Opera in the Summer, 2006

It is never too soon to start making your summer travel plans, which if you are like us, involve going places to hear classical music. Last year was our first year at Ionarts covering the range of top-notch operas produced in the summer (see the summary of our coverage last summer in 2005), often at special festivals or by companies that work exclusively in the summer. Operabase has updated its database of opera festivals for 2006, too, which attempts to be comprehensive (and is so, as far as I can tell). I choose those productions that interest me and any that are in the Washington area.

May 12, 14, 16, and 18
Claudio Monteverdi, L'Orfeo
Concert d'Astrée, conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm
Théâtre du Châtelet
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, May 29)

May 12 to 21
Henry Fielding, The Life of Tom Thumb (ballad opera)
Carter Family Marionnettes with Anne-Carolyn Bird, soprano
Northwest Puppet Center (Seattle, Wash.)
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, May 28)

May 19, 22, 25, 28, and June 2, July 17
Handel, Orlando (first performance in Munich)
With David Daniels (Orlando), conducted by Ivor Bolton
Directed by David Alden
Münchner Opern-Festspiele
Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich)
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, June 13)

May 20 to June 24
Rossini, Barber of Seville
Kate Lindsey, Hugh Russell, Alek Shrader, Patrick Carfizzi
Opera Theater of St. Louis
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, June 24)

May 20, 21, and 29
Patrick Burgan, Peter Pan
With Gaële Le Roi
Théâtre du Châtelet
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, June 26)

May 26 to June 17
Bartók, Duke Bluebeard's Castle and Schoenberg, Erwartung
Royal Opera at Covent Garden
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, May 30)

Elliot Goldenthal, Grendel [WORLD PREMIERE]
May 27 to June 17
Directed by Julie Taymor
Los Angeles Opera
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, June 23)

June 1 to July 4
Festival Kurt Weill
One Touch of Venus (June 1 to 11)
Der Jasager (June 7 to 10)
Der Lindberghflug (June 24 to July 4)
Die sieben Todsünden (June 24 to July 4)
Opéra de Lyon
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, July 4)

June 2 to 9
Michel van der Aa, After Life
Production directed by the composer

Those who have died are required to choose a favourite memory to take with them into eternity as they arrive at an intermediary point; they may only proceed on their path to heaven once they have named their most defining moment. They are allowed one week in which to make their choice, during which time they are helped by others who have predeceased them but who themselves have not been able to make their choice and so therefore must remain at the intermediary point.

Libretto by Hirokazu Kore-Eda
De Nederlandse Opera (Amsterdam)
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, June 28)

June 3 to July 2
Dmitri Shostakovich, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
Conducted by Mariss Jansons
De Nederlandse Opera (Amsterdam)
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, June 29)

June 4 to 16
Michael Berkeley, Jane Eyre
Directed by Colin Graham
Opera Theater of St. Louis
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, July 10)

June 10, 13, and 16
Duke Bluebeard's Castle and Daphnis et Chloé
Conducted by Pierre Boulez, with Jessye Norman
Théâtre du Châtelet
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, July 12)

June 11 to July 10
Gluck, Iphigénie en Tauride
With Susan Graham in the title role
Choeurs et musiciens du Louvre -- Grenoble
Conducted by Marc Minkowski
Opéra national de Paris
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, July 27)

June 11 to August 7
Britten, A Midsummer Night's Dream
With Bejun Mehta as Oberon
Glyndebourne Festival
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, July 28)

Tuesday, June 13, 4 pm; July 17, 7 pm
Overtures and Arias from the Operas of Mozart (Abduction, Così, Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro)
Deutsche Oper (Berlin)
Schloss Charlottenburg

June 13 to July 9
Wagner, Das Rheingold
De Vlaamse Opera (Ghent)

June 15 to 25
Kurt Weill, Street Scene
Opera Theater of St. Louis
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, August 3)

