Don Giovanni

The world-famous singer, conductor and the holder of 14 Grammy Awards Plácido Domingo came up, as conductor and artistic director, with a unique Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre Prague, where the opera had it´s premiere 230 years ago. The production boasts an original classic scene, traditional costumes, designed by Theodor Pištek, the Oscar winner „Best costume design“ for the Amadeus movie and authentic stage direction matching the performance features from 1787. The cast features extraordinary Operalia competition winners with top Czech singers chosen bei Plácido Domingo.

Beethoven: Missa solemnis

Since the death of Herbert von Karajan in 1989, the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s concerts around Ascension Day (15 August) have firmly been in the hands of Riccardo Muti. Always sold out, they are among the highlights of every festival summer. For this year’s concert and on occasion of his 80th birthday, the maestro was acclaimed for his interpretation of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, a piece he has never conducted before. “Muti is a master in conveying extremes: monumentality, where it is compositionally intended, and highest internalization alternate with each other in a dense interplay.” FAZ // “Muti mastered the work and presented it as stringently as perhaps no one else can do it today.” Die Presse

W.A. Mozart: Don Giovanni

The world-famous singer, conductor and the holder of 14 Grammy Awards Plácido Domingo came up, as conductor and artistic director, with a unique Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre Prague, where the opera had its premiere 230 years ago. The production boasts an original classic scene, traditional costumes, designed by Theodor Pištek, the Oscar winner “Best costume design” for the Amadeus movie and authentic stage direction matching the performance features from 1787. The production is conceived as a replica of the legendary staging by the National Theatre Opera from 1969. The opera shines under the direction of Jirí Nekvasil, which is further enhanced by stars of the Czech opera scene, handpicked by Maestro Domingo himself. Also adding vitality to the production are four winners of the renowned, international vocal competition, Operalia, which Domingo himself founded in 1993: Irina Lungu, Dmitry Korchak, Julia Novikova, and Simone Alberghini. “The palpable sense of history, enthusiasm of the cast and excitement of the star conductor all contributed to an atmosphere that made the performance seem larger than life.” (Bachtrack)

Orphée & Eurydice

One of opera’s most beautiful masterpieces, Gluck’s exquisite drama introduces us to Orpheus, the poet and musician whose every word and note communicate the most overwhelming love for his Eurydice. Lyric presents Orphée et Eurydice in the Paris version, which contains thrilling ballet sequences that will come to vivid life under the direction and choreography of the legendary John Neumeier. Lyric’s production stars Dmitry Korchak as Orphée with Andriana Chuchman as Eurydice and Lauren Snouffer as Amour. The Chicago Tribune deemed the production “triumphant” and “miraculously fresh and alive.” The production features Gluck’s reworking of the original German opera into a French-language production featuring ballet. “To hear [Gluck’s] songful art pour out uninterrupted…[is] to understand the overwhelming power of melody.” (The New York Times)

Eugene Onegin

In his first year as Music Director of Valencia’s Palau de les Arts, the exciting young conductor Omer Meir Wellber scored a triumph with Tchaikovsky’s beloved opera Eugene Onegin. In Mariusz Trelinski’s timeless production, consisting of a series of surrealist tableaux of great suggestive beauty, he leads a dream team of rising opera stars headed by Artur Rucinski as Onegin and Kristine Opolais as Tatyana. “An ideally well-balanced vocal cast” (Die Welt).

Salzburg Festival 2021: Muti conducts Missa solemnis

Since the death of Herbert von Karajan in 1989, the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s concerts around Ascension Day (15 August) have firmly been in the hands of Riccardo Muti. Always sold out, they are among the highlights of every festival summer. For this year’s concert and on occasion of his 80th birthday, the maestro was acclaimed for his interpretation of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, a piece he has never conducted before. “Muti is a master in conveying extremes: monumentality, where it is compositionally intended, and highest internalization alternate with each other in a dense interplay.” FAZ

Rossini Opera Festival 2022: Otello

Otello is an opera by Gioachino Rossini based on William Shakespeare’s play Othello. Set in Cyprus, the opera tells the story of the Moorish general Otello, who is manipulated by his ensign Iago into believing that his wife Desdemona is unfaithful. As a result, Otello succumbs to jealousy and murders Desdemona, only to realize too late that he has been duped by Iago. In the end, Otello kills himself in remorse. Rossini’s Otello significantly differs from William Shakespeare’s play (and Verdi’s opera), particularly by elevating the character Rodrigo to a major role alongside Otello and Iago, having earned the work the nickname “opera of the three tenors”. “The three warriors acting out their masculinity are all tenors: Antonino Siragusa gives the scheming Iago in an ingratiating and at the same time sharply determined manner; Enea Scala, on the other hand, impresses as Otello […] Dmitry Korchak impresses above all with “Che ascolto”, his virtuoso aria of despair that gets under the skin.” (Tagesspiegel)

Otello

Gioachino Rossini’s Otello returns to the place of ist premiere 200 years ago in the inspired staging of director Amos Gitai at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. The stellar vocal cast is led by John Osborn, who shines in the highly difficult title role, and Nino Machaidze as outstanding Desdemona. Gabriele Ferro conducts the flawless orchestra and chorus of the Teatro San Carlo. An Otello that “evokes modern dramas” (Formiche) with “standing ovations for Machaidze and Osborn!” (Corriere del mezzogiorno)