In March 2017, Placido Domingo announced, his gigantic Aida open air tour would be postponed to 2018 due to technical reasons. Now the technical reasons appear as having been financial: The complete Aida production has been cancelled, since the tour organizer Art & Entertainment LIVE GmbH has applied for the opening of insolvency proceedings to the District Court of Düsseldorf. Read More →

The jury of the Rachmaninov International Award have given prizes fpr 2016 achievements to Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky for his special attention to the music of Sergei Rachmaninov and for his support for the Museum-estate of Sergei Rachmaninov in Ivanovka near Tambov, Russia, which used to be the summer residence of the composer between 1890 and 1917 (until his emigration). Read More →

Trondheim Solistene
(c) Nikolaj Lund

Inwiefern geht eigentlich der Gedanke von Bildung durch Bewegung sowie der kulturellen Entwicklung durch Wanderschaft in der Rede von Flüchtlingsströmen unter? Verdankt sich nicht auch die Entwicklung von Hochkultur einem kulturellen Austausch? Diese Traditionen werden performativ in Erinnerung gerufen, wenn die ‘Trondheim Solistene’ am heutigen 16. Juni auf den Orkney Inseln vor Schottland beim ‘St. Magnus Festival’ ein Oratorium von Alasdair Nicolson zur Uraufführung bringen und damit gleich weiter pilgern werden. Read More →

Due to the fact that the Theatre of the St. Petersburg Conservatory is closed for renovation since May 2015, performing in other locations becomes more and more difficult for the Conservatory’s Opera and Ballet Theatre. As a consequence the Conservatory simply dismissed 79 of its 228 employees. After the reconstruction of the building the Conservatory is supposed to expand the orchestra and the ballet again to its previous size.

Gravierende Finanzprobleme werden für die Bühnen Halle gemeldet. Die Rede ist von einem aktuellen Defizit von 1,7 Millionen Euro. Nach Angaben des mitteldeutschen Senders MDR Kultur sucht die Stadt Halle über Finanzhilfen, um die Liquidität der Theater, Oper und Orchester GmbH Halle (TOOH) bis zum Jahresende zu sichern. Angeblich ist der bereits publizierte Spielplan für die Spielzeit 2017/128 in Gefahr. Read More →

In seiner bisher erfolgreichsten Saison steigerte das Festspielhaus St. Pölten bei Wien die Anzahl der Besucher bei Eigenveranstaltungen um 3,2% auf etwa 53.000 (inkl. Kulturvermittlung), teilt das Haus mit. Die Auslastung stieg auf 90% (exkl. Kulturvermittlung). Die Kartenerlöse der Saison 2016/2017 erreichten mit rund 982.000€ (inkl. Kulturvermittlung) ein Allzeithoch im 20-jährigen Bestehen des Hauses und liegen damit um 3,4% höher als in der Saison 2015/2016.

Valery Gergiev
Foto: Marco Borggreve

When the Primorsky Opera and Ballet Theater was officially attached to the Mariinsky Theatre as Seaside branch, Valery Gergiev inherited a number of structural and juridical problems. This is reported by the Russian site Classical Music News. Read More →

Andrew Sewell

The San Luis Obispo Symphony announced Andrew Sewell (*1963), a native of New Zealand, as their new Music Director. 2017-18 will be his first season. Sewell is currently Music Director of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in Madison. He had long tenures with the Wichita Symphony, Mansfield and Toledo Symphonies. Read More →

Dmitri Hvorostovsky
(c) Pavel Antonov

Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky has cancelled the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Saturday, August 26, opera gala program at Tanglewood due to health reasons, the Tanglewood Festival press office says. He will be replaced by Bryn Terfel.

Daniel Harding
(c) Julian Hargreaves

Due to a medical problem with a wrist, Daniel Harding, music director of the Orchestra of Paris, is forced to give up the production of Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, our colleagues from ResMusica report. Harding will be replaced by the Norwegian Eivind Gullberg Jensen.