The ascetic prophet Jochanaan, who preaches repentance, seems to offer her an escape from this world. However, he rejects her longing. Full of immature anger, she demands his head. When Salome kisses the prophet's bloody mouth, her stepfather Herod orders her to be killed.

Salome

Vienna State Opera

If you could change the world right now, what would you do? Change the world! by Mart van Berckel and Pedro Beriso, showing at Semper Zwei, provides a great opportunity to reflect on this and a whole host of other questions. The production aims to transport the audience to the day after a revolution: in a room full of empty chairs (the remnants of barricades), four singers meet after devastating events to reflect, to mourn and to hope … and also to think of a way forward. But they are not alone. They are joined by spoken-word artist Amara van der Elst as a figure who is simultaneously both inside and outside events. According to Mart van Berckel: “Like a presenter or a storyteller, she is responsible for what happens on stage; she can press ‘play’ or ‘pause’, rewind or fast-forward. She’s the motor driving the performance.” She addresses the audience directly with challenging texts, constantly throwing up questions that demand an answer. Amara van der Elst partly drew these questions from the lyrics of the songs which, like a collage, were compiled for this production. The music from both the 19th and 20th centuries runs from Ludwig van Beethoven to Hanns Eisler. Alongside a heady sense of revolutionary tension, the production creates space for personal reflection. Change the world! That’s not a challenge but rather an invitation to tackle difficult questions.

Ändere die Welt!

Semper Zwei

“I don’t believe in the right to work; I prefer to believe that the greatest right of man is to do nothing,“ said Rossini. Angelina, his Cinderella, is far from that – she performs slave labour in her bankrupt stepfather’s family. How a prince, for whom the bank account and an army of servants work, gets her out of this precarious situation is a world-famous fairy tale from Charles Perrault to Disney. Rossini tells the story of the power of honest feelings to survive without the well-known miraculous elements, but there is one great miracle: love at first sight. Not at the ball, but when the prince, as a servant, inspects the potential brides in advance. Surrounding this is the madness of exalted dreams of ascent and terrible scenarios of descent, which drives Rossini’s characters forward just as much as the insane energy of his music. The young mezzo-soprano Itzeli del Rosario, who is a member of the Stuttgart ensemble since this season, makes her debut in the title role of Cinderella.

La Cenerentola

Stuttgart Opera

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFe6mW6x9pc

The Artelize Podcast: 'Amplifying What Makes Us Human'. A conversation with Zuly E. Inirio

Podcast link: https://youtu.be/4hagYvrYbuM

The Artelize Podcast and Kasper Holten - Pedefining Opera for the modern world

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d36M5Hi6O80

The Artelize Podcast - A legacy of innovation in Opera: Celebrating Marc A. Scorca

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59E40S_EQSY

The Artelize Podcast: A love letter that was never sent

"Time is out of joint!"


When Hamlet returns to the Danish court, the old order has been shattered. Hamlet's father, the King of Denmark, has been murdered by his own brother. Unseen, unpunished. The murderer, Claudius, now sits on the throne himself and has married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, the old king's widow. The young prince is determined to bring justice to his father's cause and avenge him. But what is he willing to sacrifice? What or whom must he offer? To avoid detection in his plan for revenge, Hamlet misleads the court. He dissembles, feigning madness. Increasingly, the lines between imagination and reality blur, doubt gnaws at his conscience and willpower. And while Hamlet threatens to break under the weight of his legacy, Prince Fortinbras prepares for war against Denmark.

Hamlet

Theater tent at Küchengarten

The will to resist the Roman is growing among the Galls, and Norma should finally give the sign for an uprising against the oppressor in the name of the god of war. But she hesitates due to a conflict of conscience: despite her vow of chastity, Norma has two children, hidden from the public, fathered by the Roman Pollione. When she finds out that Pollione loves the novice Adalgisa and wants to run away with her, her situation seems hopeless. If she reveals her double life, she risks not only her own standing, but that of her children as well.

Norma

Bebelplatz

Outrageous disguises, intercepted love letters, and comic misunderstandings—Rossini’s uproarious masterpiece, The Barber of Seville, has them all. This fan favorite receives a delightful staging from director Joan Font, returning to Houston following the triumph of his acclaimed Cinderella.

