Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

Oldenburg’s La forza del destino packs a punch

by

GermanyGermany Verdi, La forza del destino: Soloists, Opernchor des Oldenburgischen Staatstheaters, Oldenburgisches Staatsorchester / Vito Cristofaro (conductor). Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, 9.10.2026. (DM-D)

Anna Dowsley (Preziosilla), Aksel Daveyan (Don Carlo di Vargas), Johannes Leander Maas (Trabuco) and Adréana Kraschewski (Leonora di Vargas) © Stephan Walzl

Read more

Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera at the Semperoper Dresden: the stage revolves, the drama stands still

by

GermanyGermany Verdi, Un ballo in maschera: Soloists, Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden / Daniele Gatti (conductor). Semperoper Dresden, 4.10.2026. (AB)

Yulia Matochkina (Ulrica), Nicole Car (Amelia) and Germán Enrique Alcántara (Renato) © Jochen Quast

Read more

Lanzino’s thought-provoking Wozzeck in Gelsenkirchen also convinces musically

by

GermanyGermany Berg, Wozzeck: Soloists, Chorus, Children’s Chorus and Extras of the Musiktheater im Revier, Neue Philharmonie Westfalen / John Warner (conductor). Musiktheater im Revier, Gelsenkirchen, 4.10.2026. (DM-D)

Martin Homrich (Drum-Major), Susanne Serfling (Marie) and member of the children’s chorus © Björn Hickmann

Read more

Valencia’s Carmen is musically rewarding but boringly staged

by

SpainSpain Bizet, Carmen: Soloists, Escola Coral Veus Juntes (chorus mistresses – Marta Mármol, Roser Gabaldó), Escolania de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats (chorus master – Luis Garrido), Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana (chorus master – Jordi Blanch), Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana / Michele Spotti (conductor). Palau de Les Arts, Valencia, 7.10.2026. (JMI)

Charles Castronovo (Don José) and Vasilisa Berzhenskaya (Carmen) © M. Lorenzo y M. Ponce

Read more