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November 07, 2026

ANDREA SANGUINETI | “THE NUTCRACKER” | ESSEN

Andrea Sanguineti conducts Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” at the Aalto-Theater in Essen on November 7, leading Aalto Ballett Essen in Youri Vámos’s imaginative reinterpretation of the Christmas classic. Originally created in 1988, the choreography combines elements of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” with Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” transporting the story to the snow-covered streets of Victorian London. The ballet is part of a busy season for Andrea Sanguineti in Essen, where the Italian conductor serves as General Music Director. His engagements at the Aalto-Theater also include Korngold’s “Das Wunder der Heliane,” Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” and Wagner’s “Lohengrin.” Other performances: November 29; December 6, 10, 12, 30; January 9.

Andrea Sanguineti

November 07, 2026

ANDREA SANGUINETI | “THE NUTCRACKER” | ESSEN

Andrea Sanguineti conducts Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” at the Aalto-Theater in Essen on November 7, leading Aalto Ballett Essen in Youri Vámos’s imaginative reinterpretation of the Christmas classic. Originally created in 1988, the choreography combines elements of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” with Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” transporting the story to the snow-covered streets of Victorian London. The ballet is part of a busy season for Andrea Sanguineti in Essen, where the Italian conductor serves as General Music Director. His engagements at the Aalto-Theater also include Korngold’s “Das Wunder der Heliane,” Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” and Wagner’s “Lohengrin.” Other performances: November 29; December 6, 10, 12, 30; January 9.

November 06, 2026

ELEKTRA | RICARDA MERBETH | BERLIN

Ricarda Merbeth returns to the Deutsche Oper Berlin in the title role of Richard Strauss’s “Elektra,” with performances on November 6, 14, and 17. Juraj Valčuha conducts Kirsten Harms’s production, with Okka von der Damerau as Klytämnestra, Ann-Kathrin Niemczyk as Chrysothemis, Tobias Kehrer as Orest, and Michael J. Scott as Aegisth. Ricarda Merbeth made her role debut as Elektra at Teatro alla Scala in Milan in November 2018, in Patrice Chéreau’s production conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi. She has since performed the role at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Opéra national du Capitole in Toulouse, the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, and the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki. The German soprano has a long history with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she has appeared in numerous leading roles, including Senta in “Der fliegende Holländer,” Elsa in “Lohengrin,” Brünnhilde and Gutrune in Wagner’s “Ring,” Turandot, Venus and Elisabeth in “Tannhäuser,” Helena in “Die ägyptische Helena,” and Isolde in “Tristan und Isolde.”

Ricarda Merbeth

November 06, 2026

ELEKTRA | RICARDA MERBETH | BERLIN

Ricarda Merbeth returns to the Deutsche Oper Berlin in the title role of Richard Strauss’s “Elektra,” with performances on November 6, 14, and 17. Juraj Valčuha conducts Kirsten Harms’s production, with Okka von der Damerau as Klytämnestra, Ann-Kathrin Niemczyk as Chrysothemis, Tobias Kehrer as Orest, and Michael J. Scott as Aegisth. Ricarda Merbeth made her role debut as Elektra at Teatro alla Scala in Milan in November 2018, in Patrice Chéreau’s production conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi. She has since performed the role at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Opéra national du Capitole in Toulouse, the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, and the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki. The German soprano has a long history with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she has appeared in numerous leading roles, including Senta in “Der fliegende Holländer,” Elsa in “Lohengrin,” Brünnhilde and Gutrune in Wagner’s “Ring,” Turandot, Venus and Elisabeth in “Tannhäuser,” Helena in “Die ägyptische Helena,” and Isolde in “Tristan und Isolde.”

