Magic Flute, Trifonov, Leonskaja and Sokolov mark a brilliant Santander 2026 first half

Santander International Festival 2026 [1]: (DF)

Rolando Villazón’s Die Zauberflöte

The Santander International Festival is celebrating its seventy-fifth edition with a programme worthy of the anniversary. During the first half of August, the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria has already hosted opera, major orchestral concerts and piano recitals of exceptional distinction. The first four performances attended offered a revealing cross-section of the festival’s ambitions, from Mozart’s operatic humanism to the very different pianistic worlds of Daniil Trifonov, Elisabeth Leonskaja and Grigory Sokolov.

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Zurich Opera’s Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera is a triumph of singing and acting in Edinburgh

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Edinburgh International Festival [9] – Verdi, A Masked Ball (Un ballo in maschera): Soloists, Dancers, Chorus and Orchestra of Zurich Opera / Gianandrea Noseda (conductor). Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 26.8.2026. (GT)

Yulia Matochkina (Ulrica) © Jess Shurte

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The ninth revival of Zeffirelli’s 2010 Turandot is still impressive in the Verona Arena

ItalyItaly 103rd Arena di Verona Opera Festival 2026 [1] – Puccini, Turandot: Soloists, Ballet, Chorus and Orchestra of Fondazione Arena di Verona / Francesco Ivan Ciampa (conductor), Verona Arena, 27.8.2026. (DM-D)

Lise Lindstrom (Turandot) and Yusif Eyvazov (Calaf) © Ennevi Foto/Fondazione Arena di Verona

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Impressive sounds from Jakub Hrůša, Lukáš Vondráček and the BBC SO in Kaprálová, Rachmaninov and Janáček

United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2026 [25] – Kaprálová, Rachmaninov, Janáček: Lukáš Vondráček (piano). BBC Symphony Orchestra / Jakub Hrůša (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 1.9.2026. (CK)

Pianist Lukáš Vondráček, BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jakub Hrůša © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

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