FULL DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE Harrison NY 2023 Simon Brea, Rachel Schlesinger, Olivier Zerouali, Sophia Orrico Synopsis: Act I Mr. Paul Papageno is a “successful” Hedge Fund Manager living the life of excess he has always imagined. He has an abundance of wine, women, and money to burn. His misogynistic tendencies have not made working for a woman easy, especially one he considers a tyrant. Despite achieving everything he believed he wanted, he has found himself miserably unhappy and surrounded by darkness. He spends his evenings searching for happiness in a quasi-alcoholic stupor. One evening in a loca ..read more

FULL Sound-Space-Tribute to György Ligeti Frankfurt 2023 Alain Altinoglu, Marion Lebègue, Kamil Ben Hsaïn Lachiri, Sophia Körber Ligeti 100 A sound-space experience in three parts on the 100th birthday of György Ligeti, full of surprises and contrasts between Renaissance and 21st century, instruments, voices and 100 metronomes as main actors Part 1: Poème symphonique (für 100 Metronome) Atmosphères (für Orchester) Continuum (für Cembalo) Volumina (für Orgel) – Ausschnitt Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli – Kyrie Hamburgisches Konzert (für Horn und Kammerorchester) Part 2 ..read more

FULL Christus am Ölberge (Beethoven) Bergen 2023 Jennifer France, Bror Magnus Tødenes, Neal Davies Program: Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Symphony No. 3 (35′) interval Ludwig van Beethoven Christus am Ölberge Op. 85 (56′) Quote from Wikipedia: Christus am Ölberge (in English, Christ on the Mount of Olives), Op. 85, is an oratorio by Ludwig van Beethoven portraying the emotional turmoil of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane prior to his crucifixion. It was begun in the fall of 1802, soon after his completion of the Heiligenstadt Testament, as indicated by evidence in the Wielhorsky sketchbook. The ..read more

FULL All Night Vigil (Rachmaninov) St.Petersburg 2023 Singing Capella St.Petersburg Quote from Wikipedia: The All-Night Vigil (Pre-reform Russian: Всенощное бдѣніе, Vsénoshchnoye bdéniye; Modern Russian: Всенощное бдение) is an a cappella choral composition by Sergei Rachmaninov, his Op. 37, premiered on 23 March 1915 in Moscow. The piece consists of settings of texts taken from the Russian Orthodox All-night vigil ceremony. It has been praised as Rachmaninoff’s finest achievement and “the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church”. It was one of Rachmaninov’s two favorite co ..read more

FULL ALEKO Krasnoyarsk 2023 Nadezhda Komarova, Andrey Silenko, Mikhail Gubsky Opera “Aleko” is the final examination work of Sergei Rachmaninov at the Moscow Conservatory, marked with a gold medal. The opera was created by the 19-year-old composer in an amazingly short time – 17 days, which testifies to his extraordinary talent and his passion for this work. This youthful work by Rachmaninoff attracted the close and enthusiastic attention of P. I. Tchaikovsky, who contributed to the production of the opera and even asked the young composer for permission to give “Aleko” along with his own one ..read more

SIEGFRIED Bendigo 2023 Bradley Daley, Warwick Fyfe, Antoinette Halloran, Robert Macfarlane Be catapulted into a world of giants and dwarves, serpents and toads, gods and apples … and this is just the start of a wondrous mystical journey which some suggest provided the germination for the renowned Lord of the Rings. Directed by Suzanne Chaundy, and led by internationally recognized conductors Anthony Negus and David Kram AM, Melbourne Opera’s production of Richard Wagner’s mammoth Der Ring Des Nibelungen (Ring Cycle) is exclusive to Bendigo. A distinguished Australian cast has been assembled fo ..read more

FULL CENDRILLON (Viardot) Valencia 2023 Marcelo Solís, Rosa Dávila, Mariana Sofía, Iria Goti Quote from OperaVision: A removals company discovers a room full of curiosities among them a book of Cendrillon. What better way for a group of friends to pass the time than to perform this famous fairy tale about Cinderella and the glass slipper? Pauline Viardot’s comic opera in three tableaux from 1904 is seeped in joie de vivre, reflecting the influences of her entourage. As a singer and composer, Viardot was at the heart of artistic life in Paris in the second half of the 19th century, an ..read more

FULL Crying Red Demon (Kazuhiko Matsui) Tokyo 2021 Daisuke Yamada, Kazuhiro Ito, Yoshihito Oshima A masterpiece of Japanese fairy tale opera depicting unconditional love. Synopsis A red demon living deep in the mountains wanted to make friends with humans. So he put up a sign in front of his house saying “Kokoronoyasashiioninouchidesu”, but no one came. When I consulted his best friend Ao Oni, he suggested, “I have a good idea.” Ao Oni’s plan was a great success. Thanks to that, humans came to visit Akaoni’s house every day. However, the red demon was worried about the blue demon, and when he ..read more

FULL DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE or The Magic Flute Hartford CT 2023 Hartt Opera Theater Mozart’s most lovable opera, THE MAGIC FLUTE, is a story of love, revenge, and redemption. This production is set in Atlantic City in 1920 [the year The Hartt School was created], with the storyline woven by none other than Al Capone! All bets are covered in this fantasy setting of one of the greatest operas, presented in the black box of McCray Theater by Hartt Opera Theater ..read more

FULL Der Kaiser von Atlantis (Ullmann) Pittsburgh PA 2023 The Carnegie Mellon School of Music presents Viktor Ullmann’s “Der Kaiser von Atlantis,” a one-act opera about totalitarianism, war, and passion. Der Kaiser Von Atlantis was the only surviving opera written in any of the camps during the Holocaust. It was a collaboration of two Jewish artists (writer and composer) who were acutely aware of the horrific genocide against the Jewish people, including themselves. They wrote this as a processing of this unimaginable moment, being faced with their own mortality and gaslit as to their own ..read more