Thunderous applause and loud cries of “bravo” greeted the première of Beethoven’s Fidelio at the inaugural performance of the first opera season in Valencia’s new Palau de les Arts. With this spectacular production directed by Pierluigi Pier’Alli…

With this festive concert the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of Fabio Luisi celebrated the moving reopening of the Frauenkirche in Dresden. After the bombing of Dresden on February 13, 1945, the church burnt out and its dome, the…

The Berliner Philharmoniker celebrate their founding day (May 1st, 1882) every year in a European city of cultural significance: In 2019, the European Concert with Daniel Harding came from the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. The 2019 European Concert is a…

Bizet’s passionate tale of the self-willed gypsy woman Carmen is certainly one of the most popular works in the history of opera. It shows how a cigar factory worker in Seville enchants and bewitches the men around her. Melodies like Carmen’s…

The little guy with his mustache, his bowler hat and his bamboo cane is world-famous. But, who is the man behind this figure? Mario Schröder wondered the same thing when choreographing “Chaplin”. His rise to fame makes Chaplin a person of public…

When Korean composer Unsuk Chin’s opera was first performed by the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, it caused a sensation among music critics worldwide. Based on Lewis Carroll’s famous and fascinatingly enigmatic novel Alice in Wonderland, it is a…

Il matrimonio segreto is Cimarosa's most famous opera buffa and it is one of the few comic operas to have maintained its place in the repertoire until today. At its first performance in 1792, Austrian emperor Leopold II is reputed to have liked this…

“I cannot begin even to describe what I have learnt with these musicians. Maybe they have learnt a little something from me, but that is nothing compared to what I have learnt from them, and the generations that came before.” (Zubin Mehta about the…

Those lucky enough to have seen Mariss Jansons in concert could immediately perceive his unconditional dedication to music: The light in his eyes, his sweeping yet precise gestures, his tense, half-open mouth and his raised eyebrows. He conducted…

Wagner’s Meistersinger is a festive opera in its own right, but at the unforgettable performances of the work at the Vienna State Opera in January 2008 the festive spirit literally leapt out into the audience as well. Vienna’s dailies exploded with…