertrand was known for her extensive work in the field of musicology and had been teaching musicology at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de danse de Paris. She was also a professor at the Conservatoire de Saint-Etienne and SciencesPo Paris. Florence {…}

Nov 2, 2020

Leontyne Price, Andriana Chuchman, Leo Nucci, Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni Headline Top 10 Operas to Stream This Week

This week’s top 10 will feature numerous selections ranging from baroque operas to more modern works, including one by Rufus Wainwright. Those who are looking for some star power can bank on a Leontyne Price special flanked by Giuseppe Giacomini and Leo Nucci. Or maybe you want some comedic gold, in which case we have two distinct productions and four {…}

Sep 11, 2020

Christian Gerhaher, Joyce DiDonato, Józef Orliński, Benjamin Bernheim Among Nominees for Gramophone Awards 2020

Credit: Gregor Hohenberg/Sony Gramophone has announced the recordings that have advanced to the final round of the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2020. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on vocal, choral, and opera categories. The first contestant in the opera category is the Barber’s “Vanessa,” performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Glyndebourne Chorus, under the musical {…}

Sep 3, 2020

Elina Garanca, Jonas Kaufmann & Diana Damrau Among Opus Klassik Winners

Opus Klassik has announced the 2020 winners. The award for Female Singer of the year went to two artists: Elina Garanca for “Sol y Vida” and Marlis Petersen for “Dimensionen Innenwelt.” It is the first time that the award is shared by two singers. Meanwhile, the Male Singer of the year went to Danel Behle. Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla became the first {…}

Jun 26, 2020

Anna Netrebko, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Pretty Yende, & Natalie Dessay Highlight Opéra National de Bordeaux’s 2020-21 Season

The Opéra National de Bordeaux in France has announced its 2020-21 season featuring five operas and several recitals and concerts. Opera Paul Daniel conducts a new production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” by Pierre Rambert. Rachel Willis-Sørensen and Elbenita Kajtazi alternate the role of Violetta with Benjamin Bernheim and Kevin Amiel as Alfredo and Lionel Lhote and Anthony Clark-Evans as Germont. {…}

Jun 17, 2020

Anna Netrebko, Javier Camarena & Juan Diego Flórez Lead Gran Teatre del Liceu’s 2020-21 Season

The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced its 2020-21 season featuring multiple productions, concert operas, and stars. Opera The season opens with Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” starring Anna Netrebko, Yusif Eyvazov, Ludovic Tézier, Okka von der Damerau, and Dmitry Belosselskiy. Performance Dates: Oct. 1 & 4, 2020 Christof Loy directs Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” with Christopher Maltman in the title role and {…}

Jun 3, 2020

Sunyoung Seo, Patricia Petibon, Natalie Dessay & Jakub Józef Orliński Star in Opéra de Dijon’s 2020-21 Season

The Opéra de Dijon in France has announced its 2020-21 season featuring five operas and a number of concerts. Here is a breakdown of the season. Opera Zemlinsky’s “Görge le rêveur” is set to be conducted by Marta Gardolińska in a production by Laurent Delvert. Peter Wedd, Helena Juntunen, Susanna Hurrell, Andrew Greenan, Piotr Lempa, Allen Boxer, Alexander Sprague, Wieland Satter, Piotr {…}

Apr 3, 2020

Marina Rebeka, Ricarda Merbeth & Stéphane Degout Lead Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse’s 2020-21 Season

The Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse has announced its 2020-21 season. Here is a look at the opera and vocal performances. Productions Bizet’s “Les Pêcheurs de Perles” opens the season in a new production by Thomas Lebrun. Emmanuel Plasson conducts the production with Anne-Catherine Gillet, Mathias Vidal, Alexandre Duhamel, and Jean-Fernand Setti. Performance Dates: Sept. 26-Oct. 9, 2020 Catherine Hunold {…}

Veronique Gens