On May 16 Plácido Domingo conducts Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at the re-opening of Teatro Municipale di Piacenza, in an evening dedicated to the victims of COVID-19. On his long awaited return to Piacenza after 48 years, Domingo leads the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Coro del Teatro Municipale di Piacenza and soloists María José Siri, Annalisa Stroppa, Michele Pertusi and Operalia Winner Antonio Poli. Audiences from around the world will have access to the performance via Opera Streaming.

Nina Stemme’s role debut as Die Färberin in Richard Strauss opera Die Frau ohne Schatten is released on CD by Orfeo. The recording was made at the 150th anniversary of the Vienna State Opera, 25th May 2019, where Christian Thielemann conducted a stellar cast also including Camilla Nylund, Evelyn Herlitzius, Stephen Gould, and Wolfgang Koch.

With its launch on 21 June, the Ravenna Festival will bring live concerts back to Italy for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.­ It will take place in compliance with governmental regulations on social distancing. Masks will be mandatory for all 250 members of the audience, and there will be a staggered access system.

The 2021 New Year’s Concert will be performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Riccardo Muti. It is an artistic collaboration that began in 1971. Daniel Froschauer, Chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, emphasizes the special importance that Maestro Muti has for the orchestra: “Riccardo Muti holds an exceptional position in the history of the Vienna Philharmonic and has been an Honorary Member of the orchestra since 2011. As an expression of this close artistic relationship, we have asked…

The 2019/2020 season marks the 50th anniversary of Plácido Domingo’s debut at Teatro alla Scala. The prolific performer made his La Scala debut at the age of twenty-eight, in Verdi’s Ernani, on December 7, 1969 – opening night of the ensemble’s 1969-1970 season. He recalled, in My First Forty Years: “I had already sung at the Met, the Vienna State Opera, and other great theaters. But when you stand on the stage of La Scala and look into that beautiful auditorium, you cannot help…

On October 16, 2019, the world’s leading classical music magazine Gramophone awarded the Birgit Nilsson Foundationwith a Special Achievement Award; an award given to an organisation that has supported the legacy of a great artist with notable imagination and loyalty. Gramophone states in their communication around the Special Achievement Award: “In Birgit Nilsson’s centennial year, the Foundation has not only beautifully celebrated her extraordinary talent and artistry but is now also responsible for introducing Nilsson to a generation who were never able to experience her live.” – We are…

First Prize honors were awarded to Adriana Gonzalez (soprano, Guatemala) and Xabier Anduaga (tenor, Spain). Second Prize honors were awarded to Maria Kataeva (mezzo-soprano, Russia) and Gihoon Kim (baritone, South Korea), both of whom were voted as audience favorites. Christina Nilsson (soprano, Sweden) and Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (countertenor, USA/Germany) were awarded the Third Prize. The Pepita Embil Zarzuela Prize was awarded to Adriana Gonzalez and the Plácido Domingo Ferrer Zarzuela Prize was awarded to Xabier Anduaga. Russian soprano Anna Shapovalova…

Rutbert Reisch travelled to Switzerland on 10 May to receive the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) for Best Historical Recording of the Year, which was awarded to Birgit Nilsson: The Great Live Recordings at a ceremony in Lucerne’s KKL Concert Hall. The 31 CD live box set, which was curated by the Birgit Nilsson Foundation to celebrate the 100th anniversary in 2018, was released as a limited edition on Sony and sold out within months. On presenting the award, the…

The Great Performances team at WNET will broadcasting the Birgit Nilsson documentary: A League of Her Own – premiering Friday, March 22 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) This illuminating documentary about Birgit Nilsson’s life in the arts features rare television and archival footage highlighting her remarkable talents, and features interviews with friends and fellow opera luminaries, including Plácido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, Nina Stemme, Jonas Kaufmann and many others. Birgit Nilsson: A League of Her Own social media toolkit Embeddable trailer with more…

Superstar soprano, recipient of the Birgit Nilsson Prize, says an early competition she lost proved to be an unexpected gift. By Dennis PolkowBy this point in soprano Nina Stemme’s operatic journey, the high-intensity role of Richard Strauss’ “Elektra” has emerged as a signature piece. Indeed, the Swedish singer and reigning Wagnerian soprano, who currently performs the distraught and vengeful Elektra in her debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, all but owns the part. She is the foremost Elektra in the world today,…