(Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera) Metropolitan Opera’s season premiere of Ivo van Hove’s production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” took place on September 24, 2025. Van Hove’s production originally debuted at Ópera National de Paris in 2019 at the Palais Garnier and OperaWire reviewed the performance in detail, specifically highlighting the set design and overall aesthetic. It is also important {…}
(Photo: ©2025 Chris Lee) Conductor and Lerman-Newbauer Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the Met Orchestra at NYC’s Carnegie Hall for a special night featuring Richard Strauss works on Thursday, June 12, 2025, showcasing one of the world’s leading lyric-dramatic sopranos, Elza van den Heever, who just concluded her season of performances as Salome at Met Opera. The night was full of standing {…}
(© Paola Kudacki / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra is set to present two concerts at Carnegie Hall. The first will be held on June 12 and will feature Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Elza van den Heever in an all-Strauss program. The concert will include “Der Rosenkavalier Suite,” Selected Orchestral Songs, and “Ein Heldenleben.” The second concert will be held on June {…}
(Photos: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera’s spring cast for Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Puccini’s “La Bohème” left a lasting impression through this most iconic work. Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director of Met Opera, made the night fun and engaging for audience members of all ages and backgrounds, along with a stellar cast of voices including {…}
(Credit: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera) On April 28, 2025, the Metropolitan Opera opened a new production of Strauss’ “Salome.” At the center of the highly anticipated performance was the debut of internationally-renowned director Claus Guth, who has built a name of edgy reimaginings of classic works. It was also the first new production of “Salome” at the Met since {…}
The Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal has announced its 2025-26 season. Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Joyce DiDonato open the season with a Mahler and Sonny-Ray Day Rider. Performance Date: Sept. 23, 2025 Léa Moisan-Perrier conducts the Chœur Métropolitain and pianists Julie Lamontagne and Rousso. Performance Dates: Dec. 13 & 14, 2025 Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Bach’s Oratorio de Noël with soloists Anna-Sophie Neher, Julie Boulianne, Frédéric Antoun, and Geoffroy {…}
The Grammy Awards announced its 2025 winners on Feb. 2, 2025. Here is a look at the classical music winners. The Best Opera Recording went to “Saariaho: Adriana Mater.” The award was shared by Kaija Saariaho, Amin Maalouf, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Fleur Barron, Nicholas Phan, Christopher Purves, Axelle Fanyo, San Francisco Symphony Chorus & Orchestra. Best Classical Vocal Album went to Karen {…}
The Philadephia Orchestra has announced its 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the vocal highlights of the season. Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conducts Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. Performance Dates: Dec. 12-14, 2025 Dalia Stasevska conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Joélle Harvey. The concert also includes violinist Augustin Hadelich and such pieces as Adams’ “Short Ride in a Fast {…}
(Credit: © Paola Kudacki / Met Opera) Yannick Nézet-Séguin is set to conduct the 2026 Wiener Philharmoniker New Year’s concert. The conductor will lead the orchestra in waltzes and polkas on Jan. 1, 2026, marking the first time Nézet-Séguin leads the legendary concert. The chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, Daniel Froschauer said, “The Vienna Philharmonic has enjoyed a close and fruitful {…}
(Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera) The curtain rose on Egyptian tombs. In the center, a rope came down and with it an archeologist. As he reached the bottom to get off the rope, he fell to the ground, the sound of his body crashing over the delicate violins that opened the prelude to Verdi’s Aida.” That was not supposed {…}
For the first time in 11 years, the Metropolitan Opera has revived what I consider to be one of its greatest productions in my lifetime. Herbert Wernicke’s production of “Die Frau ohne Schatten” is simply one of the most sublime marriages of stage direction and opera in recent Met history. First off, it’s a challenging piece, not only musically, but {…}