While Benajmin and Crimp’s colleagues on the contemporary opera scene pander to audiences with trendy and timely topics, the British duo returns to truly universal sources—the archetypal myths that transcend time and culture. “Picture a day like this” is an hourlong chamber opera in the pattern of their first creation, “Into the Little Hill”—a dark retelling of “The Pied Piper.”

“Picture” adapts another, less familiar folktale that appears in various guises across the globe. Its plot is deceptively simple: a nameless Woman’s child dies, and the village crones tempt her with a magical solution. If she can track down a truly happy person by the end of the day and cut a button from their clothes, her son will live again.

Crimp’s libretto is reminiscent of “The Little Prince”—the possible candidates on the Woman’s list recall the string of self-deluded grown-ups that Saint-Exupéry’s pint-sized hero encounters. Initially, they seem happy. But as soon as the Woman scratches slightly beneath the surface, she discovers that their happiness is false.

The episodic format offers Benjamin the opportunity to develop a distinct sound world for each of the five contenders. Actually, two distinct sound worlds—one representing their supposed state of felicity and another once the Woman learns the reality of their situation. There’s a moment during each scene when this “switch” occurs, indicated by a drastic change in style and instrumentation.

She first meets two Lovers, a soprano and countertenor, who seem eternally suspended in erotic ecstasy. Their lines, supported by a rustic consort of recorders, intertwine like Poppea and Nerone’s. Benjamin has a way of staggering and overlapping voices that feels both conversational and lyrical—a stylized naturalism that is particularly effective in this duet.

The parodies of swelling Wagnerian climaxes evaporate as soon as the male Lover offhandedly explains that their relationship is open—something the female Lover didn’t entirely agree to. Sputtering brass and side-drum motives intrude, taken up by countertenor Cameron Shahbazi as he stutters out the word “polyamory.” Shahbazi comes off as a smarmy narcissist, yet simultaneously smooth-talking and seductive.

Following the Lovers, the Woman comes across an Artisan—a button-maker, in fact, whose button-covered suit is sonically simulated with a cabasa rattle. Backed by piccolo birdsong, baritone John Brancy ascends into his falsetto, scaling what resembles a natural overtone series.

It’s a delirious and almost giddy happiness that turns out to be, in his words, “dose-related.” To prevent himself from self-harm, the Artisan is dependent on anti-psychotic drugs, which Brancy bellows for with sinister desperation. The strings’ pricking pizzicato and cut-like col legno strokes are uncomfortably suggestive of razor nicks. Brancy offers a performance that is equal parts terrifying and affecting. He reaches a near-shouted A-flat when he exposes the rope-burn around his neck, the ensemble bursting into a fff chord of suffocating intensity.

Crimp wisely follows this with a comic intermezzo featuring an egotistical young composer. Soprano Beate Mordal’s endless self-aggrandizing is accompanied by flashy Vivaldian string figuration. Her execution is hilariously cocky and braggadocious, especially the cartoonish repetitions of “happy, happy, happy” that mask her character’s inner doubt.

The sequence of contrasting musical moments in Benjamin’s score calls to mind “Bluebeard’s Castle,” with its separate sonic palettes for each of the rooms. And as in Bartók’s opera, the scenes are unified by a kind of ritualistic repetition indebted to the structure of fairytales. The beginning of every scene, for instance, is marked by a muted trio of two trumpets and trombone. Its function is akin to the “Promenade” theme between the movements of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” But the little contrapuntal fanfares the trio plays are stylistically closer to medieval music, establishing an archaic atmosphere.

At the close of every scene is a series of clock chimes played on the tubular bells—a reminder that the Woman has until nightfall to carry out her mission. They always toll on the same two pitches, E-flat and D, which emerge as an idée fixe in Benjamin’s score. This descending half-step is first heard in the Woman’s opening line on the phrase “had died” when she relates the passing of her child. The motive’s association with these words, along with it’s keening, downward motion, would seem to connect it to mourning.

But this isn’t a Wagnerian-style leitmotif tied down to a single concept. Benjamin’s approach to musical meaning is closer to the Symbolist movement. It’s why Crimp is such an ideal match for the composer—both artists deal in the inscrutable and the ambiguous, only gradually revealing the half-lit shapes that hover at the edges of our consciousness.

Benjamin’s sonic symbol, though confined to just a pair of pitches, accumulates a vast constellation of associations as the opera progresses. It’s not simply an emblem of sorrow. Rather, it comes to represent the Woman’s obsessive belief that the resurrection of her child will bring her happiness—a notion that we slowly begin to realize is an impossibility, since no happy person exists in her world.

The opera’s cyclicality is momentarily broken halfway through by a solo passage for the Woman—a number that Benjamin explicitly labels “Aria.” Crimp’s ABA-form text would seem to call for a corresponding da capo setting. Yet Benjamin resists this urge. Instead, he traces a wide-ranging emotional trajectory. Mezzo Marianne Crebassa audibly passes through all five stages of grief. Backed by searing quadruple-stop harmonies, she rails against fate, cursing her lot in bitter, sobbing phrases.

Crebassa’s cathartic wail on “I wanted miracles” marks a complete shift in the aria. Her hushed delivery conveys that hollow numbness one feels after weeping. The vocal writing takes on a folksy quality, reminiscent of an Eastern European funeral lament. It closes with a passage of unexpected and unaffected melodic beauty, enveloped in a dewy cloud of harp and celesta. This finely crafted aria is the highlight of a role that is exquisitely tailored to Crebassa’s instrument. Benjamin takes ample advantage of her earthy bottommost register—her groaning low notes are positively gut-wrenching.

