Magdeburg: Rusalka

Theater Magdeburg in the capital city of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, put on Dvořák’s Rusalka as the first premiere of this year’s season. The production’s author is an experienced British opera director Stephen Lawless, who has collaborated with MET, Berlin State Opera or Royal Opera House Covent Garden, among others. His Rusalka is not a fairy tale, but a harsh “coming … Read more

Martin Smolka: The Name Emmanuel (world premiere)

A part of the 15th year of music and environment Baltic Sea Festival, which was held during the last week of August in Stockholm, was a world premiere of a new piece for choir by composer Martin Smolka. The Name Emmanuel was written on the festival’s commission and was performed on August 27 at the Berwaldhallen concert hall by the … Read more

Dimitrij at the Bard SummerScape

The ongoing Bard SummerScape festival, held for the 15th time at the Bard College campus some 180 km north of New York, focuses this time primarily on the work of Fréderic Chopin. That is why the choice of the opera to be produced this year fell on a Poland-themed work, the seldom performed Dimitrij by Antonín Dvořák. The author of the … Read more

Trier: Brundibár

Less than two weeks after the Brundibár premiere in Staatstheater Kassel, a new production of this children opera by Hans Krása was put on on another German opera scene, namely the one of Theater Trier in Rhineland-Palatinate. The piece, performed more than 55 times with the deported children in the Theresienstadt ghetto where the author eventually died, was … Read more

Kassel: Brundibár

Staatstheater Kassel presented a new production of Hans Krása’s famous Brundibár. The 1938 opera, once sung by children of the Theresienstadt ghetto, was rehearsed by a children choir Cantamus where the soloists were recruited from, too. They were accompanied by the TJO, Theater-Jugendorchester, which is an ensemble formed by talented instrumentalists aged 12-20. The show is a solo debut by … Read more

Miroslav Srnka’s South Pole in Darmstadt

Less than a year and a half since its premiere at the Bavarian State Opera, South Pole, opera by Miroslav Srnka, made its appearance again, this time in a new version on the stage of Staatstheater Darmstadt. The story of two polar expeditions competing in their quest to be the first ones ever to reach the South Pole … Read more

Ekaterinburg: Rusalka

For the second time in its history, the Ekaterinburg State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre staged Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka. The production, premiered on May 19, was created by a Czech-Slovak team led by director Tomáš Pilař, current head of the opera ensemble of the J. K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen, and Ekaterinburg’s music director Oliver Dohnányi. The other … Read more

Petr Bakla: Major Thirds (world premiere)

As a herald of this year’s Ostrava Days festival, a special concert took place on 25th April in the completely sold out Bohemian National Hall of the Czech Center New York. Together with The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble, the festival’s director Petr Kotík presented a unique program consisting of works by composers of AACM (Association for the Advancement of … Read more

Miroslav Srnka: move 03 (world premiere)

A new orchestral composition by Miroslav Srnka received its premiere on 2nd April during the 34th year of Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo music festival which is taking place between 17th March and 8th April 2017. Srnka is no newcomer to the festival; his music was played here already in 2011 and 2014. Written on … Read more

Darmstadt: Jenůfa

On Saturday 4 March, Staatstheater Darmstadt premiered a new production of Janáček’s Jenůfa. Its author Dirk Schmeding belongs to experienced Janáček-directors; he directed Jenufa already three years ago at Landestheater Detmold and his first work in Darmstadt was The Cunning Little Vixen. His co-workers from the latter production included other members of the present creative team – stage … Read more