Fans of Shostakovich’s operas will have the rare chance to hear a concert version of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk played by the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on Jan. 30. Led by BSO music director Andris Nelsons, the cast includes Kristine Opolais as Katerina and Pavel Černoch as Sergey, along with the Tanglewood Festival […]
Austin Opera presents Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (To Cross the Face of the Moon), a mariachi opera by José ‘Pepe’ Martínez on Feb. 1-4. The production, directed by Leonard Foglia, is a collaboration with the Studio of the Ópera de Bellas Artes, based in Mexico City. Mariachi specialists Trío Chapultepec will play alongside […]
The Bavarian State Opera is creating a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame, directed by Benedict Andrews and conducted by Aziz Shokhakimov. Brandon Jovanovich stars as Hermann. The production runs Feb. 4-20. https://www.staatsoper.de/en/productions/pique-dame/2024-02-04-1800-14096
Roland Wood stars as Karl Marx in the U.K. premiere of the comic opera Marx in London! at Scottish Opera. The production, which covers Marx’s time in London in 1871 will be staged in Glasgow on Feb. 13-17 before moving to Edinburgh Feb. 22-24. Conducted by Stephen Barlow and designed by Yannis Thavoris. https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/marx-in-london/
Beta, a world premiere by Deutsche Oper Berlin running Feb. 17-March 2, is investigative music theater exploring not only the potential of digital tools but also the risks inherent in the relinquishing of private data. The opera is by Christiane Mudra (libretto, research, and stage direction and Dariya Maminova (music) and will incorporate CGI and VFX […]
As part of its Recovered Voices series Feb. 24-March 17, the LA Opera and conductor James Conlon will perform two little-known one-acts. William Grant Still’s Highway 1, USA stars Norman Garrett and Nicole Heaston as an ordinary American couple making misguided choices to get ahead. Alexander Zemlinsky’s The Dwarf is based on a heartbreaking tale […]
Although Alexander Zemlinsky wrote the opera George the Dreamer in 1904-6, it was not premiered until 1980. The story, although filled with the magic of fairy tales, takes a realistic look at the pain of being an outsider in society. Oper Frankfurt will present a new production of this rarely seen work on Feb. 25-March […]
Directed by Barrie Kosky, Komische Oper Berlin’s new production of Handel’s Hercules demonstrates that oratorios can, in fact, be staged. Mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy sings the lead role of Dejanira, long-suffering wife of Hercules (March 3-April 5). https://www.komische-oper-berlin.de/en/what/a-z/hercules/