Following a Berg-like orchestral interlude on the E-flat/D motive, the Woman finds herself at the twilit home of Zabelle—finally, a truly happy person who dwells in domestic bliss with her family. Benjamin evokes her Edenic garden in lush textures that teem with instrumental activity. As Zabelle, soprano Anna Prohaska describes her paradisiac life in soaring flights of avian coloratura tinged with folk inflections. It’s a performance of such effortless, inhuman perfection that it borders on the impossible.

Indeed, the side drum ricochets that punctuate the scene—which seem to imitate the shimmer of a mirage—hint that all is not what it seems. Zabelle explains that the tableau is merely an illusion, a kind of frozen vision of times long gone. At some point in the past, a group of men invaded her home, seized her possessions, and kidnapped or murdered her husband and children. The details are left purposefully hazy. But considering the Armenian origins of Zabelle’s name, as well as the genocidal allegory of Crimp and Benjamin’s earlier “Into the Little Hill,” it’s likely that she was the victim of an ethnic cleansing. “I’m happy only because I don’t exist,” Zabelle explains before fading away. Meanwhile, the E-flat/D chimes signal that the Woman has failed her task.

Or has she? In the final scene, as the village crones gleefully mock her for trying the undo death itself, the Woman stretches out her hand to reveal a button. Whose? It couldn’t belong to any of the pseudo-felicitous individuals on her list. Nor to Zabelle, who was merely a memory projected into the present. Could it be the Woman’s, cut from her own sleeve? Perhaps she has attained, not happiness—which is dependent entirely on luck and circumstance—but a form of contentment. Or perhaps she’s achieved some Buddhist transcendence of worldly attachment. Benjamin’s closing music again conjures a verdant garden—a personal Eden or Nirvana where the falling half-step motive is transformed into a pastoral cuckoo call on clarinet.

While the libretto of “Picture a day like this” resembles a fable, there’s no pre-packed Aesopian moral at the end. It’s closer to a Zen koan—a paradoxical aphorism or anecdote that isn’t “solvable” in the sense of a riddle, but is meant to inspire meditation. In an age when sanctimonious creators of opera feel compelled to beat listeners over the head with political platitudes, Crimp and Benjamin show genuine respect for their audiences. Their musical myths challenge and provoke, but ultimately allow spectators to glean their own, deeply personal interpretations.

The post CD Review: George Benjamin & Martin Crimp’s ‘Picture a day like this’ appeared first on OperaWire.

This week audiences will get to hear one of the great tenors of his generation alongside some of the greatest sopranos in one album dedicated to Puccini. There are also world premiere recordings of new works and one debut album. Here is a look.

Robeson

In a statement, Tines said, “This album is my most personal artistic statement to date. I’ve endeavored to compare and contrast my journey as an artist with that of my artistic ancestor and hero, Paul Robeson, the unparalleled singer, actor, and activist. Standing on his beliefs of egality for the disenfranchised led to governmental and public attacks that almost ended his life. This album is the fever dream of the universal journey to battle internal and external persecution in order to find one’s self and decide what you need to say the most now that you’ve survived.”

Bach: Arias for Alto

Zoltán Daragó makes his long-awaited album debut showcasing the countertenor in 11 arias from well-known and lesser-known cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset are featured on the album.

The post Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Netrebko, Davóne Tines, Sonya Yoncheva & Zoltán Daragó Lead New CD/DVD Releases appeared first on OperaWire.

We are in the middle of Sesto’s aria “Parto, Parto,” mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa sharing  center stage with excellent clarinetist Nicola Boud, when we hear an explosion. As a long-time resident of the United States, my first thoughts were the most dreadful—gunshots, bomb, the apocalypse.

Raphäel Pichon peacefully kept conducting, with longer pauses, perhaps, but, as the fear dissipated, the talent of the musicians on the stage became evident. Even in the most in extremis circumstances, the maintained their concentration. The explosion—quite likely a light bulb—, was never officially explained. The musical success… Here am I!

All Over the Place

“La Clemenza,” though a charming opera, certainly falls short next to its sisters (“Don Giovanni,” “Così,” and certainly “Die Zauberflöte”). Therefore, its cast has a double task: to make the opera work and to be as interesting as Mozart can be. Casting-wise, the night seemed to walk that way: at least half of the most coveted French mezzos were on the stage (Crebassa, Deshayes, and Desandre). Still, opera only works live—and in person—not on paper.

The performance was certainly a smash hit with the audience—few times has a show been so applauded—, but, in my humble opinion, there were great moments and some mishaps. The interesting phenomenon is that often what was imprecise or unexacting here, became the essence of a great success there.

One example is Pichon’s tempi: they were intentionally imprecise or too slow in the recitative, giving the performance a certain aura of solemnity that detracted much from the power of the drama. However, few things were more engaging than the very same tempi in the arias. The breaks in fermata were really taken seriously by him, with long and anguishing pauses that made our concentration splash into the music and the action.

Again, on Pichon and the Pygmalion. From the prelude, one could tell that his orchestra was, perhaps, a bit too quiet for Mozart. Nevertheless, it was precisely such a less flamboyant sonority that allowed many of the singers to sound so bravely in their arias and to pinpoint some beautiful orchestral solos.

Il Talento di…

The opera is called “La Clemenza di Tito,” but it could have been “Il talento di Crebassa.” Despite the excellent quality of the cast, her vocal preeminence  was palpable. Her tone, puerile and boyish, allowed her an expressiveness that made Sesto the most important hero. Few mezzos can sing trouser repertoire so well as she does. Her voice always sounds extremely healthy and focused, with rich lower notes when they are necessary.  Crebassa’s Sesto is almost a call for intellectual redemption—how could one not feel pity for him?

