(Photo : ©Gianni Cravedi) When “Stiffelio” premiered in 1850, Giuseppe Verdi was going through a period of transition: he had left behind his so-called “galley years” yet had not fully reached artistic maturity. It is precisely in this phase that “Stiffelio” emerged, revealing itself as a bold experiment: deeply modern in its approach to human conflict and, at the same {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid has announced a cast change for its production of “Otello.” The company said that Igor Golovatenko and Artur Rucinski, who were originally announced for the production, will be replaced by Gabriele Viviani, Vladimir Stoyanov and Franco Vassallo. Viviani will perform on Sept. 19, 22, 25, 28, and Oct. 2 and 5 meanwhile, Stoyanov will perform {…}
The Teatro Comunale di Modena has announced its 2025-26 season. Puccini’s “La bohème” will be performed at the Modena Belcanto Festival. Performance Dates: Sept. 26 & 28, 2025 Verdi’s “Nabucco” opens the season with Massimo Zanetti conducting and Federico Grazzini directing. Performance Dates: Oct. 24-26, 2025 Puccini’s “Tosca” will be directed by Luca Orsini and conducted by Stefano Ranzani. Performance {…}
Back in 2022, the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo featured a production of Donizetti’s “La Favorite” using a new critical French edition and with no cuts (including the whole ballet). For that occasion Ricardo Frizza was the conductor. Now, a few years later, ABAO Bilbao is bringing back that same Bergamo production, in coproduction with Opéra National de Bordeaux, as well {…}
The Bilbao Opera is set to Present Donizetti’s “La Favorite.” The work will be presented from Feb. 15 to 24, 2025 at the Euskalduna Bilbao and will star Silvia Tro Santafé in the role of Leonore, alongside Ismael Jordi as Fernand, Vladimir Stoyanov as Alphonse XI, and Simón Orfila as Balthazar. The cast is rounded out by tenor Mikeldi Atxalandabaso {…}
The Teatro Filarmonico is set to present Verdi’s rarely performed work “Stiffelio.” The Verona production will star Luciano Ganci and Stefano Secco sharing the title role alongside Caterina Marchesini and Daniela Schillaci as Lina, and Vladimir Stoyanov as Stankar. Leonardo Sini conducts the production by Guy Montavon. Regarding the rarely performed work, Ganci said, “When I was small, I didn’t want to {…}
The Fondazione Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari has announced its 2025 season. Here is a look at the operas and concerts. Opera Verdi’s “Il Corasaro” is set to open the season with Rame Lahaj and Zizhao Guo sharing the lead role. They will be joined by Guanqun Yu, Benedetta Torre, Vladimir Stoyanov, Luca Galli, Vanessa Goikoetxea, and Carmen Lopez. Stefano Montanari conducts the {…}
Bilbao Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera The season opens with Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale.” Simón Orfila, Enric Martínez-Castignani, María José Moreno, Sofía Esparza, Francesco Demuro, Juan Antonio Sanabria, and Damián del Castillo lead the cast. Maestro Sesto Quatrini conducts Emiliano Suárez’s production. Performance Dates: Oct. 19-28, 2024 The second opera is Puccini’s “Il Trittico.” “Il Tabarro” will star Carlos {…}
(Credit: Simone-Falcetta) The Teatro Regio di Torino is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a gala performance of “I Vespri Siciliani” on July 6, 2023. The gala will see Riccardo Frizza conduct the Verdi work with soloists Roberta Mantegna, Piero Pretti, Vladimir Stoyanov, and Michele Pertusi. In a statement, Frizza noted, “It’s an honor to be conducting the Gala Concert, {…}
The Teatro Caro Felice has announced its 2023-24 season. Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” opens the season with a cast that includes Christopher Ainslie, Sydney Mancasola, Matteo Anselmi, Scott Wilde, Kamelia Kader, Peter Kirk, John Chest, Hagar Sharvit, Keri Fuge, David Shipley, David Ireland, Seumas Begg, Sion Goronwy, Robert Burt, and Benjamin Bevan. Donato Renzetti conducts the production by Laurence Dale. Performance Dates: Oct. 13-19, 2023 Dante Ferretti directs Massenet’s “Werther” with Jean-François Borras, Jérôme {…}
The Finnish National Opera and Ballet has announced its 2023-24 season. First up is “Das Lied von der Erde” with mezzo-soprano Tuija Knihtilä and tenor Tuomas Katajala as the soloists. Ville Matvejeff conducts. Performance Date: August 3, 2023 Hannu Lintu conducts Verdi’s “Requiem” with soprano Silja Aalto, tenor Mika Pohjonen, mezzo Maiju Vaahtoluoto, and bass Matti Turunen as the soloists. {…}