Stravinsky – The Rake’s Progress Ann Trulove – Sara Blanch Tom Rakewell – Matthew Swensen Nick Shadow – Vito Priante Keeper of the Madhouse – Matteo Torcaso Trulove – James Platt Mother Goose – Marie-Claude Chappuis Baba the Turk – Adriana di Paola Sellem – Christian Collia Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino / Daniele Gatti.Stage director – Frederic Wake-Walker. Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro del Maggio, Florence, Italy.  Sunday, March 26th, 2023. Today’s performance of The Rake’s Progress at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino was actually the la ..read more

Wagner – Tristan und Isolde Tristan – Samuel Sakker König Marke – Albert Dohmen Isolde – Carla Filipcic Holm Kurwenal – Vincenzo Neri Melot – Mark Gough Brangäne – Dshamilja Kaiser Ein Hirt – Hugo Kampschreur Ein Steuermann – Simon Schmidt Stimme eines jungen Seemanns – Hugo Kampschreur Koor Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Symfonisch Orkest Opera Ballet Vlaanderen / Alejo Pérez. Stage director – Philippe Grandrieux. Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Ghent, Flanders, Belgium.  Saturday, March 25th, 2023. A new production of Tristan und Isolde is always a challenge for an opera house, both in the cast ..read more

Wagner – Siegfried Siegfried – Daniel Brenna Brünnhilde – Johanna Rusanen Mime – Dan Karlström Der Wanderer – Tommi Hakala Alberich – Jukka Rasilainen Fafner – Matti Turunen Erda – Sari Nordqvist Stimme des Waldvogels – Krista Kujala Suomen kansallisoopperan orkesteri – Finlands Nationaloperas orkester / Hannu Lintu. Stage director – Anna Kelo. Suomen kansallisooppera ja -baletti – Finlands nationalopera och -balett, Helsinki, Finland.  Friday, March 24th, 2023. This Siegfried, the latest instalment of Anna Kelo’s Ring production at the Finnish National Opera, came around a bit more quick ..read more

Prokofiev – War and Peace (Война и мир) Andrei – Andrei Zhilikhovsky Natasha – Olga Kulchynska Pierre – Arsen Soghomonyan Sonya / Aide de Camp de Murat – Alexandra Yangel Princess Marie Akrossimova – Violeta Urmana Peronskaya / Shopkeeper – Olga Guryakova Count Rostov  – Mischa Schelomianski Hélène – Victoria Karkacheva Anatole – Bekhzod Davronov Dolokhov – Alexei Botnarciuc Princess Marya – Christina Bock Old Prince Bolkonsky / Matveyev – Sergei Leiferkus Balaga – Alexander Roslavets Matrioshka – Oksana Volkova Dunyasha – Elmira Karakhanova Gavrila – Roman Chabaranok Dr Metivier / Berthi ..read more

Donizetti – Lucia di Lammermoor Lucia – Rita Marques Edgardo – Luís Gomes Enrico – Gezim Myshketa Raimondo – Fabrizio Beggi Arturo – Marco Alves Dos Santos Alisa – Patrícia Quinta Normanno – Sérgio Martins Coro do Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa / Antonio Pirolli. Stage director – Alfonso Romero Mora. Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon, Portugal.  Friday, March 3rd, 2023. Tonight marked the premiere of this new staging of Lucia di Lammermoor by Alfonso Romero Mora, at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos.  It also marked the role debut of the lovely youn ..read more

Cimarosa – Il matrimonio segreto Carolina – Veronika Seghers Paolino – Antonio Mandrillo Fidalma – Veta Pilipenko Geronimo – Ignas Melnikas Elisetta – Marilena Ruta Conte Robinson – Ramiro Maturana Orchestra Cupiditas / Davide Levi. Stage director – Roberto Catalano. Teatro Regio, Parma, Italy.  Sunday, February 19th, 2023. This afternoon’s performance of Il matrimonio segreto marked my first visit to the beautiful Teatro Regio in Parma.  It’s a jewel of a house, ornate in the manner of so many Italian theatres.  The seats are comfortable and the welcome is most cordial.  I ..read more

Händel – Alcina Alcina – Magdalena Kožená Morgana – Erin Morley Ruggiero – Anna Bonitatibus Bradamante – Elizabeth DeShong Melisso – Alex Rosen Oronte – Valerio Contaldo Oberto – Mercedes Gancedo Les Musiciens du Louvre / Marc Minkowski.Concert performance. Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Catalonia.  Friday, February 17th, 2023. This evening’s concert performance of Alcina was the penultimate of a tour that has taken these forces to cities around France, Germany, Spain, and Catalonia over the past week and a half.  It has been an intense schedule for the performers – not only was t ..read more

Verdi – Macbeth Macbeth – Luca Salsi Banco – Erwin Schrott Lady Macbeth – Sondra Radvanovsky Dama – Gemma Coma-Alabert Macduff – Francesco Pio Galasso Malcolm – Fabian Lara Medico – David Lagares Sicario – David Lagares Cor del Gran Teatre del Liceu, Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu / Josep Pons. Stage director – Jaume Plensa. Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Catalonia.  Thursday, February 16th, 2023. This was, rather unbelievably so given how often I visit the Catalan capital, my first visit to the Gran Teatre del Liceu since 2018.  While of course we have been living ..read more

Tchaikovsky – Yevgeny Onegin (Евгений Онегин) Tatyana – Sally Matthews Olga – Lilly Jørstad Larina – Bernadetta Grabias Filippyevna – Cristina Melis Lensky – Bogdan Volkov Yevgeny Onegin – Stéphane Degout Triquet – Christophe Mortagne Zaretski – Kamil Ben Hsaïn Lachiri Prince Gremin – Nicolas Courjal Koor van de Munt, Orchestre symphonique de la Monnaie / Alain Altinoglu. Stage director – Laurent Pelly.    De Munt – La Monnaie, Brussels, Belgium.  Sunday, February 5th, 2023. This new production of Yevgeny Onegin, by Laurent Pelly, opened at De Munt – La Monnaie last weekend ..read more

Wagner – Tristan und Isolde Tristan – Samuel Sakker König Marke – Park Jongmin Isolde – Dorothea Röschmann Kurwenal – Scott Hendricks Melot – Peter Brathwaite Brangäne – Aude Extrémo Ein Hirt – Alexander Robin Baker Ein Steuermann – Kim Yong Stimme eines jungen Seemanns – Alexander Robin Baker Chœur de l’Opéra national de Lorraine, Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Lorraine / Leo Hussain.Stage director – Tiago Rodrigues. Opéra national de Lorraine, Nancy, France.  Saturday, February 4th, 2023. Tonight marked my first visit to the city of Nancy and its Opéra national de Lorraine.  ..read more