Karine Deshayes, on the other hand, sang a Vitellia full of acidity and ferocity. I have always enjoyed Deshayes’s voice tremendously, but I have never seen her singing a role with so much brutality. Her coloraturas—a bit less comfortable than usual—sounded like punches of anger. It was a very antipathic character—whichi, for Vitellia, is not a problem.

The story was a bit different with Pene Pati. On a personal note, I often think he has the most beautiful tenor voice for Italian repertoire nowadays—his Rodolfo is impeccable, and even in Bellini, he shone—; however, his Mozart is not spotless. He suffered a bit with the slow tempi in the recitatives. In the most lyric aria of the role (“Deh più sublime soglio”), everything went smoothly, especially in the second half, with charming pianos. But “Se all’impero” was bit messy; the ornamentation compromised the quality of the high notes in the end of any longer melisma.

In her usual charming fashion, Lea Desandre sang a vividly charming Annio. Her approach to a trouser role is interesting; her voice sounds brighter, quicker, and somehow, more compelling.

Nahuel di Pierro was a solid Publio, and Emily Pogorelc showed a very beautiful voice singing the role of Servilia.

Perhaps this season at Aix needed a bit more Mozart. The composer, always present in the festival, had little space this time. However, Pichon’s concert version of “Clemenza” was certainly a memorable night, be it because of Crebassa’s spectacular performance, the freshness of the cast, the technical difficulties that did not stop the show or, even, the fact that it happened on the day that Biden chose to drop out of the US presidential race. Regardless of what happened, it was a memorable night for opera.

The post Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2024 Review: La Clemenza di Tito appeared first on OperaWire.

The season opens with Dvořák’s “Rusalka” in a new production by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Dan Ettinger conducts a cast that includes Asmik Grigorian, Adam Smith, Ekaterina Gubanova, Anita Rachvelishvili, and Gábor Bretz.

Performance Dates: Nov. 20-Dec. 7, 2024

Verdi’s “Don Carlo” will be conducted by Henrik Nánási and will star Piero Pretti, Gabriele Viviani, Ildar Abdrazakov, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Varduhi Abrahamyan, and Alexander Tsymbalyuk.

Performance Dates: Jan. 19-31, 2025

Nadine Sierra and Javier Camarena will star in Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” with Gianluca Buratto, Alessio Arduini, and Caterina Piva. Giorgia Guerra directs the production and Sesto Quartini conducts.

Performance Dates: Feb. 15-25, 2025

Ricarda Merbeth stars in the title role of Strauss’ “Salome” alongside Brian Mulligan, Charles Workman, Emily Magee, John Findon, and Štěpánka Pučálková. Dan Ettinger conducts the production by Manfred Schweigkofler.

Performance Dates: March 20-29, 2025

Anna Pirozzi headlines Puccini’s “La Faniculla del West” alongside Martin Muehle and Gabriele Viviani. Jonathan Darlington conducts Hugo de Ana’s production.

Performance Dates: April 16-29, 2025

Ildar Abdrazakov, Sondra Radvanovsky, Luciano Ganci, and Ernesto Petti lead Verdi’s “Attila” in concert with Diego Cereta conducting.

Performance Dates: April 24-27, 2025

Pretty Yende, Ruzil Gatil, Sergio Vitale, Sonia Ganassi, Eugenio Di Lieto, and Marisa Laurito lead Donizetti’s “La Fille du Regiment.” Damiano Michieletto directs and Riccardo Bisatti conducts.

Performance Dates: May 18-27, 2025

Comarosa’s “Il matrimonio segreto” will be directed by Stéphane Braunschweig and conducted by Francesco Corti. The cast will include Sebastià Serra, Anastasiia Sagaidak, Désirée Giove, Antonia Salzano, Maurizio Bove, Francesco Domenico Doto, Yunho Kim, Tamar Otanadze, Maria Knihnytska, Sayumi Kaneko, Antimo DellʼOmo, and Sun Tianxuefei.

Performance Dates: June 11-17, 2025

René Barbera, Roberta Mantegna, Annalisa Stroppa, and Nicola Alaimo lead Donizetti’s “Roberto Devereux” in a production by Jetske Mijnssen. Riccardo Frizza conducts.

Performance Dates: July 16-25, 2025

Puccini’s “Tosca” will return with multiple casts. Edoardo De Angelis directs and Dan Ettinger conducts. Sondra Radvanovsky, Anna Pirozzi, and Carmen Giannattasio star in the title role alongside Jonas Kaufmann, Francesco Meli, Christian Van Horn, and Claudio Sgura.

Performance Dates: Sept. 10-23, 2025

Anna Netrebko, Piero Pretti, and Ludovic Tézier lead Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” alongside Elizabeth DeShong and Cassandre Berthon. The other cast includes Valeria Sepe, Vincenzo Costanzo, and Ernesto Petti. Pinchas Steinberg conducts the production by Massimo Gasparon.

Performance Dates: Oct. 4- 11, 2025

George Benjamin’s “Picture a day like this” closes the season with Corinna Niemeyer conducting. Marianne Crebassa, Anna Prohaska, Beate Mordal, Cameron Shahbazi, and John Brancy star.

Performance Dates: Oct. 24-26, 2025

Concerts

Dan Ettinger and Maria Agresta lead a program of music by Richard Strauss and Anton Bruckner.

Performance Date: Nov. 30, 2024

Asmik Grigorian and Lukas Geniušas perform music by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov.

