Aida, the Arena di Verona’s flagship opera, comes back in Franco Zeffirelli’s famous production, which transforms the stage into a magnificent Ancient Egypt. A great pyramid, monumental settings, multicoloured stones and precious fabrics provide the backdrop for a production featuring hundreds of mimes, extras, dancers and singers from the chorus.
Maria José Siri takes on the role of Aida, the Ethiopian princess, a slave at the court of the pharaohs. At her side, in the role of Radames, is Jonas Kaufmann, for the only performance scheduled at the Arena di Verona Festival in 2026. Rounding out the love triangle is Clémentine Margaine, as the Egyptian princess Amneris. The production also features the Étoile and Principal Dancer of La Scala, Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko, who perform in choreographies by Vladimir Vasiliev.
With its spectacular Lake Stage, the Bregenz Festival celebrates its 80th anniversary with a series of sold-out performances, each offering breathtaking visual experiences before nearly 7,000 spectators. Damiano Michieletto’s staging of Verdi’s La traviata, set in the Roaring Twenties, captures a broken woman’s shattered life through a mirror tilted towards the sky. Marjukka Tepponen’s outstanding Violetta showed “intimate heart through sheer force of personality, expressive intelligence and vocal beauty” (OperaWire). By her side, Julien Behr interprets Alfredo “with lyrical warmth and palpable passion” (Orpheus Magazine), whilst Vladimir Stoyanov performs the role of Giorgio Germont with such “naturalness, elegance, grace and vocal expressiveness that he can be regarded as the baritone of choice for this role” (OperaTeatro). Conducting the excellent Wiener Symphoniker, Kirill Karabits proves to be a very sophisticated Verdian conductor, “bringing extraordinary dynamic and tonal subtlety to the score” (InterClassical). A production that was “visually ambitious, theatrically sophisticated and, at its best, genuinely poetic” (OperaWire).
Written during the tumult of the Napoleonic Wars, Beethoven’s fifth and final piano concerto is both epic and moving. Young Austrian pianist Lukas Sternath plays as soloist with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, conducted by Constantinos Carydis. The programme continues with a selection from Skalkottas’ 36 Greek Dances, composed between 1931 and 1936, to go back to Austrian classicism, with Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 and the elegant and graceful ballet from the opera Idomeneo. The concert took place in Athens, with a view of the ancient Acropolis.
The ballet “Nureyev,” choreographed by Yuri Possokhov and composed by Ilya Demutsky, premiered in December 2017 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. This production, staged by Kirill Serebrennikov, combines ballet, opera, and drama to honor Rudolf Nureyev, a pivotal figure in 20th-century dance known for his artistic genius and defiance of social and political constraints. The narrative is set against the backdrop of a lavish auction of Nureyev’s possessions and explores significant moments in his life, including his career in the Soviet Union, his dramatic defection to the West, and his influence on Western ballet. The story also addresses Nureyev’s relationships and his open expression of homosexuality. Possokhov’s choreography features a rich blend of classical and contemporary styles, requiring exceptional skill from the dancers. Despite its acclaim, the ballet was recently removed from the Bolshoi’s repertoire due to Russia’s tightened LGBTQ laws. The Staatsballett Berlin’s staging offers a unique opportunity to celebrate the legacy of an artist who epitomized freedom and self-expression in the arts. “Absolutely sensational” (Die Zeit)
He is currently revolutioning the classical music world with his brilliant playing and progressive, cross-genre approach to music: as a phenomenon at the piano, Hayato Sumino has been appointed as 2026 Artist in Residence Rheingau Musik Festival. He kicks off his residency as a soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, performing in the impressive Friedrich von Thiersch Hall of the Wiesbaden Kurhaus. Joining him on stage will be the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and its principal conductor Alain Altinoglu. In addition to Rachmaninoff, the programme also includes Borodin’s spirited Polovtsian Dances and Elgar’s mysterious Enigma Variations, which transport the audience to a late Romantic era full of sumptuous melodies and orchestral passion. PROGRAM Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 2; Elgar: Enigma Variations; Borodin: Polovtsian Dances
A tireless innovator: Carl Maria von Weber was defined by curiosity, musical expressiveness and an insatiable artistic energy. Soprano Regula Mühlemann, baritone Äneas Humm, composer Jörg Widmann, film composer Rachel Portman and others discuss an artist whose influence extends far beyond the famous Freischütz. Carl Maria von Weber saw the orchestra as a narrative force; he experimented boldly and opened up new musical horizons, the influence of which extends into the modern era and film music. At the same time, his life was marked by upheavals, shaped by illness, financial strain, tireless work and the search for his own artistic language beyond established traditions. “The Free Spirit – Carl Maria von Weber” takes us into the world of a composer who, until his untimely death at the age of 39, worked tirelessly to renew the sound of his time and to give music its own language of expression, thereby opening up a new way of listening for his audience.
The Sound of Neuschwanstein” tells the story of a place that, like no other, embodies the fusion of art, architecture, and vision. King Ludwig II once had Neuschwanstein Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built as a resonant stage for Richard Wagner’s music – a place where his longing for an ideal world was to be fulfilled. Yet this dream remained unfulfilled. After decades of silence, Neuschwanstein is being rediscovered today as an extraordinary open-air concert venue. The film chronicles the revival of the Neuschwanstein Concerts while also tracing their origins back to King Ludwig II, his passion for music, and his radical vision of art. Through striking imagery, international soloists, and behind-the-scenes glimpses, a multifaceted portrait emerges: of a king caught between reality and fantasy, of a castle straddling myth and the present, and of artists who are bringing this place to life with new sounds today. In this way, Neuschwanstein itself becomes a stage – and a centuries-old dream finally comes to life.
In this intimate staging of Bellini’s masterpiece opera, Asmik Grigorian’s highly anticipated debut as Norma is “one of the best things to happen to Vienna’s opera stages in a long time” (FAZ). Set in a dictatorship of the 20th century, Grigorian’s Norma is the forewoman of a clay foundry. Vasily Barkhatov’s “convincingly concentrated, intimate staging” (Kronenzeitung) underscores the drama of the love triangle between the three central characters. Grigorian masters the notoriously difficult role with bravura: “Grigorian is a true Callas successor because every gesture and facial expression merges with her musical expression” (Kleine Zeitung). In Aigul Akhmetshina as Adalgisa, “she found a counterpart who has one of the richest mezzo voices of our time” (Die Presse). Freddie De Tommaso as Pollione completes the three-way conflict with his “clean and beautifully sounding” tenor (Oper News). Rounding out the evening musically are the “magnificent in every respect” Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Salzburger Nachrichten). “All in all, a breathtakingly thrilling evening with a perfect interlocking of stage and pit” (Van Magazin).