June 15 to July 4
Hector Berlioz, La Damnation de Faust
Michelle de Young (Marguerite) and José Van Dam (Méphistophélès)
Opéra national de Paris

June 15 and 16, 7:30 pm
Andrzej Hanzelewicz, Maud Powell, Queen of Violinists [WORLD PREMIERE]
Libretto by Kevin McMahon and Carol Shamory
Maud Powell Music Festival Mainstage
Matthiessen Auditorium, La Salle-Peru High School

Friday, June 16, 8 pm; Sunday, June 18, 2 pm; Friday, June 23, 8 pm; Sunday, June 25, 2 pm
Georg Philipp Telemann, Orpheus
Wolf Trap Opera Company
The Barns at Wolf Trap
See the review by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, June 18)

June 18, 21, and 25
Mozart, The Magic Flute
Robert Baker as Tamino
Summer Opera Theatre Company (Catholic University)
See the review by Tim Page (Washington Post, June 20)

June 19, 6:30 and 8:30 pm
Peter Westergaard, Alice in Wonderland (partial workshop version)
Center for Contemporary Opera
Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater, Symphony Space (New York, N.Y.)
See the review by Anthony Tommasini (New York Times, June 21)

June 22 and 24
Chabrier, L'Etoile
Cincinnati Opera
See my review of the DVD version and press roundup of this Glimmerglass production

June 24 to August 6
Douglas Moore, The Ballad of Baby Doe
50th anniversary of the Central City Opera commission
Central City Opera
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, August 12)

June 24 and 27
Verdi, Ernani
With Salvatore Licitra (Ernani) and Lado Ataneli (Don Carlo)
Deutsche Oper (Berlin)

June 26 and 29
Beethoven, Fidelio
Ben Heppner, Karita Mattila, Barbara Bonney
Théâtre du Châtelet
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, July 20)

June 27 and 30
Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas
With Jessye Norman (yes, you read that correctly) and Felicity Palmer
Also featuring Jessye Norman in Berlioz's Les Nuits d'Eté
Les Musiciens du Louvre -- Grenoble, conducted by Marc Minkowski
Théâtre du Châtelet
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, July 13)

June 28, July 1 and 4
Schoenberg, Moses und Aron
Münchner Opern-Festspiele
Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich)

June 30 to August 26
Georges Bizet, Carmen
Anne Sofie von Otter, William Joyner, Laurent Naouri
Santa Fe Opera
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, August 2)

July 1 to August 25
Mozart, The Magic Flute
Natalie Dessay (Pamina)
Santa Fe Opera
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, August 1)

July 1, 5, and 7
Aulis Sallinen, The Horseman
Savonlinna Opera Festival (Finland)

July 2, 4, 6, and 8
Wagner, Das Rheingold
First installment of Aix-en-Provence Ring cycle (2006-2009)
Conducted by Simon Rattle, with Detlef Roth, Mireille Delunsch, Anna Larsson, et al.
Festival d'Aix-en-Provence
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, July 14)

July 3 and 4
Soloists from Kirov Opera, concert
Festival d'Aix-en-Provence

July 7
Handel, Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Münchner Opern-Festspiele
Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich)

July 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, and 15
Manuel de Falla, Les Trétaux de Maître Pierre
Stravinsky, Renard
Schoenberg, Pierrot lunaire (in a triple bill)
Conducted by Pierre Boulez
Festival d'Aix-en-Provence

July 8 and 11, 9:45 pm
Verdi, Aida
With Indra Thomas (Aida), Roberto Alagna (Radamès)
Orchestra national de Lyon
Chorégies d'Orange

July 8 to August 4
Claudio Monteverdi, L'incoronazione di Poppea
Central City Opera
See the reviews compiled by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, August 16)

Sunday, July 9, 4 pm
Operatic Vocal Gala Concert
Opera International
Music Center at Strathmore

July 11 to
Elliot Goldenthal, Grendel
Directed by Julie Taymor
New York State Theater (Lincoln Center Festival)