Performance Date: Dec. 1, 2024

The company will present “Aria di Natale.”

Performance Date: Dec. 5, 12, 18, 2024

Lisette Oropesa and Alessandro Praticò perform works by Ravel, Delibes, Massenet, Bizet, Rossini, Mercadante, and Verdi.

Performance Date: Jan. 9, 2025

Michele Mariotti and Ekaterina Gubanova perform music by Mahler and Brahms.

Performance Date: Jan. 24, 2025

George Petrou conducts Franco Fagioli in music by Rossini, Bonfichi, Mantzaros, Nicolini, Mayr, and Mercadante.

Performance Date: Jan. 30, 2025

Rosa Feola and Iain Burnside take on the music of Rossini, Martucci, Respighi, Debussy, Mozart, and Donizetti.

Performance Date: March 30, 2025

Elīna Garanča and Malcolm Martineau perform in recital music by Brahms, Berlioz, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Gounod, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Jāzeps Vītols, Mascagni, Chapí, and Bizet.

Performance Date: May 31, 2025

Luca Salsi and Nelson Calzi perform works by Bizet, Hahn, Martucci, Rossini, Donizetti, and Verdi.

Performance Date: June 6, 2025

Maria Agresta and Marco Armiliato perform a concert featuring works by Brahms, Wagner, and Schumann.

Performance Date: June 28, 2025

Fabrizio Cassi conducts a Rossini concert.

Performance Date: Sept. 18, 2025

Ivano Caiazza conducts Paisiello’s “Don Chisciotte della Mancia” with Tamar Otanadze, Désirée Giove, Maurizio Bove, Francesco Domenico Doto, Maria Knihnytska, Costanza Cutaia, Tianxuefei Sun, and Sebastià Serra.

Performance Date: Sept. 27, 2025

The post Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Sondra Radvanovsky, Asmik Grigorian & Francesco Meli Lead Teatro San Carlo’s 2024-25 Season appeared first on OperaWire.

Premieres

Respighi’s “La Fiamma” will be directed by Christof Loy and conducted by Carlo Rizzi. The cast will include Aušrine Stundyte, Georgy Vasiliev, Vladislav Sulimsky, Martina Serafin, Sua Jo, Cristina Toledo, Martina Baroni, Karis Tucker, Caren Van Oijen, Doris Soffel, and Patrick Guetti.

Performance Dates: Sept. 29-Oct. 18, 2024

Enrique Mazzola conducts a new production of Verdi’s “Macbeth” with Marie-Ève Signeyrole directing. The production will star two casts led by Roman Burdenko and Thomas Lehman in the title role and Anastasia Bartoli and Felicia Moore as Lady Macbeth. The cast will be rounded out by Marko Mimica, Byung Gil Kim, Attilio Glaser, and Andrei Danilov.

Performance Dates: Nov. 23, 2024-Jan. 25, 2025

Tobias Krazter directs a new production of Strauss’ “Die Frau ohne Schatten.” The opera will star David Butt Philip, Jane Archibald, Marina Prudenskaya, Jordan Shanahan, and Catherine Foster. Sir Donald Runnicles conducts.

Performance Dates: Jan. 26-Feb. 11, 2025

Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” will star Dean Murphy, Markus Brück, Serena Sáenz, Hila Fahima, Adela Zaharia, Andrei Danilov, Long Long, Gerard Farreras, and Byung Gil Kim. Matteo Beltrami and Ivan Repušić conduct.

Performance Dates: Oct. 31-Dec. 18, 2024

Mozart’s “The Fairy Tale of the Magic Flute” will star Alexandra Oomens, Lilit Davtyan, Hye-Young Moon, Chance Jonas-O’Toole, Kangyoon Shine Lee, Andrew Harris, and Patrick Guetti. Friedrich Praetorius conducts.

Performance Dates: Nov. 22, 2024-April 15, 2025

Elena Stikhina and Sondra Radvanovsky star in Puccini’s “Tosca” alongside Martin Muehle, Fabio Sartori, Lucio Gallo, and Erwin Schrott. Giampaolo Bisanti and Valerio Galli conduct.

Performance Dates: Nov. 6, 2024-June 19, 2025

Zemlinsky’s “Der Zwerg” will be conducted by Sir. Donald Runnicles and will star Elena Tsallagova, Felicia Moore, David Butt Philip, and Philipp Jekal.

Performance Dates: Dec. 1-10, 2024

Alessandro De Marchi conducts Rossini’s “Il Viaggio a Reims” with Lilit Davtyan, Stephanie Wake-Edwards, Hye-Young Moon, Hulkar Sabirova, Kangyoon Shine Lee, Omar Mancini, Joel Allison, Artur Garbas, Philipp Jekal, Kyle Miller, Padraic Rowan, Chance Jonas-O’Toole, Alexandra Ionis, Alexandra Oomens, Davia Bouley, and Jared Werlein. 

Performance Dates: Dec. 27, 2024-Jan. 6, 2025

Janáček’s “The Cunning Little Vixen” will star Joel Allison, Geon Kim, Meechot Marrero, Alexandra Oomens, Arianna Manganello, and Martina Baroni. Marko Letonja conducts.

Performance Dates: Dec. 19, 2024-Jan. 5, 2025

Karis Tucker, Annika Schlicht, Meechot Marrero, and Nina Solodovnikova lead Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” with Burkhard Ulrich, Patrick Cook, Artur Garbas, and Maria Motolygina. Friedrich Praetorius conducts.

