David Finn News

​Some nights at Covent Garden feel heavy with a sense of occasion and this particular performance of Swan Lake, taking place a week after opening night, was certainly one of them. Liam Scarlett’s Swan Lake is not even 4 years old as a production in the Royal Ballet’s repertoire but it already has history. Tragically, Scarlett took his own life last year after allegations of sexual misconduct that were never upheld. This run of his interpretation was on it’s second outing in March 2020 and has some particular unfinished business with a sweep of exciting debuts still to be enjoyed over the course of performances which run until May. Two of those debuts are from young Principals Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Marcelino Sambé, and what a memorable pairing they are.

The Metropolitan Opera today announced its 2022–23 season, which features seven new productions, the most in ten seasons. Opening Night is September 27 with the company premiere of Cherubini’s Medea, starring soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role alongside tenor Matthew Polenzani in David McVicar’s new staging, conducted by Carlo Rizzi.

As only the third American opera company in history to reach this centennial milestone, the Company’s 2022–23 Season will honor San Francisco Opera’s glorious past while inviting the public into an exciting new era of musical excellence under Kim’s music directorship and a renewed commitment to innovation.

What is there to say about Puccini’s TOSCA that hasn’t been said in the last hundred-plus years since its premiere in Rome (to echo the locations in the opera)? It is a marvel of brevity, with librettists Illica and Giacosa shaving locations, characters and action from the original play, written by the French dramatist Victorien Sardou for the legendary actress Sarah Bernhardt, without sacrificing its impact. It has a gorgeous score, but for a grand opera, it is also quite intimate, with the action mainly revolving around three characters who carry their emotions on their sleeves and interact like their lives depend on it.

The Seagull is now playing at Bolshoi in Russia. Performances run through December 16.

Adapting one of the greatest tragedies written by his hero, Shakespeare, Verdi created a stunning portrait of the most power-hungry couple who ever trod a stage. Macbeth's bloody ascent to the throne of Scotland — led and supported by his wife's own consuming ambition — results in disaster for them both.

The Broad Stage has announced three live and in person attractions for fall 2021 – starting with the West Coast Premiere of the new opera Birds in the Moon, co-commissioned by The Broad Stage, for four outdoor performances in Santa Monica September 1 through 4.

THE SEAGULL, a ballet by Yuri Possokhov for adults only makes its Bolshoi debut on July 1st.

San Francisco Ballet has announced the postponement of Mrs. Robinson, Cathy Marston’s world premiere which was scheduled to debut on Program 05, April 22–May 12, until the 2022 Season. Mrs. Robinson was choreographed for the stage in the 2020 Season and was reimagined for film in the 2021 Digital Season.

The annual Dora Awards celebrate excellence in professional theatre, dance and opera in a ceremony that includes 46 Dora Awards, the Silver Ticket Award, and the Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award.

At an online media announcement - pre-taped in front of Meridian Hall with physically distanced protocols in place - streamed June 8 on the Dora Awards YouTube channel, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) announced 243 nominations for the 41st annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards.

The Metropolitan Opera presents a new production of Wagner's early masterpiece Der Fliegende Holländer on March 2, 2020, with performances continuing through March 27. Valery Gergiev conducts the new staging from director François Girard, whose interpretation is centered on the young woman Senta's obsession with a portrait of the Dutchman.

The Metropolitan Opera will present a new production of Wagner's early masterpiece Der Fliegende Holländer on March 2, 2020, with performances continuing through March 27. Valery Gergiev conducts the new staging from director François Girard, whose interpretation is centered on the young woman Senta's obsession with a portrait of the Dutchman.

Texas Ballet Theater (TBT) will present the world premiere of Ma Cong's Firebird along with Jonathan Watkins' Crash at Bass Performance Hall February 14-16, 2020.

Featuring Tchaikovsky's timeless score and celebrated dance maker Yuri Possokhov's fresh choreography, Atlanta Ballet makes its Kennedy Center debut with its reimagined production of The Nutcracker, November 27-December 1 in the Opera House.

The Canadian Opera Company's RUSALKA utilizes Lyric Opera's 2014 production under the direction of Sir David McVicar, making his COC debut. This retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid' draws on a more sinister angle of the folk tale than what most people might know, utilizing composer Antonín Dvořák's multi-faceted score to convey emotion and fantasy at the leadership of conductor Johannes Debus.

The Australian Ballet today announced a 2020 season that showcases ballet's enduring power to enchant and transform. In his 20th and final year as artistic director, David McAllister has programmed Australian and world premieres alongside the works that have left an indelible mark on modern ballet. It's a year of milestones and new beginnings that celebrates the dynamism of the company and the art form, with productions that will delight, enthral and inspire.

A classic mermaid myth dives to new depths when soprano Sondra Radvanovsky takes on the title role in a spellbinding new production of Dvořák's Rusalka at the Canadian Opera Company. Water nymph Rusalka lives an idyllic, immortal life until a charming, earth-bound prince changes everything. Desperate to join him on land, she enlists the dark magic of a witch, sacrificing her shimmering voice for a chance at love. But Rusalka soon discovers this prince has a fickle heart a?" and there's only one terrible solution to reversing her fate. Rusalka runs for seven performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on October 12, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 2019.

San Francisco Opera presents Antonin Dvo?ak's Rusalka at the War Memorial Opera House, June 16-28, in David McVicar's "thoughtfully conceived and brilliantly executed" (Chicago Tribune) production. The Czech fairy tale opera features a cast headed by Rachel Willis-Sorensen in her role debut as Rusalka,Brandon Jovanovich as the Prince, Jamie Barton as Ježibaba, bass Kristinn Sigmundsson as Vodnik and Sarah Cambidge as the Foreign Princess. South Korean maestra and Houston Grand Opera Principal Guest Conductor Eun Sun Kim leads the cast and San Francisco Opera Orchestra in her first Company engagement. Chorus Director Ian Robertson prepares the chorus.

San Francisco Opera presents Anton n Dvo k's Rusalka at the War Memorial Opera House, June 16 28, in David McVicar's thoughtfully conceived and brilliantly executed (Chicago Tribune) production. The Czech fairy tale opera features a cast headed by Rachel Willis-S rensen in her role debut as Rusalka, Brandon Jovanovich as the Prince, Jamie Barton as Je ibaba, bass Kristinn Sigmundsson as Vodn k and Sarah Cambidge as the Foreign Princess. South Korean maestra and Houston Grand Opera Principal Guest Conductor Eun Sun Kim leads the cast and San Francisco Opera Orchestra in her first Company engagement. Chorus Director Ian Robertson prepares the chorus.