July 13 to 27
Rameau, Zoroastre
Revival of last year's production with Les Talens Lyriques
Conducted by Christophe Rousset
Drottningholm Slottsteater

Friday, July 14, 8 pm; Sunday, July 16, 2 pm; Friday, July 21, 8 pm; Sunday, July 23, 2 pm
Gioacchino Rossini, Le Comte Ory
Wolf Trap Opera Company
The Barns at Wolf Trap
Review -- Richard K. Fitzgerald (Ionarts, July 22)

July 14-16 and 21-23
The Pittsburgh Ring, by Richard Wagner (adaptation by Jonathan Dove with translations by Andrew Porter)
Opera Theater of Pittsburgh
See my reviews of the first two operas in the cycle from last summer

July 15, 8:30 pm
Strauss, Elektra
Concert performance, with Lisa Gasteen (Elektra), Christine Brewer (Chrysothemis), Felicity Palmer (Klytemnestra), Alan Held (Orest), and Siegfried Jerusalem (Aegist)
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
Tanglewood Festival

July 15 to August 24
Massenet, Cendrillon
Joyce DiDonato, Richard Stilwell, new production directed by Laurent Pelly
Santa Fe Opera
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, August 5)

July and August
Performances of all of Mozart's operas (!)
Salzburg Festival

July 16, 19, and 23
Verdi, Il Trovatore
Summer Opera Theatre Company (Catholic University)

July 17 to 21
Jukka Linkola, Hui Kauhistus (One Spooky Night)
Family opera, conducted by the composer
Savonlinna Opera Festival (Finland)

July 22 to August 16
Strauss, Salome
Janice Watson (Salome)
Santa Fe Opera
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, August 6)

July 22 to August 28
Stephen Hartke (text by Philip Littell), The Greater Good, or the Passion of Boule de Suif
World Premiere
Glimmerglass Opera

Saturday, July 22, 8:15 pm
NSO at Wolf Trap: Roméo et Juliette in Concert
Already Most emphatically NOT sold out!
Wolf Trap
Review -- Richard K. Fitzgerald (Ionarts, July 25)

July 23 to August 25
Prokofiev, Betrothal in a Monastery
With Nathan Gunn and Lyubov Petrova
Glyndebourne Festival

July 27 and 28
Festival of Contemporary Music: A Triple Bill of 20th-Century Opera
Hindemith, Hin und zurück
Stravinsky, Mavra
Carter, What Next? (American stage premiere)
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
Tanglewood Festival
Review -- Frank Pesci, Jr. (Ionarts, July 28)

July 28 to August 5
Robert Schumann, Genoveva
Conducted by Leon Botstein
First-ever fully staged production
Bard SummerScape Festival

July 29 and August 1, 9:30 pm
Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor
With Patrizia Ciofi (Lucia), Rolando Villazon (Edgardo)
Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice
Chorégies d'Orange

July 29 to August 17
Thomas Adès, The Tempest
American premiere
Santa Fe Opera
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, July 31)

July 29 to August 29
Janáček, Jenůfa
Glimmerglass Opera

Thursday, August 3, 8:15 pm
National Symphony Orchestra: An Evening with Renée Fleming
Opera arias and other selections (already NOT sold out)
Wolf Trap
Review -- Jens F. Laurson (Ionarts, August 4)

Friday, August 4, 9:30 pm
Concert: Inva Mula (soprano) and Rolando Villazon (tenor)
Chorégies d'Orange

August 5 to 26
Handel, Giulio Cesare
With David Daniels (Giulio Cesara), Sara Mingardo (Cornelia), Katarina Karnéus (Sesto)
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Directed by David McVicar, conducted by Emanuelle Haïm
Glyndebourne Festival

August 5 to 26
Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier
With Wolfgang Holzmair
Seattle Opera

August 11, 8:30 pm
Bach and Handel concert
Handel arias
Tanglewood Festival

August 18 and 19
Mozart, The Marriage of Figaro
Wolf Trap Opera Company
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, August 20)