Performance Dates: Dec. 13-28, 2024

Sir. Donald Runnicles and Friedrich Praetorius lead Puccini’s “La Boheme” with Andrei Danilov, Attilio Glaser, Kyle Miller, Philipp Jekal, Dean Murphy, Geon Kim, Patrick Guetti, Byung Gil Kim, Maria Motolygina, Elena Tsallagova, Alexandra Oomens, and Nina Solodovnikova.

Peformance Dates: Dec. 6-31, 2024

Andrei Danilov, Etienne Dupuis, Juan Jesús Rodríguez, Brenda Rae, and Hye-Young Moon star in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” with Patrick Guetti, Tobias Kehrer, Stephanie Wake-Edwards, and Lindsay Ammann. Michele Spotti, Friedrich Praetorius, and Giulio Cilona conduct.

Performance Dates: Jan. 10-June 6, 2025

Petr Popelka and Sir. Donald Runnicles conduct “Tristan und Isolde” with a cast that includes Clay Hilley, Albert Pesendorfer, Georg Zeppenfeld, Derek Welton, Ricarda Merbeth, Stéphanie Müther, Thomas Lehman, Leonardo Lee, Jörg Schörner, Irene Roberts, and Annika Schlicht.

Performance Dates: Oct. 27, 2024-Jan. 18, 2025

Saioa Hernández stars in Puccini’s “Turandot” with Clay Hilley, Sua Jo, Maria Motolygina, and Byung Gil Kim. Jordan de Souza conducts.

Performance Dates: Feb. 1-14, 2025

Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Holländer” will star Derek Welton and Anthony Clark Evans alongside Patrick Guetti, Gabriela Scherer, Flurina Stucki, Attilio Glaser, Kieran Carrel, Stephanie Wake-Edwards, Chance Jonas-O’Toole, and Andrei Danilov. John Fiore and Giulio Cilona conduct.

Performance Dates: Feb. 16-April 26, 2025

Thomas Lehman, Padraic Rowan, Karis Tucker, Elissa Pfaender, Davia Bouley, Alfred Kim, Heidi Stober, and Hye-Young Moon star in John Adams’ “Nixon in China.” Daniel Carter conducts the masterwork.

Performance Dates: Feb 28-March 5, 2025

Olesya Golovneva stars in Strauss’ “Salome” with Thomas Blondelle, Evelyn Herlitzius, Jordan Shanahan, and Kieran Carrel. Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts.

Performance Dates: March 8 & 14, 2025

Strauss’ “Elektra” will star Violeta Urmana, Elena Pankratova, Camilla Nylund, Burkhard Ulrich, and Tobias Kehrer. Thomas Søndergard conducts.

Performance Dates: March 22-April 1, 2025

Strauss’ “Arabella” will star Albert Pesendorfer, Doris Soffel, Jennifer Davis, Heidi Stober, Thomas Johannes Mayer, and Sean Panikkar. Sir. Donald Runnicles conducts.

Performance Dates: March 7-20, 2025

Sir. Donald Runnicles conducts Strauss’ “Intermezzo” with Philipp Jekal, Maria Bengtsson, Elliott Woodruff, Anna Schoeck, Thomas Blondelle, and Clemens Bieber.

Performance Dates: March 13-23, 2025

Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” will star Thomas Johannes Mayer, Albert Pesendorfer, Magnus Vigilius, Chance Jonas-O’Toole, Elena Tsallagova, and Annika Schlicht. Ulf Schirmer conducts.

Performance Dates: April 12-27, 2025

Attilio Glaser takes on the title role of Wagner’s “Lohengrin” with Flurina Stucki, Jordan Shanahan, Nina Stemme, Dean Murphy, and Byung Gil Kim. Ivan Repušić conducts.

Performance Dates: April 6-20, 2025

Rued Langgaard’s “Antikrist” will star Kyle Miller, Jonas Grundner-Culemann, Maria Vasilevskaya, Arianna Manganello, Thomas Cilluffo, Martina Baroni, Flurina Stucki, and Thomas Blondelle. Stephan Zilias conducts.

Performance Dates: April 24 & May 2, 2025

Verdi’s “Les Vêpres Siciliennes” will be conducted by Dominic Limburg and stars Hulkar Sabirova, Valentyn Dytiuk, George Petean, and Roberto Tagliavini.

Performance Dates: May 18-31, 2025

Daniel Okulitch, Georgia Jarman, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Anna Werle, and Thomas Blondelle star in George Benjamin’s “Written on Skin” with Marc Albrecht conducting.

Performance Dates: May 4-20, 2025

Paolo Arrivabeni conducts Verdi’s “Nabucco” with Juan Jesús Rodríguez, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, Jorge Puerta, Liang Li, Ewa Płonka, and Karis Tucker.

Performance Dates: May 10-23, 2025

Jonathan Tetelman leads a star-studded cast for Verdi’s “Don Carlo” with Alex Esposito, Gihoon Kim, Patrick Guetti, Federica Lombardi, and Irene Roberts. Sir. Donald Runnicles conducts.

Performance Dates: May 8-29, 2025

Verdi’s “Aida” will star Tobias Kehrer, Judit Kutasi, Hulkar Sabirova, SeokJong Baek, Byung Gil Kim, and George Petean. Paolo Arrivabeni conducts.

Performance Dates: May 3-22, 2025

Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” will star Brian Jagde, Sara Jakubiak, Jennifer Larmore, Lucio Gallo, Thomas Lehman, and Karis Tucker. Juraj Valčuha conducts.

Performance Dates: June 21-29, 2025

Gregory Kunde, Pavel Yankovsky, and Sondra Radvanovsky star in Giordano’s “Andrea Chenier.” Axel Kober conducts.

