Curated by Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis, the season features seven new productions, five revivals, a concert presentation, and two international tours. This programme is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.

After 65 years, the GNO returns to the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus with the historic production of Medea, originally created for Maria Callas in 1961, while also reviving beloved classics such as Tosca and La Traviata at the Stavros Niarchos Hall.

Highlights include the grand opening with La Gioconda, a co-production with the Royal Opera House and Salzburg Easter Festival, and the long-awaited Requiem for the End of Love by Koumendakis, Papaioannou, and Currentzis.

Anna Pirozzi, Aleksandra Kurzak, Gaëlle Arquez, Marina Viotti, Alisa Kolosova, Anita Rachvelishvili, Roberto Alagna, Charles Castronovo, Arsen Soghomonyan, Andrea Carè, and Marcelo Puente are just a few of the international opera stars who will perform at the Greek National Opera during the new season. The season also includes the hosting of the International Opera Awards in Athens on 13 November.

For more information and the full programme, visit nationalopera.gr/en.

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Indeed, the cast lists for the 2025 season have already been announced. Featured at the 71st edition of the Puccini Festival 2025, five of the composer’s greatest works will take center stage and create a major event. From July 18 to September 6, 2025, festivalgoers will have the opportunity to attend performances of Tosca (July 18, August 1, 9, and 29), Turandot (July 25, August 2, 14, 22, and September 5), La Bohème (July 19, 26, and August 7), Madama Butterfly (August 8 and 23), and finally Manon Lescaut (August 30 and September 6).

This array of masterpieces is complemented in the middle of the Puccini Festival by a gala recital on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, featuring Anna Netrebko, the greatest star among sopranos, accompanied by tenor Martin Muehle, as she announced on her personal website. Alongside the great diva, there are numerous exceptional performances.

The Gran Teatro all’Aperto, located on the shores of Lake Massaciuccoli, where Giacomo Puccini once owned a villa, will welcome Roberto Alagna as Mario Cavaradossi, who will sacrifice himself in vain to save his wife Tosca—played by the stunning Aleksandra Kurzak—from the clutches of the dreadful Baron Scarpia, portrayed by Luca Salsi. Other artists will also take part in Tosca, conducted by Giorgio Croci, including Valentina Boi, Carmen Giannattasio, and Eleonora Buratto, who will share the role of Floria Tosca, while Francesco Meli and Michael Fabiano will alternate as Mario Cavaradossi.

La Bohème, in Ettore Scola’s staging, also boasts an outstanding cast, notably featuring Nino Machaidze, Sara Branch, Vittorio Grigolo, and Vittorio Prato in the leading roles. During the Puccini Festival 2025, Madama Butterfly will stand out for the performance of soprano Maria Agresta, who is highly anticipated in the role.

Another highly acclaimed soprano in Italy, María José Siri, will portray Manon Lescaut, alongside Luciano Ganci as Des Grieux and Claudio Sgura as Lescaut.

The greatest voices of the opera scene will also be featured in Turandot, conducted by Renato Palombo. Indeed, the icy princess will be portrayed by the impressive Anna Pirozzi, opposite the equally grandiose tenor Gregory Kunde. Another well-known tenor, Yusif Eyvazov, will also take on the role of Calaf, while Olga Maslova will perform as Turandot, and Rosa Feola will sing Liù for one performance. Torre del Lago, where Giacomo Puccini was laid to rest in 1926, can take pride in hosting a remarkable edition of its Puccini Festival 2025.

To book your tickets for the Puccini’s Festival click here!

Affiche festival Puccini 2025 & Roberto Alagna avec Aleksandra Kurzak – c – Festival Puccini Website/Gregor Hohenberg

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However, on January 31, in the “News” section of the renowned Italian opera house’s website, the following message can be found: “Si avvisa il gentile pubblico che Jonas Kaufmann è costretto ad annullare la sua partecipazione nel ruolo di Cavaradossi nell’opera Tosca per sopravvenuto cambio di date, risultando un’incompatibilità irrisolvibile di calendario.” In short, this means that Jonas Kaufmann will not be able to sing the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca due to a scheduling conflict.

But what happened for Jonas Kaufmann, the superstar tenor, to cancel in January a performance that had been announced since June 2024 and scheduled for September 2025? A more lucrative offer? The desire to lighten his schedule with fewer stage appearances? No one knows—not even the opera enthusiasts who already have their tickets, many of whom have not been informed of the change.

The tenor announced to replace Jonas Kaufmann is Francesco Meli. At the Teatro San Carlo, the other series of performances will feature Vittorio Grigolo and Yusif Eyvazov, alongside a third Tosca, Carmen Giannattasio. Jonas Kaufmann’s next stage appearances are scheduled at the Nationaltheater in Munich in May, June, and July 2025, where he will perform the role of Canio in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci.

Kaufmann is also expected to embark on a European recital tour with soprano Diana Damrau and accompanist Helmut Deutsch. The program, featuring Lieder by Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, will likely remain the same in Barcelona, Aix-en-Provence, Paris, and Berlin—unless he cancels!

To see Tosca at the Teatro San Carlo, click here!

Jonas Kaufmann – c – Gregor Hohenberg

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The 2025 program of the Chorégies d’Orange

(c) Chorégies d’Orange

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For once, unusually so early in the season, the Verona Arena Festival has unveiled the casts of the five operas scheduled this summer (Aida, Carmen, Nabucco, Rigoletto, and La Traviata). From June 13 to September 6, 2025, on one of the world’s largest opera stages, a parade of superstars is expected.

In addition to Jonas Kaufmann, announced for a recital, Anna Netrebko returns in Aida and also in Nabucco, where Anna Pirozzi, another great Abigaille, will also perform. Marina Rebeka, a star soprano, will make her Verona debut in Aida, alongside Angel Blue (Traviata) and Pene Pati (Rigoletto).

