All Reviews

he Théâtre des Champs-Elysées premiered a new production of Hector Berlioz’s Damnation de Faust the day before yesterday. The role of Faust was sung by the legendary French vocalist, Benjamin Bernheim, who joined the cast at the last minute. From the very first lines, he impressed with the brilliance of his timbre, the power of his projection, and the perfection of his phrasing. Deeply committed to the dramatic, he made the role of the tormented, childlike adult, consumed by

The Ring ohne Worte , a creation by Lorin Maazel, arrived at the Berliner Philharmonie today, by the hand of Theodor Currentzis and his Utopia Orchestra. Wagner without words does not exist, because his music was born from words, and in the case of the Ring, the words began to take shape many years before the music, already in his youth in Dresden. But I believe that today, Wagner himself would have taken a train from Bayreuth to hear Currentzis's interpretation and his extra

Sir Bryan Terfel can still do it all. Yesterday his voice resonated once again in Monaco, embodying a magnificent and awe-inspiring Flying Dutchman. The Monte-Carlo Opera had the privilege yesterday of witnessing Richard Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer in a semi-staged version with extraordinary projections by Stefano Visconti. Senta was sung by Asmik Grigorian, who delivered an marvellous and highly dramatic Ballad of Senta. The legendary Albert Dohmen was Daland, and his W

Valentina Carrasco, born with La Fura dels Baus, brought the war to the country that has been spared from it all: Switzerland. The Zurich Opera House presented her staging of Giuseppe Verdi's La Forza del Destino , based on the Argentine director's vision, in which she brings the war to Switzerland to reflect on contemporary conflicts. How tiresome! Does anyone really think people want to go to the opera to see more war? Isn't it enough that we see it constantly in the media?

Khovanshchina (Хованщина) was the great musical testament that Modest Mussorgsky left unfinished when he died in 1881. After premiering, not without some difficulties, his magnum opus Boris Godunov in 1874, which would henceforth be considered a musical bible of the history of the Russian Empire under the Tsars, Mussorgsky worked tirelessly on this new great Russian drama, which he left unfinished at the fifth act. After Mussorgsky's death, due to his fame as the composer of

Yesterday, Charles Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Berlin State Opera became a resounding triumph for Lisette Oropesa in the former Prussian city. Lisette Oropesa fully embraced Mariame Clément's strange stage concept, even when not singing and only acting, resulting in a highly convincing performance. From the very beginning of the waltz "Je veux vivre" it was impossible not to be captivated by her jubilant voice, dazzlingly bright, with impeccable technique and a charming

Last Thursday, October 30th, Roberto Alagna, a living legend of opera, landed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, courtesy of Puccini. He gifted a completely devoted Barcelona audience with a recital dedicated entirely to the composer from Lucca. Me -Roberto- and Puccini: something very intimate and familiar, as he himself described the recital, speaking directly to the audience at the beginning, and continuing in this way throughout the evening, engaging in a continuous and very c

The highly anticipated premiere of Tristan und Isolde at the Deutsche Oper Berlin is noteworthy not for Michael Thalheimer's staging, which was already seen in September 2024 at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, but for the world debut of soprano Elisabeth Teige as Isolde. Isolde represents one of the most challenging roles for any soprano. A few sopranos dare to sing Isolde without any prior Wagner experience, but this is not so advisable. Elisabeth Teige is a highly intelligent

This Monday, October 27, the great Royal Philharmonic Orchestra arrived at the Palau de la Música Catalana with Vasily Petrenko as conductor. Petrenko knows how to extract a precise, methodical and poignant sound from any formation, but with the talent present in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, everything takes on an epic aspect. So much so that Albert Guinovart himself could hardly believe the sound that the RPO was able to extract from his "La Vida Secreta" Sonata. This i

The  Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia  in Rome wanted to kick off the musical season with a bold move: staging Die Walküre at the Auditorium of Rome's Parco della Musica. For this, some of the finest Wagnerian singers came to Rome. Michael Volle, on his endless Wotan tour, left his indelible vocal mark in Rome, creating another Wotan full of power and color. The evening's great achievement was Miina-Liisa Värelä's Brünnhilde. Her voice becomes a torrent that flows over th

Beethoven's Sixth Symphony is a monument to nature, an absolutely romantic analysis of all the elements that move the nature that surrounds us. Caspar David Friedrich did it with painting, Hölderlin did it with poetry and Beethoven did it with a very delicate orchestration and the construction of a symphony that is one of the most beautiful ever written. To the point that Wagner himself, in a way, pays homage to it in Siegfried's Rheinfahrt. Today the genius maestro Philippe

Tonight, The Metropolitan Opera House once again staged Puccini's legendary La Bohéme in Franco Zeffirelli's marvelous production. A colorful, detailed, and thrilling production—especially in the second act, where the Café Momus is a true stage spectacle—but not only are the costumes, sets, and props incredible; the cast chosen to begin this year's production (which will be replaced with other casts throughout 2025 and 2026) is stellar. Freddie de Tommaso, leaving behind hi

Georg Friedrich Händel was resurrected today and left Westminster Abbey to hear personally his new Oratorio in Barcelona: Theodor Currentzi's Oratorio. And Händel would have signed it, because Baroque and Händel are also freedom, much to the chagrin of today's Taliban of Baroque. In the history of musical performance, there is a moment that changed everything, with no back way: the birth of Theodor Currentzis and the subsequent creation of his soulmate, MusicAeterna. If we li

Faust, Charles Gounod Les Arts, Valencia 15 th  October 2025 Voices: Iván Ayón-Rivas (Faust), Alex Esposito (Méphistophélès), Ruth Iniesta (Marguerite), Florian Sempey (Valentín), Bryan Sala (Wagner), Ekaterine Buachidze (Siebel), Gemma Coma-Alabert (Marthe) . Conductor: Lorenzo Viotti . Director: Johannes Erath .  On October 15, the final performance of Charles Gounod’s Faust was staged in Valencia. With this production, the Palau de les Arts opens the season celebrating th

Macbeth, Giuseppe Verdi Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Firenze 17 th  October 2025 Voices: Luca Salsi, Vanessa Goikoetxea, Antonio Di Matteo, Antonio Poli, Lorenzo Martelli, Elizaveta Shuvalova, Egidio Massimo Naccarato, Huigang Liu, Lisandro Guinis, Dielli Hoxha, Nicolò Ayroldi, Aurora Spinelli, Caterina Pacchi . Conductor : Alexander Soddy . Director : Mario Martone .  The recent Macbeth at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino offered a dark, ambitious take on

Akhnaten, Philip Glass Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona 20 th  October 2025 Voices: Anthony Roth Costanzo, Rihab Chaieb, Katerina Estrada Tretyakova, Joan Martín-Royo, Toni Marsol, José Manuel Montero, Zachary James. Conductor: Karen Kamensek. Director: Phelim McDermott.  Akhnaten is the milestone of 20th-century minimalist music, and the orchestra that must perform the piece is also minimalist—no violins and very small. To this end, the Gran Teatre del Liceu has brought to B