Verdi’s La forza del destino

Verdi’s epic opera combines love, war, religion, and fate, and is sung by a stellar cast including Sondra Radvanovsky, Brian Jagde and Etienne Dupuis, conducted by Mark Elder.

Last Night of the Proms

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and soprano Lise Davidsen join conductor Marin Alsop and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for the celebratory conclusion of the 2023 Proms.

Opera on Film: 6 Movies that Showcase Opera’s Drama, Emotion, Glamor, and Beauty

What does one of the grandest artforms look like on the big screen? Check out some of our favorite portrayals of opera in the movies.

Verdi’s Attila

Verdi’s Attila takes us to the mid-5th century near Rome following Attila, King of the Huns.

Verdi’s I Lombardi

From the Prinzregententheater in Munich, Germany, we hear a production of Verdi’s I Lombardi alla prima crociata with the Munich Radio Opera, featuring Galeano Salas as Arvino, Andreas Burkhart as Acciano, Nino Machaidze as Giselda, and Réka Kristóf as Viclinda.

Alan Gilbert Conducts the Verdi Requiem

Featuring soprano Angela Meade, mezzo-soprano Lilli Paasikivi, tenor Russell Thomas, and bass-baritone Eric Owens.

Grace Bumbry, 1st Black singer at Bayreuth, dies at 86

Bumbry was among the winners of the 1958 Met National Council Auditions. She had a recital debut in Paris that same year and made her Paris Opéra debut in 1960.

Lyric Opera 2023-2024 Season: Dutchman, Aida, Cinderella, Audra

Next year’s lineup of six mainstage operas offers choices for traditional and contemporary opera fans alike.

Verdi’s La traviata

Dazzling soprano Angel Blue stars as Violetta in Verdi‘s stirring romantic tragedy. Nicola Luisotti conducts the Met Opera Orchestra and Dmytro Popov (Alfredo) and Artur Ruciński (Giorgio).

Verdi’s Rigoletto

Giuseppe Verdi’s ever-popular masterpiece returns for a performance starring Lisette Oropesa, Aigul Akhmetshina, Stephen Costello, and Luca Salsi in the title role, with Speranza Scappucci conducting.

On Singing Verdi with Russell Thomas

A survey of great tenors known for their interpretations of Verdi. Russell Thomas stars the title role Verdi’s Ernani which opens the 2022-23 season of Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Verdi’s ‘Don Carlos’ arrives at Met Opera in original French

The version is largely based on the 1867 rehearsals and Paris Opéra premiere, including long-lost sections rediscovered in the late 1960s by David Rosen and Andrew Porter.

Lyric’s ’22-23 Season: Verdi, ‘Fiddler,’ Fleming, & ‘Carmen’

Plus a world premiere, Chicago-set take on ‘The Barber of Seville’ and the return of ‘West Side Story’

CSO Announces Winter/Spring 2022 Concerts

Music director Riccardo Muti will conduct music by Beethoven, Price, Glass, and Montgomery while welcoming guest artists like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Mitsuko Uchida.

Enrique Mazzola on Returning to the Stage, Taking the Reins at Lyric

Mazzola speaks with WFMT general manager George Preston about returning to live performance, Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth, Gaetano Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, and what he loves most about being a Chicagoan.

Met’s 9/11 Anniversary: Music Can Help Mend Wounds of 20 Years Ago and Today

Matthew Polenzani, one of the artists performing at the Met’s Verdi Requiem commemorative concerts on the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, reflects on why music can help us heal.

Prokofiev, Hahn, Lang Lang Headline CSO’s 2021-22 Return To Stage

The CSO announces an array of concerts from September to January.

Born to Conduct: Film charts Met music director’s ascent

A new documentary charts the rise of Metropolitan Opera Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin from a school stage to chief conductor at one of the world’s great opera houses.

Playlist: Soprano Ailyn Pérez Shares the Music and Singers Close to Her Heart

Chicago native soprano Ailyn Pérez speaks to us about some of her favorite Latin American and Spanish music and shares a playlist of influential singers and music.

Lyric Announces 2021-22 Season With ‘Magic Flute,’ ‘Macbeth,’ Mazzola

A Verdi and bel canto expert, Lyric’s new music director Enrique Mazzola will open the season with Verdi’s Macbeth and Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, while also conducting contemporary opera Proving Up by Missy Mazzoli later in the season.

‘A rose for love and a book forever’: Literature for Music Lovers on World Book Day

WFMT host Candice Agree has selected some of her favorite works of literature that have inspired musical compositions for you to enjoy on World Book Day.

Lyric Cancels 2020-21 season

Among the canceled 2021 productions are Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro; and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, as well as a concert tribute to music director Sir Andrew Davis, who concludes his 20-year tenure at the end of this season.

Verdi’s Got Game: Rigoletto’s Got All the Right Moves

Could this ‘Rigoletto’-inspired video game be help bring kids into opera?

Opera Is a “Contact Sport” in the Lost 1963 Documentary ‘In the Mouth of the Wolf’

Audiences will be irate this weekend at the Siskel Center. No, not the people in the theater, but the onscreen audiences portrayed in In the Mouth of the Wolf. The made-for-TV documentary depicts the infamously fanatical opera culture of Parma, Italy through the lens of a troubled production of Verdi’s Luisa Miller.

Enrique Mazzola on Being Lyric’s Next Music Director and Why ‘Luisa Miller’ Is Essential Verdi

“You have to know that I am a very curious musician…” said Enrique Mazzola, wearing his trademark red glasses. In September, the Italian conductor was appointed Lyric Opera of Chicago’s music director designate.