Familiar faces are returning, including Nadine Sierra, Piotr Beczała, Gregory Kunde, Amartuvshin Enkhbat (in Rigoletto, Nabucco, Aida, and Traviata), Ludovic Tézier (as Giorgio Germont and Amonasro), Luca Salsi, Erwin Schrott, as well as Aleksandra Kurzak and Roberto Alagna. The renowned couple will feature in Aida and Carmen, where audiences will also delight in seeing Anita Rachvelishvili and rising star Aigul Akhmetshina. Bookings are already open, and with such treasures on display, some performances will undoubtedly be more sought-after than others…

To book your tickets for the Verona Arena Festival

Verona Arena (c) Gianfranco Fainello

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Following a fiery performance as Maddalena di Coigny in Andrea Chénier by Giordano in Paris and Lyon, she will take on the role of Aida, Verdi’s famed Ethiopian slave, in London in a production directed by Robert Carsen (from January 28 to February 12, 2025).

She will then return to Puccini in Hamburg and Naples. From March 21 to April 4, 2025, at the Staatsoper, and from April 16 to 29, 2025, at the Teatro di San Carlo, she will perform as Minnie in La Fanciulla del West, a rarely staged opera composed by the Italian master.

To book your tickets, click there !

Anna Pirozzi (c) Julian Hargreaves

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The 2024-2025 season at the TCE encapsulates Michel Franck’s artistic choices. He has always been adept at presenting a wide range of repertoires, with perhaps a slight preference for baroque music. Opera enthusiasts are especially spoiled this season with offerings like Handel‘s magnificent masterpiece, Semele, featuring the beloved soprano Pretty Yende. This new production by Olivier Mears, directed by Emmanuelle Haïm, promises to be a highlight. France’s premier tenor, the dynamic Benjamin Bernheim, will perform his first Parisian Werther, staged by Christof Loy, alongside the impressive mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti. Viotti also stars in another major production, Der Rosenkavalier, an eagerly anticipated event with Marlis Petersen and Regula Mühlemann.

A noteworthy event is the revival of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, directed by Olivier Py. Patricia Petibon, who previously moved audiences as Blanche de la Force, now takes on the role of Mère Marie, symbolizing the continuity and transmission of operatic history. The season also features acclaimed soprano Anna Netrebko, and eagerly anticipated recitals by Philippe Jaroussky, Pretty Yende, and Jakub Józef Orliński.

Concert versions of operatic works will undoubtedly generate the most excitement. Highlights include Julien Chauvin’s presentation of Handel‘s La Resurrezione and Jephtha with an outstanding cast including Michael Spyres, Joyce DiDonato, Mélissa Petit, and Francesco Corti. A rare performance of Handel’s oratorio Deborah will be conducted by Ton Koopman. Mozart’s works are also prominent, with the Da Ponte trilogy entrusted to Alexis Kossenko (Don Giovanni), Giovanni Antonini (Le nozze di Figaro), and Marc Minkowski (Così fan tutte). Another beautiful Mozart opera in concert form, Mitridate, re di Ponto, will be conducted by Christophe Rousset. Notable performances include a Requiem featuring Lisette Oropesa, Eve-Maud Hubeaux, Cyrille Dubois, and Nahuel di Pierro.

Among the season’s highlights are Weber‘s romantic opera Freischütz, conducted by Antonello Manacorda with Charles Castronovo and Golda Schultz, and Rossini‘s Le Comte Ory with Cyrille Dubois. Elsa Dreisig will star as a divine Alcina in Handel’s opera, alongside Emily D’Angelo, Sandrine Piau, and Alex Rosen. Andrea Chénier by Giordano will feature the stellar voices of Riccardo Massi, Anna Pirozzi, Enkhbat Amartuvshin, and Sophie Pondjiclis. Audiences can also look forward to Marie-Nicole Lemieux in Rossini‘s L’Italiana in Algeri and Sabine Devieilhe in both Mozart and Boulez, celebrating his centennial.

The dance segment is equally unmissable, with performances by prominent choreographers such as Akram Khan, Carolyn Carlson, Mats Ek, and Sharon Eyal, along with an emotional holiday appearance by the National Opera Ballet of Ukraine. The season will be filled with major concerts and events. Martha Argerich opens the season with Lahav Shani and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Renowned pianists like Elisabeth Leonskaja, Evgeny Kissin, Grigory Sokolov, Mikhail Pletnev, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Nikolai Lugansky, Nelson Goerner, David Fray, Adam Laloum, Benjamin Grosvenor, and a new generation of stars including Jonathan Fournel, Bruce Liu, Dmitry Masleev, Jan Lisiecki, and the Jussen brothers will grace the stage. Other notable soloists include Gidon Kremer, Tabea Zimmermann, Thibault Cauvin with the pop artist and guitarist -M-, Sol Gabetta, Gautier Capuçon, Emmanuel Pahud, Nemanja Radulovic with his Ensemble Double Sens, and Edgar Moreau performing Bach. The loyalty of great conductors like Zubin Mehta, Daniele Gatti, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra underscores the exceptional nature of the 2024-2025 season, making it a must-see. Reservations are now open for all the events of this extraordinary season!

Get your tickets now for the new 2024-2025 season at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées

© Hartl Meyer

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Discover Ludovic Tézier in Tosca

Ludovic Tézier © Gregor Hohenberg / Sony Classical

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Find all the performances of Adriana Lecouvreur

Adriana Lecouvreur (saison 14/15) © Vincent Pontet / OnP

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Your tickets for Turandot in Bastille

(c) Chris Gloag – Aaron Gang – Julian Hargreaves 

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