Richard Wagner News

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Manfred Honeck close the 2016-2017 BNY Mellon Grand Classics season in joyous style with Ludwig van Beethoven's beloved 'Pastoral' Symphony and Mahler's Seven Songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn on June 23-25 at Heinz Hall.

Following the great critical and public success of Tannhauser last year, Melbourne Opera is returning to the Regent Theatre to stage a new production of Richard Wagner's magnificent romantic opera Lohengrin, not performed in Melbourne for 15 years.

This July, playwright Joan Beber, will premiere her newest play DEAR JANE beginning July 18 at Theatre Row's Clurman Theatre (410 W 42 Street) and will open on July 26 and run through August 26, 2017.  DEAR JANE will be directed by Katrin Hilbe with choreography by Wendy Seyb.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Society would like to express deepest condolences to the family of Maestro Lim Kek-tjiang, who passed away peacefully on 15 June 2017 in Melbourne.

With stylized sets inspired by Japanese theater and lush, colorful kimono worn by singers, Seattle Opera's grand production of Madame Butterfly coming this August may seem like business-as-usual. But there's a dramatic difference that sets this Butterfly apart: the broader conversation taking place on cultural appropriation, yellowface, and Asian American representation. While certainly not new to many Asian and Pacific Islanders, these conversations have permeated the Puget Sound theater scene for the past several years following a production of The Mikado that made national news.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Manfred Honeck close the 2016-2017 BNY Mellon Grand Classics season in joyous style with Ludwig van Beethoven's beloved 'Pastoral' Symphony and Mahler's Seven Songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn on June 23-25 at Heinz Hall.

Just after hearing the wonderfully well sung, semi-staged DAS RHEINGOLD at the NY Philharmonic, under departing Music Director Alan Gilbert, I saw the current Broadway revival of THE LITTLE FOXES. It seemed Richard Wagner's gods and Lillian Hellman's Hubbards had lots in common: The small-minded, self-serving gods of this production, at least, could have been friends and neighbors of the mendacious, corrupt Southerners in Hellman's play (or even of a would-be-royal family in Washington, DC).

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is delighted to announce an additional performance of Joe Hisaishi in Concert. Due to the overwhelming response, the subscription quota for Friday and Saturday performances (4 & 5 May 2018) is already full.

Come one, come all: Bring the whole family and spend the afternoon at McCaw Hall for Seattle Opera's Summer Fest on July 15. Admission is free!

In a stunning setting on the banks of the River Thames, in The Scoop sunken ampitheatre, London's Free Open Air Theatre Season promises to excite audiences for its 14th year by returning to its critically acclaimed classical roots with a reimagining of one of the world's great epics - Homer's Greek epic, The Odyssey.

Boston Landmarks Orchestra (LO) under the direction of Music Director Christopher Wilkins, and Executive Director Jo Frances Meyer,  announces its 2017 season of free concerts at the DCR's Hatch Memorial Shell on the Esplanade. Concerts will be held every Wednesday evening (7 p.m.) from July 19 through August 23, 2017. For more information visit landmarksorchestra.org.

The Met Opera opened Richard Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer on April 25th.  New Met star Michael Volle sings the title role of the ghostly sailor damned to wander the seas in search of the love that will set him free, under the baton of the exciting Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Amber Wagner is Senta, whose love he seeks. The powerhouse cast also includes Dolora Zajick, Ben Bliss, Franz-Josef Selig, and AJ Glueckert as Erik.

Paul Hopper, HGO Asst. Artistic Director, reflects on the opera company's relationship with Wagner's Ring Cycle. The summation of his reverie -- burn, baby. Burn!

The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst announce further details of their new production of Debussy's Pelléas and Mélisande, including the complete three-part series of behind-the-scenes production videos.  The impressionistic French opera, with its luminous and hypnotic score, is being presented at Severance Hall May 2, 4, and 6, 2017.  The creative team for this brand-new, made-for-Cleveland production is being led by Director Yuval Sharon working with Set Designer Mimi Lien, Lighting and Projection Designer Jason Thompson, Choreographer Danielle Agami, and Costume Designer Ann Closs-Farley.

Future Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts his first Wagner opera with the company, Der Fliegende Holländer, beginning April 25. The opera, which has not been seen at the Met since 2010, featuresMichael Volle as the Dutchman, the ghostly sailor damned to sail the seas in search of the love that will set him free. Amber Wagner sings the role of Senta, opposite Jay Hunter Morris as the huntsman Erik. The cast also features Dolora Zajick as Senta's nurse Mary with Ben Bliss as the Steersman and Franz-Josef Selig as Senta's father Daland. 

Joan Cleville Dance presents the world premiere of The North coming to Tramway, Glasgow 12th - 13th May as part of Dance International Glasgow.

Sarasota Opera is pleased to announce the line-up for the 2017 season of 'HD at the Opera House'.  This weekly Sunday afternoon series of filmed performances, which debuted in 2014, has allowed Sarasota Opera to expand its programming from the fall and winter season to year-around.

Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) announced today details of the company's full line-up of thrilling productions scheduled to take the stage during the 2018 season, running April 27 – May 13. In 2018, the company will offer opera lovers an entirely new Festival experience with the first production of Richard Wagner's magnificent fantasy opera Das Rheingold; Gaetano Donizetti's hysterical bel canto gem, Don Pasquale; and composer Astor Piazzolla's genre-defying tango opera, María de Buenos Aires. The Festival will also usher in the sixth year of Fort Worth Opera's critically-lauded new works showcase, Frontiers, featuring eight unpublished operas from some of the most talented composers and librettists in the 21st-century.

The world premiere of the play Das Ende by Duane Kelly has enjoyed good attendance and enthusiastic audiences in the early part of its run.

In order to remove a curse on her family in Seattle, Mathilde must return a stolen manuscript at the same time that its dead author seeks it. That author is 19th-century composer Richard Wagner, intent on safeguarding his legacy. The handwritten manuscript, now worth millions, is an unknown last scene for his famous 'Ring' operas. Determined to thwart Wagner is the cunning dwarf Alberich, the villain of 'The Ring,' who long ago escaped his creator's grasp.