(Credit: © Javier del Real | Teatro Real) There are operas that cannot be separated from the city where they were born. For Madrid, “Il Trovatore” is exactly that kind of story. It did not begin with Verdi but with a young playwright, Antonio Garcia Gutierrez, who in 1836 presented his play “El Trovador” at Madrid’s Teatro del Principe, inspired {…}
The Teatro San Carlo has announced its 2026-27 season. Mariangela Sicilia, Marta Torbidoni, Piotr Beczała, Stefan Pop, Igor Golovatenko, Franco Vassallo, Michele Pertusi, Gabriele Sagona, Martina Belli, and Marko Mimica star in Verdi’s “Luisa Miller.” Daniel Oren conducts the production by Davide Livermore. Performance Dates: Dec. 2-10, 2026 Anna Pirozzi, Karah Son, Jorge de León, Giorgio Berrugi, Veronica Simeoni, Chiara Tirotta, Marco {…}
Fondazione Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari has announced its 2027 season. Opera Piccinni’s “Zenobia” will star Aya Wakizono, Arianna Vendittelli, Margherita Sala, Désirée Giove, Mert Süngü, and Valeria La Grotta. Federico Maria Sardelli conducts Daniele Luchetti’s production. Performance Dates: Jna. 27-Feb. 2, 2027 Carlo Rizzi conducts Verdi’s “Nabucco” in Emma Dante’s production. Igor Golovatenko and Ewa Płonka star. Performance Dates: March 12-19, 2027 Busoni’s “Arlecchino” {…}
The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced its 2026-27 season. Shirin Neshat directs Verdi’s “Aida” with four sopranos taking on the title role. Anna Netrebko, Anna Pirozzi, Olga Maslova, and Ewa Plonka star alongside Ekaterina Semenchuk, Ksenia Dudnikova, Fiorenza Cedolins, Yusif Eyvazov, Piotr Beczała, Arsen Soghomonyan, Artur Ruciński, Igor Golovatenko, Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar, Riccardo Fassi, George Andguladze, Manuel Fuentes, Alexander Köpeczi, {…}
The Hungarian State Opera has announced its 143rd season, featuring 10 new productions, 500 performances across its two venues, and a landmark Kodály centenary celebration. Here is a look at the operatic offerings. New Productions The season opens with a world premiere of “Kodály Háry Jancsika,” a new children’s version of the beloved singspiel performed by the OPERA Children’s Chorus, {…}
The Arena di Verona has announced its 2026 season. The season will open with a new production of Verdi’s “La Traviata.” Michele Spotti and Francesco Ivan Ciampa conduct the new production starring Martina Russomanno, Gilda Fiume and Rosa Feola. The casts also include Yusif Eyvazov, Galeano Salas, Francesco Meli, René Barbera, Adam Smith, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, Mihai Damian, Youngjun Park, Ludovic {…}
(Credit: Monika Rittershaus) “La Forza del Destino” has always been considered a transitional work in Giuseppe Verdi’s output, bridging the purely romantic operas of his early period and the mature works where his musical language became more dramatic, direct, and personal. It was composed on a commission from the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg, where it premiered in 1862. The {…}
The Teatro Regio di Parma has announced a cast change for its Oct. 5 performance of “Otello.” The company said that Yusif Eyvazov will sing the title role replacing Fabio Sartori, who is ill. Eyvazov is known for his interpretation having sung it at the Ravenna Festival, Teatro Massimo di Palermo and the Mariinsky Theatre. The tenor is known for {…}
Anna Netrebko’s July 21 Berlin performance has been postponed to July 22, 2025 due to bad weather. The soprano’s management released a statement noting, “Tonight’s concert at the Classic Open Air at Gendarmenmark in Berlin is unfortunately postponed due to severe weather conditions. We are happy to report that it will take place tomorrow evening: same artists, same place, same {…}
The Arena di Verona has announced that Maria Jose Siri will take over Anna Netrebko’s performances in “Aida” on August 10 and 17, 2025. The company also noted that Yusif Eyvazov will replace Brian Jagde on July 13, 2025 in the role of Radames. Siri opened the production on June 20 and is well known for her interpretation of Aida, {…}
(Credit: Vladimir Shirokov) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced that it will stream Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” on June 27, 2025. The production by Vera Nemirova will be conducted by Timur Zangiev and will star Anna Netrebko in her role debut as Lisa. She will be accompanied by Yusif Eyvazov in his signature role as Hermann. The cast will also {…}
