Verdi | News Music & Opera

Even More Monnaie Monnaie Monnaie for Alain Altinoglu!

admin_mowp — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 16:00:16 +0000

La Monnaie-De Munt has announced the extension of its Music Director Alain Altinoglu’s mandate.

The French conductor, who has led the Brussels institution since 2016, will continue his mission alongside the new General and Artistic Director Christina Scheppelmann, who recently took office.

According to Scheppelmann—who has long known the artist—renewing his contract was a top priority from the very beginning of her tenure. “Extending his mandate was one of my very first objectives when I was appointed. La Monnaie is fortunate to have, in its Music Director, not only such a talented conductor, but also a passionate artist deeply devoted to music and opera, beloved by both the musicians and the audience,” she declared, adding that she is delighted their terms will now end at the same time.

For nearly a decade, Alain Altinoglu has continued to shape La Monnaie’s musical identity in profound ways. Under his baton, the orchestra and audiences have explored a wide range of repertoires through major opera productions, from Wagner to Poulenc. In concert, he effortlessly traverses paths from Mozart to Stravinsky, via Mahler, Berlioz and Ravel, cementing his central role in the artistic influence of La Monnaie-De Munt.

Much to the disappointment of Parisians wanted Altinoglu at the helm of the Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris, the continuation of his mandate ensures a stable and ambitious artistic vision for the coming seasons. A major highlight of this extension will be the opening of La Monnaie’s new season with Verdi’s Falstaff, staged by Laurent Pelly.

The eagerly awaited production is already close to sold out—a clear sign of the enduring appeal of both the French conductor and the institution.

To book your tickets for the Fastaff’s performances, click here!

To learn more about Alain Altinoglu and his actuality, it’s here!

Alain Altinoglu – c – Vincent Callot

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Attila Ravages the Teatro La Fenice in Venice!

admin_mowp — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 11:18:38 +0000

Is it necessary to introduce Verdi, who is at home in opera houses worldwide, and especially at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice?

Indeed, many masterpieces by the composer from Busseto premiered on this legendary stage. At 30, he achieved his first triumph with Ernani (in 1844), soon followed by the audience’s ovations for Rigoletto in 1851. However, this love affair has not always been smooth sailing, as the bitter failure of La Traviata reminds us.

Music lovers know what followed, with numerous revivals of this absolute masterpiece of opera. Yet, it should not overshadow other great works like Attila, one of the five operas composed for Teatro La Fenice, alongside Simon Boccanegra (1857).

From May 16 to 24, 2025, the famous Venetian theater has had the brilliant idea of staging a new production of Attila. The direction will be entrusted to Leo Muscato, in a production intended to become part of the permanent repertoire of the Venetian institution. Thus, the Teatro La Fenice retraces a significant chapter of its own history, as this opera, named after the fearsome leader of the Huns, premiered precisely at La Fenice on March 17, 1846.

Leading the orchestra, Sebastiano Rolli—one of the most promising and talented Verdi specialists—reunites with a top-tier cast, featuring Michele Pertusi, the magnificent voice of Anastasia Bartoli, and tenor Andeka Gorrotxategi.

These performances at Teatro La Fenice are simply unmissable!

To see Attila ravage the Teatro La Fenice, click here!

Attila at Fenice – Teatro La Fenice Website

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An Orgy in the Salons of the Musée Jacquemart-André!

admin_mowp — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 08:00:54 +0000

Founded in 2021, the Opera a Palazzo troupe continues to light up the evenings of Parisian museums and palaces.

Since fall 2024, the artists have returned to the salons of the Musée Jacquemart-André, which serve as a natural backdrop for an exceptionally lifelike production of La Traviata. Buoyed by success, a new title is now being staged: Verdi’s Rigoletto.

On this occasion, the troupe has welcomed prestigious new members who mingle with the audience, transformed, on performance nights, into accomplices of the depraved Duke of Mantua. Champagne flows freely in the grand hall of the palace, where the ball is held, as it should for such a celebration!

To learn more about the performance and to book your tickets : click there !

Rigoletto (c) Opera a Palazzo

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Anna Pirozzi, the Ethiopian Girl of the Golden West in London

admin_mowp — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 08:00:44 +0000

The celebrated Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi continues her streak of triumphs.

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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Five More Years in San Francisco : Conductor Eun Sun Kim

admin_mowp — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 09:00:40 +0000

Conductor Eun Sun Kim is in demand on opera stages across both Europe and the United States, especially in San Francisco, where she has been music director since 2021.

