Greek National Opera ended its season with Tosca, given outdoors at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus amphitheatre, located under the Acropolis wall. The stage is unusual in that it’s wide but not very deep, there are no wings, and the

The history of Kurt Weill’s 1930 masterpiece, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) at the Greek National Opera is an uneasy tale of power and achievement. The first production in 1977 was

The Frenchman Stéphane Lissner, current Sovrintendente and Artistic Director of the storied Teatro San Carlo in Naples, can be credited with upgrading the program and quality of what was once the leading opera house in Italy. Most importantly, he has

Named Artist of the Year at the 2023 International Classical Music Awards and Best Female Singer of the Year at the 2024 Oper! Awards, Ermonela Jaho is internationally recognised as one of the greatest operatic artists of our day. By

We recently saw the broadcast on MEZZO of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées’ production of Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol and Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias. It’s not a combination one might have imagined, but director Olivier Py has turned the tables on

To attend a concert in mid November in Shanghai was like flying from Ben Gurion Airport. Tickets were required to be presented to enter the premises of the Shanghai Symphony Hall, which is unnecessary at normal times. Bags were requested

Over the last decade, the International Opera Awards ceremony has made huge strides in positioning itself as the leading arbiter of quality and success in the lofty world of opera. Now in its 11th year, the 2023 edition was held

The Royal Opera House’s new production of Wagner’s Rheingold, directed by the often provocative and occasionally controversial Australian Barrie Kosky, achieved what most opera houses can only dream about: it became the talk of the town. I heard from one