(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 {…}
(Photo credit: Curtis Perry) Baritone Joshua Hopkins and Yannick Nézet-Séguin give the U.S. orchestral premiere of Jake Heggie and Margaret Atwood’s “Songs for Murdered Sisters.” Hopkins’ sister, Nathalie Warmerdam, was one of the victims in one of Canada’s worst cases of domestic violence. Since Warmerdam’s murder in 2015, Hopkins has since set out on a journey to use his voice {…}
Metropolitan Opera Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is the latest musician to voice support for Presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The conductor took to social media with a Kamala t-shirt and said, “The world is watching—make your voices heard and VOTE! Love, Your friendly Canadian.” He also used the hashtags Kamala2024 and Vote2024. Nézet-Séguin’s support of Vice President Harris comes after AGMA {…}
Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been awarded the Laurent-McCutcheon Award from Fondation Émergence. The conductor and Metropolitan Opera Music Director took to social media and said, “What an honor to receive the Laurent-McCutcheon Award from Fondation Émergence! This award is given each year to a person who has contributed to the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights or to the fight against phobias related {…}
The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden has announced its 2025 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Camilla Nylund, Andreas Schager, and Pietari Inkinen perform an evening of Wagner, Strauss, Kálmán, Lehar, Performance Dates: Jan. 12, 2025 Zum Rahmenprogramm des Festivals Gianandrea Noseda, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, and Philharmonia Zürich lead an all-Strauss program. Performance Dates: Feb. 22, 2025 Andris Nelsons conducts Mahler’s {…}
(Credit: MetropolItan Opera / Ken Howard) WARNING: This review features explicit language. It also uses some variation of the word “frustrating” a lot. To use a line from the cathartic and sublime climax in Jeanine Tesori and George Brant’s “Grounded” – “What the f*ck?” That quotidian expression perfectly encapsulates, in the context of the climax and at large, the frustration {…}
Yannick Nézet-Séguin has announced that he collaborated on the new film “Measures for a Funeral.” The Metropolitan Opera Music Director took to social media and said, “World Premiere tonight at the Toronto International Film Festival! I’m proud to have been part of ‘Measures for a Funeral’ with the Orchestre Métropolitain and to keep bringing classical music to the world through {…}
The Metropolitan Opera announced a contract extension of its Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, through the 2029–30 season. Nézet-Séguin is only the third Music Director in the company’s history. He began his tenure in the 2018–19 season. This six-year extension acknowledges the deepening partnership between Nézet-Séguin and the Met Orchestra and Chorus, as well as his committed artistry and {…}
(Credit: Brigitte Lacombe) While the Metropolitan Opera is finishing its season with 72 percent of tickets sold, increasing consistently and showing a growth of six percent compared to the 2022-23 season, a lot of questions remain as Met’s General Manager Peter Gelb and the company head into the off-season. When Peter Gelb and Yannick Nezet-Seguin were answering questions for the {…}
