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September 26, 2026

LA VESTALE | SONYA YONCHEVA | STAATSOPER BERLIN

Sonya Yoncheva returns to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden on September 26 to make her role debut as Julia in Gaspare Spontini’s La Vestale, the first new production of the company’s 2026/27 season. Lydia Steier directs the new staging, with Carlo Rizzi conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin.   The role of Julia marks another major addition to Sonya Yoncheva’s repertoire. As the Vestal virgin who defies the sacred laws of her order for her love of the Roman general Licinius, she stands at the center of Spontini’s tragédie lyrique.   The Bulgarian soprano has become a much-loved presence at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, where her previous roles include Violetta in La traviata, Mimì in La bohème, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, and the title roles in Médée, Tosca and Norma.   Joining Sonya Yoncheva are David Butt Philip as Licinius, Marina Prudenskaya as La Grande Vestale, Siyabonga Maqungo as Cinna and Adrian Sâmpetrean as Le Souverain Pontife, with the Staatsopernchor and Staatskapelle Berlin.   Sonya Yoncheva performs on September 26 and 30 and October 3, 6 and 9, with further performances on April 30 and May 6 and 8, 2027.  

SONYA YONCHEVA

September 26, 2026

LA VESTALE | SONYA YONCHEVA | STAATSOPER BERLIN

Sonya Yoncheva returns to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden on September 26 to make her role debut as Julia in Gaspare Spontini’s La Vestale, the first new production of the company’s 2026/27 season. Lydia Steier directs the new staging, with Carlo Rizzi conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin.   The role of Julia marks another major addition to Sonya Yoncheva’s repertoire. As the Vestal virgin who defies the sacred laws of her order for her love of the Roman general Licinius, she stands at the center of Spontini’s tragédie lyrique.   The Bulgarian soprano has become a much-loved presence at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, where her previous roles include Violetta in La traviata, Mimì in La bohème, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, and the title roles in Médée, Tosca and Norma.   Joining Sonya Yoncheva are David Butt Philip as Licinius, Marina Prudenskaya as La Grande Vestale, Siyabonga Maqungo as Cinna and Adrian Sâmpetrean as Le Souverain Pontife, with the Staatsopernchor and Staatskapelle Berlin.   Sonya Yoncheva performs on September 26 and 30 and October 3, 6 and 9, with further performances on April 30 and May 6 and 8, 2027.  

September 22, 2026

RUSALKA | RICARDA MERBETH | TOULOUSE

Ricarda Merbeth returns to the Opéra national du Capitole this evening to make her role debut as the Foreign Princess in Dvořák’s "Rusalka", which inaugurates the company’s 2026/27 season. She previously appeared in Toulouse as Elektra and as the Dyer’s Wife in "Die Frau ohne Schatten". Acclaimed as one of the leading Wagner and Strauss interpreters of her generation, Ricarda Merbeth adds the Foreign Princess to a repertoire encompassing some of the most demanding dramatic soprano roles, including Brünnhilde, Isolde, Senta, Elektra, the Dyer’s Wife, and Turandot. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts the revival of Stefano Poda’s production, first presented at the Opéra national du Capitole in 2022. Further performances take place on September 25, 27, and 30, and October 4.

Ricarda Merbeth

September 22, 2026

RUSALKA | RICARDA MERBETH | TOULOUSE

Ricarda Merbeth returns to the Opéra national du Capitole this evening to make her role debut as the Foreign Princess in Dvořák’s "Rusalka", which inaugurates the company’s 2026/27 season. She previously appeared in Toulouse as Elektra and as the Dyer’s Wife in "Die Frau ohne Schatten". Acclaimed as one of the leading Wagner and Strauss interpreters of her generation, Ricarda Merbeth adds the Foreign Princess to a repertoire encompassing some of the most demanding dramatic soprano roles, including Brünnhilde, Isolde, Senta, Elektra, the Dyer’s Wife, and Turandot. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts the revival of Stefano Poda’s production, first presented at the Opéra national du Capitole in 2022. Further performances take place on September 25, 27, and 30, and October 4.