EPSG:4326

The Barber of Seville

Wortham Theater Center

In order to free her husband Florestan, Leonore disguises herself as a male prison guard and sneaks into a prison. Beethoven’s only opera is infused with an unwavering belief in the power of hope. The powerful liberation music at the end anticipates the «Ode to Joy» from his Ninth Symphony. Andreas Homoki separates the plot from its bourgeois comic light opera context, focusing instead on the utopian idea of world brotherhood and the universal themes of humanity that Beethoven chose as his central focus. Klaus Florian Vogt, one of the most outstanding tenors of our time, will appear as Florestan.

Fidelio

Zurich Opera House

The opera that Claude Debussy created from Maurice Maeterlinck’s symbolist drama stands as one of the greatest achievements in the history of musical theatre. The stage of La Scala recalls productions of exceptional significance: from Victor de Sabata’s conducting in 1948 and 1953, to Herbert von Karajan’s in 1962, and the legendary staging by Antoine Vitez with Claudio Abbado on the podium in 1986, while Georges Prêtre conducted the productions in 1973, 1977, and 2005. In such a prestigious interpretative history, we find the return of Maxime Pascal’s fresh and insightful artistry – one of today’s most compelling French conductors, who has led major contemporary works at La Scala – and the La Scala debut of Romeo Castellucci, a renowned Italian stage director. As one of Italy’s most influential directors—regularly invited to major European theatres and festivals—Castellucci brings a vision of theatre that is both sacred and visionary, deeply rooted in art history, and promises a profound encounter with the symbolism of Debussy’s work.

Pelléas et Mélisande

Teatro alla Scala

Sir John Falstaff finds himself a bit short on cash, so he hatches a scheme: seduce two merry (and wealthy) wives of Windsor and live out his days in luxury. Too bad this bumbling knight happened to send both his targets the same love letter! Now Alice Ford and Meg Page are set on teaching Falstaff a lesson, and it's not long before a long list of his adversaries join in. Audiences are in for a whirlwind of disguises and deceptions, and maybe even an unexpected dip in the River Thames.

James Conlon conducts one of his personal favorites, Verdi's utterly delightful comic masterpiece. Longtime company favorite Craig Colclough stars as the boastful Falstaff, leading a brilliant ensemble cast that includes Nicole Heaston, Ernesto Petti and Hyona Kim among the pranksters all too happy to take the errant knight down a peg, with Deanna Breiwick and Anthony León as the young lovers desperate to steal a private moment to themselves among the madness. This classic comedy gets an equally classic staging by Lee Blakeley, with atmospheric sets and sumptuous period costumes designed by Adrian Linford.

Falstaff

The Music Center

Is Carmen’s gaze only to be compared with that of a wild animal? The French writer Prosper Mérimée explored this question in his novella Carmen, which was the basis for Georges Bizet’s (1838-1875) final opera, which premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875. Carmen’s air of seduction is both her weapon and her downfall, for in the end she dies at the hands of her jealous lover, Don José. Carmen refuses to be told what to do and certainly doesn’t want to be rescued by Don José in the shifting sands in front of the bullfighting arena. She prefers death to having her life decided by others. In the extremely popular and passionate “Habanera” aria, which is our first encounter with Carmen, she paints a picture of herself: “Love is a rebellious bird that none can tame.” Her indomitable desire for freedom is stamped in her DNA.

Carmen

Semperoper Dresden

Puccini’s one-act opera does not end with a tragic operatic death. The body of the rich Buoso Donati is already laid out when the curtain rises, his loudly lamenting relatives gathered around. But appearances can be deceiving. Puccini paints a family portrait of a shameless and greedy community of heirs. Even shrewd mastermind Gianni Schicchi is only out for himself. This lively ensemble piece is tailor-made for the members of the International Opera Studio. Up-and-coming director Lilli Fischer combines Puccini’s only comic opera with a newly developed prequel.

Gianni Schicchi

"If you travel to India and to Central Africa, you'll hear Trovatore.“ Nine years after the triumphant first performance, Verdi's opera had achieved the worldwide popularity that moved the composer to make this comment. The fabric of the opera could hardly be more gloomy: a gypsy who wishes to avenge the death of her mother at the stake, a count who wishes to use the execution of this gypsy to strike at his rival; a horrifying truth that is revealed at the moment of death. All the ingredients of Verdi's dramatic abundance appear here: mysterious sound worlds, harsh contrasts, vocal brilliance, opulent tableaux. The cohesive narrative style gives way to the variation of suggestive musical images with which Verdi served "the most important part of the drama“: revenge.