November 06, 2026

SIBELIUS AND WAGNER | PIETARI INKINEN | SINGAPORE

Pietari Inkinen makes his debut with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on November 6 at the Esplanade Concert Hall, conducting a program devoted to Sibelius and Wagner. The Finnish conductor leads Sibelius’s “Finlandia,” featuring the Singapore Symphony Chorus and Youth Choir, “Lemminkäinen’s Return,” and a selection of orchestral songs with Finnish soprano Johanna Rusanen. The second half is dedicated to scenes from Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung,” arranged by Pietari Inkinen himself, including Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, the Funeral March, and Brünnhilde’s Immolation Scene. The concert brings together two composers central to Pietari Inkinen’s repertoire. His close association with Wagner includes conducting the complete “Ring” cycle at the Bayreuth Festival, while the music of his fellow Finn Jean Sibelius has been a constant presence throughout his international career. The Singapore debut follows Pietari Inkinen’s opening concerts of I Pomeriggi Musicali’s 2026/27 season in Milan. Upcoming engagements include concerts with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra in November and December, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in December, and an all-Wagner program with soprano Ricarda Merbeth and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai in Turin on January 14 and 15, among others. [Photo: Kaupo Kikkas]

Pietari Inkinen

November 06, 2026

SIBELIUS AND WAGNER | PIETARI INKINEN | SINGAPORE

Pietari Inkinen makes his debut with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on November 6 at the Esplanade Concert Hall, conducting a program devoted to Sibelius and Wagner. The Finnish conductor leads Sibelius’s “Finlandia,” featuring the Singapore Symphony Chorus and Youth Choir, “Lemminkäinen’s Return,” and a selection of orchestral songs with Finnish soprano Johanna Rusanen. The second half is dedicated to scenes from Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung,” arranged by Pietari Inkinen himself, including Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, the Funeral March, and Brünnhilde’s Immolation Scene. The concert brings together two composers central to Pietari Inkinen’s repertoire. His close association with Wagner includes conducting the complete “Ring” cycle at the Bayreuth Festival, while the music of his fellow Finn Jean Sibelius has been a constant presence throughout his international career. The Singapore debut follows Pietari Inkinen’s opening concerts of I Pomeriggi Musicali’s 2026/27 season in Milan. Upcoming engagements include concerts with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra in November and December, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in December, and an all-Wagner program with soprano Ricarda Merbeth and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai in Turin on January 14 and 15, among others. [Photo: Kaupo Kikkas]

November 05, 2026

IRIS | ERIKA GRIMALDI | TURIN

Erika Grimaldi makes her debut in the title role of Pietro Mascagni’s Iris at the Teatro Regio Torino, marking her first appearance in an opera by the composer. The new production, conducted by Andrea Battistoni and directed by Daniele Menghini, opens on November 5, with further performances on November 10 and 17. The cast also includes Angelo Villari as Osaka, Roberto Frontali as Kyoto, and Luca Tittoto as Il Cieco. The engagement brings the Italian soprano back to the theater where she enjoyed one of her first major successes as Mimì in Puccini’s La bohème in 2008. Since then, she has returned regularly in leading roles including Fiordiligi in “Così fan tutte,” Donna Anna in “Don Giovanni,” Mathilde in “Guillaume Tell,” Desdemona in “Otello,” Nedda in “Pagliacci,” and Aida, to name but a few. More recently, Erika Grimaldi returned as Mimì in 2023 and opened the theater’s 2024/25 season in the title role of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. Her debut in “Iris” adds another major Italian dramatic role to her repertoire and continues her longstanding artistic relationship with the Teatro Regio.

October 30, 2026

MEDEA | SONYA YONCHEVA | NEW YORK

Sonya Yoncheva sings the title role in the Met’s first revival of David McVicar’s production of Luigi Cherubini’s “Medea” on October 30 and November 4, 7, 10, 13, and 19. Carlo Rizzi conducts, with Michael Spyres as Giasone, Elena Villalón as Glauce, Victoria Karkacheva as Neris, and Alexandros Stavrakakis as Creonte. Sonya Yoncheva sings the role in Italian for the first time. She made her role debut in Cherubini’s original French version, “Médée,” at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in 2018. Reviewing her Berlin performance, the Financial Times praised her “extraordinary range of colours and passion.” A longtime favorite with Met audiences, Sonya Yoncheva made her house debut as Gilda in “Rigoletto” in 2013. She has since sung Mimì in “La bohème,” Violetta in “La traviata,” Desdemona in “Otello,” