Claudio Abbado
(c) DG/ Harald Hoffmann

Das Festival von Stresa widmet seine diesjährige Ausgabe dem Andenken an den Dirigenten Claudio Abbado, dessen Todestag sich zum zehnten Mal jährt. Zu diesem Anlass hat der künstlerische Leiter des Festivals, der Cellist Mario Brunello, beschlossen einen Abbado-Wald anzulegen. Read More →

Nachdem der Pianist Pawel Kuschnir in einem russischen Untersuchungsgefängnis an den Folgen eines Hungerstreiks starb, haben sich Musiker wie Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim und Simon Rattle sich in einem offenen Brief vor seinem Mut und seiner Menschlichkeit verneigt. Kushnir war im Mai verhaftet und wegen „öffentlicher Aufrufe zu terroristischen Aktivitäten“ angeklagt worden. Read More →

Mert Yalniz

Conductor Mert Yalniz has been selected by Esa-Pekka Salonen to join the San Francisco Symphony conducting staff in the 2024–25 season as an extension of his work as a Salonen Fellow in the Colburn School Conservatory of Music’s Negaunee Conducting Program. Read More →

Die italienische Opernsängerin Celestina Casapietra ist am 10. August in Genua verstorben. Sie war 84 Jährte alt. Nach ihrem Debüt 1963 in Mailand war Casapietra von 1965 bis 1993 erster Sopran der Berliner Staatsoper. Daneben gastierte sie u. a. an der Mailänder Scala, der Wiener Staatsoper, am Teatro Carlo Felice Genua, an der Bayerischen Staatsoper, der Hamburgischen Staatsoper  und bei den Salzburger Festspielen. Read More →

Marie Jacquot
(c) Werner Kmetitsch

The French conductor Marie Jacquot will assume the role of Principal Conductor at the Royal Danish Theatre. Marie Jacquot was born in 1990 in Paris and raised in Chartres. As a child, she much preferred playing tennis over the piano, which her parents insisted she learn. Her tennis talent took her all the way to the Junior French Open, but she was also captivated by playing the trombone, and at the age of 15, she decided to fully commit to music. Read More →

Malaysian-born Australian tenor Steve Davislim died in Vienna, where he lived. He was only 57 years old. He was of Chinese and Irish ancestry. Read More →

San Francisco Opera has announced Italian countertenor Carlo Vistoli as the winner of the 2023–24 Emerging Stars Competition for his American stage and role debut in Handel’s Partenope. This was based on a popular vote conducted online at sfopera.com. As the winner of the competition, now in its sixth year, Vistoli receives a $10,000 cash prize. Read More →

This year the Verga Prize will be awarded to 88-year-old Italian baritone Renato Bruson, The Prize, awarded in collaboration with the City of Parma by the Verga 100 Organization and Festival Verghiano, is given each year to artists who have linked their name to the universe of the Sicilian writer. Read More →

Ilya Ram
(c) Katharina Dickopf

Israeli-American conductor Ilya Ram has been named the next Music Director of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, the fourth artistic leader in the organization’s 91-year history. He has also served as Music Director of the Akademische Philharmonie Heidelberg since the 23/24 season. Read More →

Lorenzo Viotti

Swiss conductor Lorenzo Viotti, 34, has been announced as Music Director of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra from the 2026/27 season. The initial agreement is for three years. Read More →