On the ruins of an old prison, Persada seeks the truth about her mother, "the woman who sings", whose love once defied the tyrant Soliman. In this singspiel composed in 1780, the young Mozart voices his aspirations to freedom and justice, foreshadowing The Abduction from the Seraglio. Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion bring Zaïde together with other rarely performed works in a humanist fresco created in Salzburg in 2025.

Zaïde or the Path of Light

Lycée Carnot

When death claims his wife on their wedding day, Orpheus must brave the Underworld to rescue her. Can his music move the gods themselves? A classic myth brings together Monteverdi’s powerfully expressive score and a new staging by artist and Olivier Award-winning director William Kentridge.

L'Orfeo

Glyndebourne

When death claims his wife on their wedding day, Orpheus must brave the Underworld to rescue her. Can his music move the gods themselves? A classic myth brings together Monteverdi’s powerfully expressive score and a new staging by artist and Olivier Award-winning director William Kentridge with Jonathan Cohen conducting.

L’Orfeo

Brisbane-born mezzo-soprano and former Opera Queensland Young Artist Xenia Puskarz Thomas presents a captivating recital exploring the depths of desire, longing, and memory.

Joined by her husband David Belkovski, the first half immerses audiences in the sensual world of Baroque and French repertoire, music alive with passion, immediacy, and irresistible physicality. The program then turns inward with Schumann’s Liederkreis, a hauntingly beautiful song cycle that delves into dreams, reflection, and the ache of what remains just out of reach. 

A graduate of the Juilliard School and Queensland Conservatorium, Xenia has already earned international acclaim, most recently at the 2024 Salzburger Festspiele in The Idiot, where she was named one of The New York Times’ Top Five Breakout Artists of the Festival. Her artistic journey began at Opera Queensland, where she first discovered her passion through the Moving Opera workshop in Grade 10. 

This recital promises a compelling journey through desire, intimacy, and reflection, delivered by one of Australia’s most exciting young voices in a program that balances sensuality, depth, and lyrical beauty.

Xenia Puskarz Thomas and David Belkovski: Desire and Longing

Opera Queensland

Clyne Franz Schubert / Luciano Berio Haydn

Gasteig HP8

A poet has published a poem about a lonesome hunter, who he recently saw in the mountains. Josuke Misugi, who has recognised himself as the mountain hunter, subsequently contacts him. He sends the poet three letters, in which three women that are important for him tell of the long relationship he had with his sister-in-law, Saiko. A relationship of which nobody but they knew, or at least they thought so. Now we learn, however, that his wife Midori has long since known, and in her letter tells of the consequences. In her farewell letter, Saiko herself struggles with her long years of guilty conscience. And Shoko, Saiko’s daughter, also never wants to see her uncle again, as she has learnt of their secret from her mother’s diary. A man between two women – five views of the same facts. Yasushi Inoue’s 1949 novel could be set anywhere, and at any time. Modern people plot against each other, four lives turn out to be lies. At the end, one person is dead, and a successful businessman has become a lonely hunter in the mountains. For this chamber opera, which celebrated its world premiere at the Bregenz Festival in 2018, Austrian composer Thomas Larcher has been developing his sounds from the germ cells of music – a rhythm, an interval, a scale and singing, sometimes almost entirely silent, sometimes exploring the limits of the human voice.

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Das Jagdgewehr

Munich Residence

Indulge in the timeless beauty of music at Caramoor with Twelfth Night, a period instrument ensemble led by led by David Belkovski and Rachell Ellen Wong. Immerse yourself in the vibrant and expressive tapestry of baroque melodies of Vivaldi’s Il Giustino, characterized by its lively rhythms, ornate harmonies, and dramatic contrasts. Then, experience the exquisite sounds of Aminta e Fillide, George Frideric Handel’s pastoral cantata from 1708, evoking a world of unrequited love and longing. Renowned for its lush melodies and emotive storytelling, this cherished Baroque masterpiece offers a captivating journey through the depths of human emotion.

Twelfth Night

The Rosen House at Caramoor

Early-music ensemble Twelfth Night reimagines operatic and instrumental masterpieces from the Baroque era in its Carnegie Hall debut, led by Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Rachell Ellen Wong and David Belkovski. Influenced by the sounds of today, and with a vision for the future, this New York–based ensemble was formed “with the firm belief that art is best explored as a meeting place of the past, present, and future.” Timeless works by Handel, Vivaldi, Marais, J. S. Bach, and Destouches offer an illuminating vantage point and thoroughly rewarding musical experience in this unique exploration of humanity’s relationship to nature.


Carnegie Hall

Pygmalion celebrates 20 years of impactful music-making in the highest echelons of period performance with Mozart’s glorious Great Mass in C minor and more.

Pygmalion: Mozart's Great Mass in C minor

Barbican Centre

Salzburg Easter Festival Richard Wagner’s “Die Walküre”

Felsenreitschule, Salzburg

Part romance, part pageant, pure Handel. On their limited US tour, The English Concert presents Alessandro. Brimming with vocal athletics and unparalleled musicianship, Handel’s Alexander the Great juggles a love triangle with global conquest and political conspiracy.

Xenia Puskarz Thomas

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 9, 2026

Pygmalion: Mozart's Great Mass in C minor · Barbican Centre

20 - 29 Mar, 2027

Salzburg Easter Festival Richard Wagner’s “Die Walküre” · Berliner Philharmoniker

Apr 30, 2027

Alessandro · Opera Omaha

Past events

9 - 12 Sep, 2026

Zaïde or the Path of Light · Opéra Comique

23 - 25 Jul, 2026

L'Orfeo · Glyndebourne

Future and recently performed repertoire

Messaggera / La Speranza in L'Orfeo by Monteverdi

Glyndebourne

Singer in Liederkreis by Schumann

Opera Queensland

Siegrune in Die Walküre by Wagner

Berliner Philharmoniker

Rossane in Alessandro by Händel

Opera Omaha

About

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