Performance Dates: May 30-June 7, 2025

Mozart’s “Die Zauberflote” will showcase several casts with Tobias Kehrer, Patrick Guetti, Andrei Danilov, Kieran Carrel, Kangyoon Shine Lee, Matthew Newlin, Attilio Glaser, Markus Brück, Padraic Rowan, Michael Bachtadze, Joel Allison, Hye-Young Moon, Lilit Davtyan, Nina Solodovnikova, Hye-Young Moon, Alexandra Oomens, Sua Jo, Philipp Jekal, Artur Garbas, Chance Jonas-O’Toole, Burkhard Ulrich, and Thomas Cilluffo. Petr Popelka and Sir. Donald Runnicles conduct.

Performance Dates: Sept. 15, 2024-July 12, 2025

“Emersion” will showcase Flurina Stucki and Geon Kim.

performance Dates: July 11-13, 2025

Playground Festival will see the Deutsche Oper Berlin transformed into a techno club.

Performance Date: July 19, 2025

Concerts 

Sir. Donald Runnicles conducts a program of Verdi, Respighi, and Nono. The concert includes soloists Lilit Davtyan, Thomas Cilluffo, Federica Lombardi, and Roberto Alagna.

Performance Date: Sept. 10, 2024

Arianna Manganello, Andrei Danilov, and Nina Solodovnikova perform Italian songs alongside John Parr.

Performance Date: Oct. 22, 2024

There will be a Festive opera night for the German Aids Foundation.

Performance Date: Nov. 2, 2024

Hye-Young Moon and Christine Buffle sing Ravel and Strauss with John Parr.

Performance Date: Feb. 4, 2025

Maxime Pascal and Marianne Crebassa lead a program of music by Rimsky-Korsakov and Ravel.

Performance Date: Feb. 10, 2025

Lilit Davtyan, Chance Jonas-O’Toole, and Jared Werlein perform Haydn and Mozart with John Parr.

Performance Date: April 23, 2025

Flurina Stucki, Artur Garbas, Kieran Carrel, and John Parr perform Strauss.

Performance Date: May 7, 2025

The post Jonathan Tetelman, Aigul Akhmetshina, Aušrine Stundyte, David Butt Philip & Sondra Radvanovsky lead Deutsche Oper Berlin’s 2024-25 Season appeared first on OperaWire.

Orchestre de Paris

Klaus Mäkelä conducts music by Beethoven, Peteris Vasks, and Tchaikovsky. Lisa Batiashvili is the soloist.

Klaus Mäkelä and Gustavo Dudamel conduct a program of music by Poulenc, Beethoven, Ravel,  and Boulez. Esa Benoit is the soloist.

Performance Date: Jan. 9 & 10, 2025

Bach’s Mass in B Minor will be performed by Klaus Mäkelä, Julia Kleiter, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Nicholas Scott, and Milan Siljanov.

Performance Dates: April 8 & 9, 2025

Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Elsa Dreisig lead a program of music by Strauss, Brahms and Sibelius.

Performance Dates: April 23 & 24, 2025

Omer Meir Wellber conducts Mozart’s Requiem with Rebecca Nelsen, Christel Loetzsch, JunHo You, Markus Werba, Evan Hughes, and Karl Huml. The program also includes Viktor Ullmann’s “L’empereur d’Atlantis ou Le Refus de la mort.”

Performance Date: May 7 & 8, 2025

International Orchestras

Gustavo Dudamel conducts Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with Marianne Crebassa. The program also includes music by José Antonio Abreu.

Performance Date: Jan. 11, 2025

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in a program of music by Boulez, George Benjamin and Brahms. Barbara Hannigan stars.

Performance Date: Jan. 13, 2025

Musique en Scene

Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Donnerstag aus Licht” will be conducted by Maxime Pascal. The production will be directed by Benjamin Lazar and will star Safir Behloul and Elise Chauvin. 

Performance Dates: Oct. 26, 2024

Rocío Molina will direct “Carnacion” with the participation of soprano of Olalla Alemán.

Performance Dates: June 4-7, 2025

La Voix

Roberto Alagna and Ludovic Tézier perform music by Donizetti, Stanisław Moniuszko, Giordano, Verdi, Bizet, and Wagner.

Performance Date: Sept. 23, 2024

Eva Zaïcik performs music by Garbis Aprikian, Ara Bartevian, and Komitas with David Haroutunian, Astrig Siranossian, and Xénia Maliarevitch.

Performance Date: Sept. 27, 2024

Ana María Patiño-Osorio and Juan Diego Flórez join the Sinfonía por el Perú in a program of music by Offenbach, Donizetti, and Verdi.

Performance Date: Sept. 30, 2024

Riccardo Muti conducts Verdi’s Requiem with Juliana Grigoryan, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Giovanni Sala, and Maharram Huseynov. 

Performance Date: Oct. 4, 2024

Masaaki Suzuki conducts Hadn’s “The Creation” with Carolyn Sampson, Benjamin Bruns, and Christian Immler.

Performance Date: Oct. 6, 2024

William Christie and Sonya Yoncheva lead a program of music by Louis Claude Armand Chardin, Luigi Cherubini, Christoph Willibald Gluck, André Modeste Grétry, Johann Paul Aegidius Martini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Niccolò Piccini, Antonio Sacchini, and Antonio Salieri

Performance Date: Nov. 1, 2024

Gianluca Capuano conducts Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” with Cecilia Bartoli and Mélissa Petit.

Performance Date: Nov. 28, 2024

Mikko Franck conducts Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” with Asmik Grigorian and Matthias Goerne.