September 16, 2026

LEAR | ROSIE ALDRIDGE | KOMISCHE OPER BERLIN

Rosie Aldridge opens her thrilling 2026/27 season this evening, making her role debut as Goneril in Aribert Reimann’s Lear, which launches the Komische Oper Berlin’s new season. Rosie Aldridge returns to the company, where she previously appeared in The Nose and, most recently, as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. She reunites with Barrie Kosky, who directs this new staging of Reimann’s powerful adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, presented at Berlin’s historic Tempelhof Airport and conducted by Nicholas Carter. 20th- and 21st-century opera plays a significant role in Rosie Aldridge’s wide-ranging repertoire, which includes Turnage’s Festen, Pintscher’s Das kalte Herz and Higgins’s The Monstrous Child. This role debut, along with her upcoming debut as Katerina Ismailova in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in Stuttgart, marks an important step in her progression towards some of the most complex roles in the Zwischenfach and dramatic-soprano repertoire, following recent role debuts as Kundry in Parsifal at Staatsoper Stuttgart and Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle. Performances take place this evening and on September 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 29, and October 1 and 3.

Rosie Aldridge (credit: Jacobus Snyman)

September 16, 2026

LEAR | ROSIE ALDRIDGE | KOMISCHE OPER BERLIN

Rosie Aldridge opens her thrilling 2026/27 season this evening, making her role debut as Goneril in Aribert Reimann’s Lear, which launches the Komische Oper Berlin’s new season. Rosie Aldridge returns to the company, where she previously appeared in The Nose and, most recently, as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. She reunites with Barrie Kosky, who directs this new staging of Reimann’s powerful adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, presented at Berlin’s historic Tempelhof Airport and conducted by Nicholas Carter. 20th- and 21st-century opera plays a significant role in Rosie Aldridge’s wide-ranging repertoire, which includes Turnage’s Festen, Pintscher’s Das kalte Herz and Higgins’s The Monstrous Child. This role debut, along with her upcoming debut as Katerina Ismailova in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in Stuttgart, marks an important step in her progression towards some of the most complex roles in the Zwischenfach and dramatic-soprano repertoire, following recent role debuts as Kundry in Parsifal at Staatsoper Stuttgart and Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle. Performances take place this evening and on September 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 29, and October 1 and 3.

Andrea Sanguineti

September 13, 2026

DON GIOVANNI | ANDREA SANGUINETI | ESSEN

On September 13, Andrea Sanguineti conducts Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Aalto-Musiktheater Essen, leading the opera at the house for the first time since becoming its General Music Director in the 2023/24 season. Andrea Sanguineti has previously conducted Don Giovanni at the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg, Oper Graz, Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Savonlinna Opera Festival, among others. In Essen, he leads Stefan Herheim’s production, featuring Massimo Cavalletti as Don Giovanni, Baurzhan Anderzhanov and Almas Svilpa sharing the role of Leporello, Idil Kutay as Donna Anna, Mykhailo Kushlyk as Don Ottavio, Jingjing Xu as Donna Elvira, Liliana de Sousa as Zerlina, Karel Martin Ludvik as Masetto and Tijl Faveyts as the Commendatore. Further performances take place on September 20, November 1 and 28.

Pietari Inkinen

September 10, 2026

AUTUMN PERFORMANCES | PIETARI INKINEN | SEOUL / COPENHAGEN

Pietari Inkinen begins his 2026/27 season with concerts in Seoul and Copenhagen, moving from the music of his native Finland to Wagner’s Ring.   On September 10, Pietari Inkinen reunites with the KBS Symphony Orchestra for its 830th Subscription Concert at Seoul’s Lotte Concert Hall. Boris Giltburg is the soloist in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2, framed by an all-Sibelius program featuring Pohjola’s Daughter and Symphonies Nos. 6 and 7.   A week later, on September 17 and 18, he conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in two concerts devoted to Wagner at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen. The program features excerpts from Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, the final two operas of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, a work closely associated with Pietari Inkinen following his performances conducting the complete Ring at the Bayreuth Festival. Joining Pietari Inkinen and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra are soprano Catherine Foster and tenor Magnus Vigilius, two of today’s foremost Wagner singers, both acclaimed for their appearances at the Bayreuth Festival.   The Copenhagen concerts renew Pietari Inkinen’s collaboration with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, which he last conducted in 2024 in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3. [Photo: Kaupo Kikkas]