Il Trovatore

Max-Joseph-Platz

Passion and power collide as Giacomo Puccini’s TOSCA returns to Bozeman. This high-stakes drama between a passionate singer, a revolutionary artist, and a ruthless chief of police features some of the most famous and beautiful music ever written for the opera stage. Montana audiences will rediscover why TOSCA remains one of the most thrilling and popular operas of all time.

Tosca

Ellen Theatre

Two handsome and charming gondoliers discover that one is the long-lost heir to the throne of Barataria - but which one? In the pursuit of the truth, a bewildering series of events threaten both their marriages and their claim to the throne.

The Gondoliers, Gilbert and Sullivan’s last great success, is a fizzing comedy of mistaken identity that marries joy and chaos with a sharp satire of monarchy and class. This new production is helmed by Liam Steel, who directed ETO’s Olivier Award-winning production of Paul Bunyan.

The Gondoliers

Buxton Opera House

King's College, Cambridge

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

Storyhouse Chester

Gala Theatre, Durham

Hackney Empire

Norwich Theatre Royal

Lyceum Theatre Sheffield

Hall for Cornwall, Truro

In the pursuit of the truth, a bewildering series of events threaten both their marriages and their claims to the throne.

English Touring Opera: The Gondoliers

One of the world's most popular operas ever! The irresistible Carmen captivates the eyes of every man she meets, including the lovesick soldier Don José. As he forsakes his military duty, his fiancée, and the law, his admiration becomes uncontrollable obsession and Carmen leaves him for prestige and freedom. Bizet's famous music accompanies a lethal dance of lust, love, and survival that only stops when the struggle for freedom ends.

Seattle Center

Schemes, wills, and one unforgettable con. Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi is a fast-paced farce full of family drama, crafty deception, and razor-sharp wit. When a wealthy Florentine dies and leaves his fortune to a monastery, his greedy relatives turn to the sly and unconventional Gianni Schicchi to fix the problem—with delightfully chaotic results.

Bijou Theatre

The fool in Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s production of Rigoletto is clad in poisonous green, and equally toxic is his mockery of the gaggle of courtiers around the Duke of Mantua. But emotionally the fool is a mess, constantly worried about his daughter Gilda, whom he jealously shields from the clutches of the Duke, an infamous rake. When Gilda nevertheless falls victim to the Duke, Rigoletto swears bloody vengeance. But the plan backfires … The hugely successful premiere of Rigoletto took place at the Teatro La Fenice in 1851. Giuseppe Verdi created a score which he himself described as ”revolutionary“ in its ground-breaking musical and dramatic intensity. The end result is a deeply shocking work, and perhaps the best opera by the great Italian.

Rigoletto

Opera love stories tend to unfold quickly, leaving the composer with the task of supporting a plot with music that speaks volumes. The chord progression at the beginning of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde is a textbook example of musical foreshadowing. In Bartók's psychological thriller Bluebeard's Castle, two extraordinary artists portray a doomed couple.

Opera events in Shipshewana, Indiana this weekend

Salome

Wiener Staatsoper

Ändere die Welt!

Semperoper Dresden

La Cenerentola

Staatsoper Stuttgart

Salome

Wiener Staatsoper

The Artelize Podcast: 'Am...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast - A ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast: A l...

Artelize

Hamlet

Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater

Norma

Staatsoper Berlin

The Barber of Seville

Houston Grand Opera

Fidelio

Opernhaus Zürich

Pelléas et Mélisande

Falstaff

LA Opera

Carmen

Semperoper Dresden

Gianni Schicchi

Opernhaus Zürich

Il Trovatore

Bayerische Staatsoper

Tosca

Opera Montana

The Gondoliers

English Touring Opera

English Touring Opera: Th...

Cambridge Arts Theatre

Carmen

McCaw Hall

Gianni Schicchi

Knoxville Opera

Rigoletto

Semperoper Dresden

Søndergård Conducts Wagne...

Minnesota Orchestra