Performance Date: Nov. 29, 2024

Wolfgang Doerner and Daniel Schmutzhard perform music by Ravel, Mozart Debussy, and Mahler.

Performance Date: Dec. 7, 2024

Jérémie Rhorer conducts Verdi’s “La Traviata” starring Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Ivan Magrì, and Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar.

Performance Date: Dec. 8, 2024

Sabine Devieilhe and Stéphane Degout star in Brahms’ Deutsche Requiem. Raphaël Pichon conducts a program that also includes Mendelssohn and Bach.

Performance Date: Dec. 12, 2024

Marion Cotillard stars in Honegger’s “Jeanne d’Arc” with Eric Génovèse, Ilse Eerens, Isabelle Druet, Svetlana Lifar, Julien Dran, and Nicolas Courjal. Alain Altinoglu conducts.

Performance Date: Dec. 13, 2024

William Christie conducts works by Handel and Rameau with soloists Ana Maria Labin, Emmanuelle de Negri, Rachel Redmond, Lea Desandre, James Way, and Renato Dolcini.

Performance Date: Dec. 14, 2024

François-Xavier Roth conducts the first act of “Die Walkure” with Johanni van Oostrum, Klaus Florian Vogt, and Jean Teitgen.

Performance Date: Jan. 17, 2025

Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou perform music by Messiaen, Scriabine, and John Zorn

Performance Date: Jan. 18, 2025

The Bach Collegium Japan and Masato Suzuki perform music by Mozart including the Requiem.

Performance Date: Jan. 21, 2025

Aphrodite Patoulidou and Malcolm Martineau celebrate Valentine’s Day with music by Beethoven, Berlioz, Britten, Grieg, Loewe, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Sibelius, Strauss, and Wolf.

Performance Date: Feb. 14, 2025

Elsa Dreisig performs music by Ravel and Faure.

Performance Date: Feb. 15, 2025

William Christie conducts Haydn and Mozart with soloists Mélissa Petit, Beth Taylor, Bastien Rimondi, and Padraic Rowan

Performance Date: March 5, 2025

Paul Daniel conducts Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” with Mariame Clément directing.

Performance Dates: March 13-17, 2025

Adèle Charvet and Florian Caroubi perform music by Georges Bizet, Charles Gounod, and Ernest Guiraud.

Performance Date: March 24, 2025

Barbara Hannigan stars in Poulenc’s “,La Voix Humaine” and Strauss’ “Métamorphoses”

Performance Date: April 3, 2025

Kent Nagano conducts Wagner’s “Siegfried” with Thomas Ebenstein, Derek Welton, Daniel Schmutzhard, Hanno Müller-Brachmann, Gerhild Romberger, and Åsa Jäger.

Performance Date: April 4, 2025

Christophe Rousset conducts Bach’s Cantate BWV 66 “Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen” and Oratorio de Pâques with soloists Anna El-Khashem, Mari Askvik, Nick Pritchard, and Edwin Crossley-Mercer.

Performance Date: April 21, 2025

William Christie conducts Georg Friedrich Haendel’s “Neuf Airs allemands” with Rowan Pierce and James Way.

Performance Date: April 22, 2205

Paul Agnew conducts Handel’s “The Resurrection” with Ana Vieira Leite, Julie Roset, Lucile Richardot, Cyril Auvity, and Christopher Purves.

Performance Date: April 30, 2025

Jordi Savall conducts Schumann’s “Le Paradis et la Péri”

Performance Date: May 12, 2025

Case Scaglione conducts Chiara Skerath, Marie-Luise Dressen, and Thibault de Damas in music by Beethoven, Hensel, and Schubert.

Performance Date: May 13, 2025

Raphaël Pichon conducts Sabine Devieilhe and Stéphane Degout in music by Thomas, Faure, and Berlioz.

Performance Date: May 20, 2025

Paul Agnew conducts the Les Arts Florissants in a program of music by Bach, Graupner, Telemann, and Kuhnau. Miriam Allan, Maarten Engeltjes, Thomas Hobbs, and Edward Grint.

Performance Date: May 20, 2025

Reinoud Van Mechelen and Anthony Romaniuk perform music by Georges Bizet, Eduard Lassen, and Franz Liszt.

Performance Date: June 10, 2025

Jonas Kaufmann and Diana Damrau perform Mahler and Strauss alongside Helmut Deutsch.

Performance Date: June 23, 2025

Chorus

La Tempête – Choeur et Orchestre and Simon-Pierre Bestion perform music by Guillaume de Machaut, Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ohana, and Alphonse X le Sage.

Performance Date: Oct. 3, 2024

Klaus Mäkelä conducts a choral concert with music by Tchaikovsky, Vaughan Williams, and Arensky.

Performance Date: Oct. 4, 2024

Christian Vásquez conducts a choral concert with music by Ravel, Prokofiev, Wagner, Faure, and Justina Repečkaitė.

Performance Date: Oct. 5, 2024

Raphaël Pichon conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Jacqueline Stucker, Beth Taylor, Robin Tritschler, and Jarrett Ott.

Performance Date: Oct. 5, 2024

Corinne Benizio directs a concert of music by Dominique Desmons, Claude Francois, Boby Lapointe, Guillaume de Machaut, and Henry Purcell. The concert includes soloists Yann Rolland, Martial Pauliat, and Igor Bouin.

Performance Date: Oct. 6, 2024

The post Marion Cotillard, Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau, Sonya Yoncheva, Juan Diego Flórez & Sabine Devieilhe Lead Philharmonie de Paris’ 2024-25 Season appeared first on OperaWire.

Auber’s “Le Domino noir” is set to be conducted by Louis Langrée and will be directed by Valérie Lesort and Christian Hecq. The cast includes Anne-Catherine Gillet, Cyrille Dubois, and Victoire Bunel.

Performance Date: Sept. 20-28, 2024

George Benjamin & Martin Crimp’s “Picture a Day Like This” is set to star Marianne Crebassa, Anna Prohaska, John Brancy, Matthieu Baquey, Lisa Grandmottet, and Eulalie Rambaud. George Benjamin conducts a production by Marie-Christine Soma and Daniel Jeanneteau.

Performance Dates: Oct. 25-31, 2024

Rameau’s “Les fêtes d’Hébé” will feature Emmanuelle de Negri, Lea Desandre, Ana Vieira Leite, Cyril Auvity, Marc Mauillon, Lisandro Abadie, Renato Dolcini, and Matthieu Walendzik. William Christie conducts the production by Robert Carsen.

Performance Dates: Dec. 13-21, 2024

Joyce El-Khoury headlines Cherubini’s “Médée” with Julien Behr, Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Lila Dufy, and Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur. Laurence Equilbey conducts the production by Marie-Ève Signeyrole.

Performance Dates: Feb. 8-16, 2025

Jarrett Ott leads Händel’s “Samson” with Ana Maria Labin, Julie Roset, Laurence Kilsby, and Camille Chopin. Raphaël Pichon conducts the production by Claus Guth.

Performance Dates: March 17-23, 2025

Gluck’s “Semiramis” and “Don Juan” will be conducted by Jordi Savall.

Lea Desandre and Thomas Dunford perform music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Claude Debussy.

Performance Date: Dec. 20, 2024

Gaëlle Arquez and Susan Manoff perform music by Berlioz.

Performance Date: Feb. 9, 2025

The post Joyce El-Khoury, Lea Desandre, Anne-Catherine Gillet & Jarrett Ott Lead Opéra Comique’s 2024-25 Season appeared first on OperaWire.

The company said that Marianne Crebassa has withdrawn from the production for personal reasons. As a result, the role of La Belle Dulcinée will be played by Gaëlle Arquez.

Arquez was originally set to sing “La Cenerentola” at the Gran Teatre del Liceu but was replaced by Maria Kataeva to perform in Paris.

The mezzo is set to join a cast that includes Christian Van Horn, Gábor Bretz, Étienne Dupuis, Emy Gazeilles, Marine Chagnon, Maciej Kwaśnikowski, and Nicholas Jones.” Mikhail Tatarnikov conducts the new production by Damiano Michieletto.

Massenet’s “Don Quichotte” will run from May 10 May to June 11, 2024 at the Opéra Bastille.

The post Opéra de Paris Announces New Cast Change for ‘Don Quichotte’ appeared first on OperaWire.

Nicholas Kraemer conducts a program that includes the music of Händel, Beethoven, and Mozart. Soloists include Amanda Forsythe, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Josh Lovell, and Michael Sumuel.

Performance Dates: Oct. 17-19, 2024

Fabien Gabel and Konstantin Krimmel team up for a program of music by Britten, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, and Korngold. 

Performance Dates: Dec. 12-14, 2024

Ekaterina Gubanova and Christian Van Horn star in Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle.” Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the program that also includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2.

Performance Dates: Feb. 6-8, 2025

Manfred Honeck conducts Macmillian, Beethoven, and Haydn with soloists Joélle Harvey, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Andrew Haji, and Joshua Hopkins.

Performance Dates: March 13-15, 2025

Klaus Mäkelä conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with Wiebke Lehmkuhl as the soloist.

Performance Dates: April 24-26, 2025

James Gaffigan conducts Janai Brugger in Dvorak, Bernstein, and Gershwin.

Performance Dates: May 31, 2025

Riccardo Muti conducts Berlioz’s “The Damnation of Faust” with Marianne Crebassa, John Osborn, and Ildebrando DʼArcangelo.

Performance Dates: June 19-24, 2025

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“Les Contes d’Hoffmann” opens the Live in HD season. The opera stars Benjamin Bernheim, Christian Van Horn, Clémentine Margaine, Pretty Yende, and Erin Morley. Marco Armiliato conducts.

Screening Date: Oct. 5, 2024

Next up is “Grounded.” Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts a cast starring Emily D’Angelo, Kirsten MacKinnon, Ben Bliss, and Kyle Miller.

Screening Date: Oct. 19, 2024

Lise Davidsen, Freddie De Tommaso, and Quinn Kelsey star in “Tosca.” Xian Zhang conducts.

Screening Date: Nov. 23, 2024

“Aida” stars Angel Blue, Judit Kutasi, Quinn Kelsey, Piotr Beczala, and Dmitri Belosselskiy star.

Screening Date: Jan. 25, 2025

“Fidelio” will star Lise Davidsen, Ying Fang, David Butt Philip, and Tomasz Konieczny. Susanna Mälkki conducts.

Screening Date: March 15, 2025

Next up is “Le Nozze di Figaro,” conducted by Joana Mallwitz. Federica Lombardi, Olga Kulchynska, Marianne Crebassa, Michael Sumuel, and Joshua Hopkins star.

Screening Date: April 26, 2025

“Salome” will star Elza van den Heever, Michelle DeYoung, Gerhard Siegel, Peter Mattei, and Piotr Buszewski.

Screening Date: May 17, 2025

Closing out the series is “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” starring Aigul Akhmetshina, Jack Swanson, Andrey Zhilikhovsky, Peter Kálmán, and Alexander Vinogradov. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts.

Screening Date: May 31, 2025

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