Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and the Conservatorio Giacomo Puccini in La Spezia have announced a new collaboration with the aim of expanding cultural and academic exchange between the United States and Italy. The agreement is set for a period of five years with options for renewal and during this period, the two institutions will join forces to create collaborative projects and research and performance opportunities for their respective students. “Opera performance has been an integral part of our university’s culture since at least 1967,” said Mitchell Hutchings, DMA, artistic director o ..read more

Vocal Arts DC has unveiled its 2024-25 season. First up is a recital featuring Lucas Meachem and Irina Meachem as they perform Mahler’s “Kindertotenlieder” and works by William Grant Still, Jake Heggie, and Florence Price. Performance Date: Sept. 12, 2024 Lunga Eric Hallam and Craig terry headline the Gerald Perman Fund for Emerging Artists Debut Recital. Performance Date: Nov. 18, 2024 Samantha Hankey and Myra Huango present Schumann’s “Dichterliebe” and works by Poulenc, Satie, Schoenberg, Trenet, Weill, and Porter. Performance Date: Jan. 14, 2025 Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and John Chur ..read more

The Atlanta Opera has announced a cast change for the production of Richard Wagner’s “Die Walküre.” The company announced that Christine Goerke will sing the role of Brünnhilde taking over from Wendy Bryn Harmer. According to a press release, Harmer contracted a viral infection just before the crucial, final week of rehearsals began and was forced to make the painful decision to withdraw from Brünnhilde. “She is devastated not to be able to make her debut with the company in ‘Die Walküre’ and looks forward to debuting the role in the future.” Goerke is known for her interpretation of Brünnhild ..read more

The Staatsoper Hannover has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Philip Glass’s “Satyagraha” will be conducted by Masaru Kumakura and directed by Daniel Kramer. The production will star Shanul Sharma, Meredith Wohlgemuth, Ketevan Chuntishvili, Beatriz Miranda, Lluís Calvet i Pey, Markus Suihkonen, Ruzana Grigorian, Darwin Prakash, and Markus Suihkonen. Performance Dates: Sept. 6-Oct. 31, 2024 Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” will receive a new production by Dirk Schmeding. Viktor Antipenko leads the production with Barno Ismatullaeva, Ani Yorentz, Daniel Scofield, Darwin Prakash, and Lluís Calvet ..read more

The Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera Josep Pons conducts Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” with Alexei Botnarciuc, Daniel Kirch, Sara Jakubiak, Ángeles Blancas, and Pavel Černoch. Àlex Ollé conducts. Performance Date: Sept. 25-Oct. 7, 2024 Maria Agresta and Saioa Hernández star in Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” with Artur Ruciński, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, Brian Jagde, Francesco Pio Galasso, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Szilvia-Vörös, John Relyea, Giacomo Prestia, Gabriele Viviani, and Luis Cansino. Nicola Luisotti conducts the production by Jean-Claude A ..read more

The Royal Philharmonic has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Daniel Hyde conducts Mozart’s “Requiem” with Rachel Nicholls, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Michael Lafferty, and Thomas Humphreys. The program also includes music by Beethoven and Mendelssohn. Performance Date: Nov. 12, 2024 at Cadogan Hall John Rutter conducts the Bach Choir in a Christmas Celebration. Performance Date: Dec. 7, 2024 at Royal Albert Hall Stephen Bell conducts Christmas Cracker with Katie Birtill and Oliver Tompsett. Performance Date: Dec. 7, 2024 at Cadogan Hall Vasily Petrenko condu ..read more

Alice Coote has joined the roster of Askonas Holt for general management. Coote will be managed at Askonas Holt by Nicholas Moloney in collaboration with IMG Artists in North America. Coote is one of the great mezzos of her generation who has performed at every major opera house and received an OBE in 2018 for her services in music. This season she returns to the Royal Opera House as Storgé in “Jephtha” and performs with the Danish National Symphony, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra at St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Philharmonie de Paris. Last season on the co ..read more

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra has announced Enyi Okpara as its Calleva Assistant Conductor. The conductor will begin his position during teh 2024-25 season and was selected after auditions which took place at Lighthouse, Poole. He was selected by a vote from the Orchestra’s musicians. The role will provide a platform to build professional experience and development, with mentoring from some of the world’s leading names in classical music. Okpara studied Orchestral Conducting with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music and is currently Conductor-in-Residence with the London School ..read more

The Northern Ireland Opera has announced the Principal Cast and Creatives in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” The opera, which will be performed in September in Belfast, will be directed by the renowned national opera company’s Artistic Director Cameron Menzies. Conductor Dominic Limburg will lead the performance with a cast that includes Mary McCabe, Carolyn Dobbin, Sarah Richmond, Jenny Bourke, Yuriy Yurchuk, Norman Reinhardt, Aaron O’Hare, and Niall Anderson. In a statement, Ian Wilson, Grand Opera House Chief Executive adds, “We’re delighted to welcome Northern Ireland Opera back to the Gran ..read more

The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is set to present a concert at Carnegie Hall. The concert will be performed on May 2 at the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with Sir Simon Rattle conducting a program featuring baritone Lester Lynch. The evening will include Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony, Hindemith’s “Ragtime (Well-Tempered),” and Zemlinsky’s “Symphonische Gesänge, Op. 20.” The latter works reveal the Weimar Republic’s electrifying sense of cross-cultural artistic possibility, as ragtime music and poetry of the Harlem Renaissance become integral components of 1920s works by leading G ..read more