Etienne Dupuis

September 04, 2026

DON CARLO / MACBETH | ETIENNE DUPUIS | VIENNA

Etienne Dupuis opens his 2026/27 season at the Wiener Staatsoper with two major and very different Verdi roles.   From September 4 to 16, the Canadian singer returns as Rodrigo di Posa in Don Carlo, reprising the role he sang when Kirill Serebrennikov’s production premiered at the Wiener Staatsoper in September 2024. Posa is perhaps the quintessential Verdi cavalier baritone: noble, idealistic and ultimately heroic. Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts a cast that also includes Vittorio Grigolo as Don Carlo, Elena Stikhina as Elisabetta, Günther Groissböck as Philip II and Eve-Maud Hubeaux as Eboli.   Later in the month comes a striking contrast, as he sings one of literature and opera’s most famous villains: the title role in Macbeth, with performances on September 24 and 27 and October 1 and 4. This marks his third engagement as Macbeth, following his role debut at Washington National Opera in 2024 and his return to the role just last month at the Festival de Lanaudière. Francesco Ivan Ciampa conducts Barrie Kosky’s production, with Anastasia Bartoli as Lady Macbeth, Alexander Vinogradov as Banco and Najmiddin Mavlyanov as Macduff.

August 27, 2026

UN BALLO IN MASCHERA | ERIKA GRIMALDI | EDINBURGH

On 27 and 29 August 2026, Erika Grimaldi returns to the Edinburgh International Festival as Amelia in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, presented by Zurich Opera in the UK production premiere of Adele Thomas's acclaimed staging.   Conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, the production features Piero Pretti as Riccardo, George Petean as Renato, Agnieszka Rehlis as Ulrica, and Katharina Konradi as Oscar.   Erika Grimaldi made her role debut as Amelia in this very production at the Zurich Opera House during the 2024/25 season under Gianandrea Noseda, before reprising the role earlier this year at the Teatre Principal de Maó. She now brings her acclaimed portrayal to Edinburgh, returning to the Festival where she previously appeared as Mimì in La bohème with the Teatro Regio Torino, also conducted by Noseda.

August 25, 2026

TOSCA | SONYA YONCHEVA | SOFIA

On August 25, Sonya Yoncheva returns to one of her defining roles, Floria Tosca, in a spectacular open-air performance inaugurating Gala in Sofia 2026, the festival she founded through her production company SY11 Events. Presented beneath the iconic dome of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the performance brings together two of today's foremost Puccini interpreters, with Jonas Kaufmann as Cavaradossi and Igor Golovatenko as Scarpia. They are joined by the forces of the Sofia Opera, conducted by Grigor Palikarov.   Two days later, on August 27, the Plovdiv-born soprano returns to the festival stage for Blue Night, an unprecedented crossover concert with violin superstar David Garrett, conducted by Leonardo Sini, celebrating music's ability to bridge genres, cultures, and generations.   Sonya concludes a remarkable August on August 30 at the Tonhalle Zürich, joining Piotr Beczała and the Swiss Orchestra under Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer for a special benefit gala in support of the Swiss Continence Foundation. The program features some of opera's most beloved arias and duets by Bizet, Puccini, Dvořák, and Giordano, including excerpts from Carmen, Tosca, Rusalka, and Andrea Chénier.  

Pietari Inkinen

August 14, 2026

WAGNER / SIBELIUS | PIETARI INKINEN | NEW ZEALAND

Pietari Inkinen returns to the podium of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, where he served as Music Director from 2008 to 2015, for two contrasting programs celebrating two composers central to his artistic identity.   In Radiance (14 August in Wellington and 21 August in Auckland), Pietari Inkinen reunites with celebrated New Zealand heldentenor Simon O'Neill for an all-Wagner program featuring excerpts from Tannhäuser and Parsifal. Internationally acclaimed for his interpretations of Wagner, Pietari Inkinen once again explores the composer's radiant orchestral writing and dramatic intensity alongside one of today's foremost Wagnerian tenors.   The following week, he leads Myths & Legends (15 August in Wellington, 22 August in Auckland, and 23 August in Hamilton), a program devoted entirely to Finnish music. Joined by NZSO Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen, he conducts the New Zealand premiere of Magnus Lindberg's Violin Concerto No. 2, alongside Sibelius' Pohjola's Daughter and the monumental Lemminkäinen Suite, two works inspired by the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala.