NEW! Musikfest Berlin 2020
03/04/2020
Please note the planned programme of Musikfest Berlin 2020 with interest and anticipation. We present the publication of the festival programme filled with hope and optimism that the Musikfest Berlin 2020, and all the preparations surrounding it, can take place as planned from 29 August to 27 September. Naturally, we are keeping a close eye on current developments and are adhering to official regulations in all of the festival’s planning and implementation phases.
You can download the festival magazine for Musikfest Berlin: ‘A Festival for Beethoven and the Music of our Times’ on our website. Read more
NEW! Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden 2020-2021
03/04/2020
The 2020/21 season at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden
In these difficult times, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden wants to look ahead, and we are pleased to present our program for the 2020/21 season today. Restlessness is the word which guides the 2020/21 season: Restlessness urges humans on and prevents them from standing still. Restlessness engenders dynamics. Calm and motion are closely interlinked, though. Inherent calmness must not be confused with being at a standstill. Calm is inconceivable without motion and vice versa. Retardation or slowing down can bring about progress and change, too. Who would have thought that in the present situation this keyword for the season would become more relevant than ever before?
Due to the developments caused by the corona pandemic after the printing deadline of the season brochure, adjustments have to be made to the season 2020/21 of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. This concerns the following productions:
• CHOWANSCHTSCHINA: The production will not be presented in 2020/21, a revival of Verdi’s MACBETH will now take place on the scheduled dates.
• IDOMENEO: The scheduled revival will be the premiere, with slight changes in the schedule.
• COSÌ FAN TUTTE: Whether the production can take place as a premiere on the planned revival dates in 2020/21 is currently still being examined. This information will be announced in time before the early start of advance sales for subscriptions and FESTTAGE cycles on 25 April 2020. (We will inform you about the exact (date) changes on staatsoper-berlin.de.)
The ticket sales for all performances of the 2020/21 season begin on Saturday, 16 May 2020. Ticket sales for subscriptions and the FESTTAGE cycles start as early as on 25 April 2020. Friends of the Staatsoper, subscribers and holders of a StaatsopernCard are entitled to buy tickets for all performances early, starting on 9 May 2020. For more information, please CLICK HERE. Read more
NEW! 2020 Three Choirs Festival – 25 July to 1 August
20/03/2020
2020 Three Choirs Festival offers an exciting musical voyage.
With the United Kingdom currently battling the Covid-19 virus, society is facing restrictions on everyday life which are unprecedented in peacetime. The short-term outlook for cultural events looks pretty bleak at present. Not a good time, you might think, for the Three Choirs Festival to launch its 2020 programme. However, the Festival, which is being hosted this year in the city of Worcester, is scheduled to take place between 25 July and 1 August by which time it is hoped that restrictions will have eased. Read more
NEW! 2020-2021 at Dresden’s Semperoper
19/03/2020
Semperopera’s Opera and Ballet in 2020-2021
Following a highly successful year, the Semperoper Dresden starts the new season with an ambitious and highly topical programme featuring stellar guests:
- Return of Der Ring des Nibelungen under the baton of Christian Thielemann
- Happy birthday! The Junge Szene turns 10
- Dancing into the future«: Semperoper Ballett celebrates its 15th anniversary under Director Aaron S. Watkin
- Presentation of premieres with visual motifs by Cornelius Völker
For more information and to book tickets CLICK HERE.
UPDATED ONLINE NEWS! IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) PANDEMIC
15/03/2020
Seen and Heard International hopes for the happiest of outcomes for all those who are ill due to the current coronavirus pandemic. We share the optimism of those experts who hope that all those in otherwise good health will be able to resist its worst effects.
With the worldwide restrictions on travel and gatherings of significant numbers the world of classical music and many other entertainment events are currently subjected to a wave of changes, postponements, or cancellations, and it is unlikely normal recreational life will be resumed in the foreseeable future.
Seen and Heard International will continue to post reviews of concerts, operas, dance, theatre, and broadcasts for a long as we can, but bear with us if our content is not refreshed as often as readers have become used to over recent years.
We are not a listings site so if you are checking for news of whether performances have been postponed, cancelled, or might be restarting, please go direct to the websites of the venues concerned. Read more
NEW! Zurich Opera in 2020-2021
08/03/2020
Zurich Opera 2020/2021 – a preview
New productions
The season opens with a new production of Mussorgsky’s majestic Boris Godunov with Michael Volle as Boris, John Daszak as Schuisky and Brindley Sherratt as Pimen. Kirill Karabits conducts, the indefatigable Barrie Kosky is the producer. The première is on September 20th and there are six further performances through September and October. It is the full version, including the Polish scene. Oksana Volkova sings Marina. Read more
NEW! 2020 Lucerne Summer Festival – 14 August to 13 September
08/03/2020
2020 Lucerne Summer Festival – a preview
The Festival kicks off on August 14th with performances by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly; Beethoven’s First Symphony and Mahler’s First Symphony. Concert repeated next day with Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto replacing the Beethoven symphony, Martha Argerich at the keyboard. Read more
NEW! London’s Southbank Centre in 2020-2021
04/03/2020
SOUTHBANK CENTRE ANNOUNCES 2020/21 CLASSICAL MUSIC SEASON
Southbank Centre’s 2020/21 classical music season goes on sale to Southbank Centre Members at 10am on Thursday 27 February and then on sale to the general public at 10am on Tuesday 3 March.
For more information or to buy tickets please visit the Southbank Centre website HERE. Read more
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This joyous set of Beethoven's sonatas takes its place among the very best. [...]In its own way, the Seven Words of Christ is just as sublime as the Stabat Mater. [...]This sensitive, dynamic recording is a joy, and may even constitute a revelation. [...]The pair exhibits a refined style on these illuminating performances. [...]A deeply affecting experience that ought to win the opera many new admirers. [...]No items.
This joyous set of Beethoven's sonatas takes its place among the very best. 
In its own way, the Seven Words of Christ is just as sublime as the Stabat Mater. 
This sensitive, dynamic recording is a joy, and may even constitute a revelation. 
The pair exhibits a refined style on these illuminating performances. 
A deeply affecting experience that ought to win the opera many new admirers. 