Recognizing her talent, the renowned San Francisco Opera has just extended her contract through 2031, announcing some upcoming productions already. Eun Sun Kim is expected to continue her Verdi journey (two titles per season) and tackle Wagner with Parsifal, as well as an ambitious complete Ring cycle in a future season.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, Verdi enthusiasts eagerly await her March 2025 performance, where she will conduct one of the season’s most anticipated Simon Boccanegra productions, featuring Ludovic Tézier, Elena Stikhina, and Fabio Sartori!

To not miss out operas conducted by Kim, click there!

Eun Sun Kim © Kim Tae-Hwan

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The Moor of Venice in Venice!

admin_mowp — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 08:00:32 +0000

Otello, one of Giuseppe Verdi‘s ultimate masterpiece and an opera of his later years, is back on stage at Venice’s Teatro La Fenice, which is pulling out all the stops to welcome its Shakespearean hero. The Moor of Venice will be performed from November 20 to December 1, 2024, by the incandescent tenor Francesco Meli, under the highly anticipated direction of Myung-Whun Chung. This production, which opens the season, continues the tradition of Verdi works conducted by the maestro that have launched the past seasons at La Fenice.

Discover Otello at the Teatro La Fenice

Otello © La Fenice website

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The Arena of today and tomorrow

admin_mowp — Mon, 06 May 2024 08:00:50 +0000

While Cecilia Gasdia, Sovrintendente of the Fondazione Arena di Verona, is touring the major cities to present the 2024 programme of the famous Verona Arena Festival, the 2025 season has already been announced. 2024, the great Puccini year, will of course include the masterpieces Tosca, Turandot and a new Bohème, as well as the eagerly awaited Carmen, Barbiere di Siviglia and two Aida. The modern staging created for the festival’s 100th anniversary will be revived, as will the historic 1913 production with its monumental set. 2024 also marks the return of the great stars Anna Netrebko, Elena Stikhina, Clémentine Margaine, Jonas Kaufman, Roberto Alagna, Vittorio Grigolo, Ludovic Tézier, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, etc. as well as the debuts of Pretty Yende and mezzo Aigul Akhmetshina. 2025 will be a year dominated by Verdi, who will be back in force with Aida, La Traviata, Rigoletto and a new production of the legendary Nabucco. In the programme, only Carmen was not composed by the great composer!

Discover all upcoming shows at the Verona Arena Festival

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Thomas Hengelbrock even more Parisian

admin_mowp — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 09:00:16 +0000

As he prepares to conduct the revival of Verdi‘s Simon Boccanegra (at the Opéra national de Paris from 12 March to 3 April 2024, directed by Calixto Bieito) with the exceptional Ludovic Tézier, eagerly awaited in the title role, conductor Thomas Hengelbrock has been appointed Music Director of the Orchestre de chambre de Paris. The famous Parisian orchestra, which has been in mourning since the death of Lars Vogt, now has a new major figure in its ranks. Familiar with the capital, Hengelbrock is the founder of the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble.

Discover the revival of Simon Boccanegra featuring Thomas Hengelbrock

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Lisbon’s low-key venue

admin_mowp — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 09:00:49 +0000

While it can boast a glorious past, Lisbon’s Teatro Nacional de São Carlos remains a low-key venue with a programme that European music lovers have been watching out for. The eighteenth-century theatre, located in the heart of the historic Chiado district, hosts only a handful of productions each season, as the institution has other, more modern venues at its disposal. With a concert version of Die Fledermaus and a semi-staged version of Trilogia das Barcas (a Portuguese opera by Joly Braga Santos), only three titles are staged: Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, which opened the season in October, Beethoven’s Fidelio, due to open in January 2024, and Verdi‘s truculent Falstaff, which will open in May 2024.

Discover Verdi’s Falstaff at Lisbon’s Teatro Nacional de São Carlos

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It’s party time at La Monnaie de Paris

admin_mowp — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:00:53 +0000

Since taking over the venue, the Opera a Palazzo troupe is planning two evenings of celebration, on 30 and 31 December 2023, in the enchanting setting of the Hôtel de la Monnaie in Paris. A performance of Verdi’s La Traviata on the 30th (as well as on 15 and 29 December) will be followed by an evening of lyrical New Year’s Eve entertainment by Armelle Khourdoian, Christophe Poncet de Solages and Marc Souchet (accompanied by the divine Katia Weimann), who will be singing the great arias of La Bohème and operetta arias by Offenbach, Lehàr or Strauss, complete with champagne and caviar! Let’s party!

Discover the Opera a Palazzo troupe at the Hôtel de la Monnaie de Paris

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