Vienna State Opera 2014-15 season Features Anna Netrebko, Juan Diego Florez and Angela Gheorghiu

After a number hours in which the Vienna State Opera's website crashed, I finally have a list of works which will be performed this year. The reason for slow connection was because the company announced the season and puts all tickets on sale immediately. 

The upcoming season will see 223 staged opera performance and will include six new productions listed below: 

The Tempest (Austrian premiere) 14 June 2015 c: Thomas Ades, d: Robert Lepage, with Adrian Eröd, Audrey Luna, Stephanie Houtzeel, David Daniels

• Idomeneo 5 October 2014 c: Christoph Eschenbach, d: Kasper Holten, with Michael Schade, Margarita Gritskova, Maria Bengtsson, Chen Reiss 
• Khovanshchina 15 November 2014 c: Semyon Bychkov, d: Lev Dodin, with Ferruccio Furlanetto, Christopher Ventris, Herbert Lippert, Andrzej Dobber, Ain Anger, Elisabeth Kulman, Norbert Ernst
• Rigoletto 20 December 2014 c: Franz Welser-Möst, d: Pierre Audi, with Piotr Beczala, Simon Keenlyside, Valentina Nafornită, Elena Maximova 
• Elektra 29 March 2015 c: Franz Welser-Möst, d: Uwe Eric Laufenberg, with Anna Larsson, Nina Stemme, Anne Schwanewilms, Falk Struckman 
• Don Pasquale 26April 2015 c: Jesús López-Cobos, d: Irina Brook, 
 with Michele Pertusi, Juan Diego Flórez, Alessio Arduini, Valentina Nafornită

The company will see the return of a number of stars including Juan Diego Florez in L'Elisir d'Amore and La Cenerentola, Placido Domingo and Maria Guleghina in Nabucco, Anna Netrebko in Anna Bolena and Angela Gheorghiu in Werther. Kristine Opolais and Piotr Beczala will perform Rusalka while Olga Peretyatko will bring her acclaimed Elvira in I Puritani. Another highlight will be Aleksandrs Antonenko in Tosca and Pique Dame. Elina Garanca will bring her acclaimed Octavian to Der Rosenkavalier while Ramon Vargas will sing Don Carlos, Werther, and Simon Boccanegra. Nina Stemme will also return as Minnie in La Fanciulla del West. For more Click Here 

Notable DVD and CD Releases for the Month January and February

The January slate of DVDs looks dry at the moment. As a result I have decided to preview some of February's releases. 

The first release is the Met's latest "Eugene Onegin" starring Anna Netrebko and Mariusz Kwiecien. The release the marks the Met's first DVD release since Verdi's Rigoletto. It also marks the second Onegin the company releases. The production which opened the 2013-14 season also stars Piotr Beczala and was conducted by Valery Gergiev. 

Jonas Kaufmann and Nina Stemme win the International Opera Awards

On Monday April 22, the Opera Awards were held with Jonas Kaufmann winning two awards as well as Antonio Pappano. Nina Stemme won best Female singer while Dimitri Tcherniakov won best director. The Metropolitan opera took home the best Accessibility award and Best Orchestra. 

Who Will Win Best Female Singer?

 

Six great Divas are nominated for the Opera Awards. My predictions are in the link below and tell me who you think should win. Also let us know who you think should have been nominated. Click Here.

Munich's Gotterdammerung to be streamed Live!

After an exceptional I Capuletti e Montecchi, the Bayerische Opera will present Gotterdammerung through their award winning Live Stream. The opera will be presented on Juily 15th and stars Nina Stemme and Stephen Gould.

The Bayerische has previously shown Eugene Onegin, L'Elisir D'Amore, Don Carlo, Fidelio and I Capuleti e Montecchi.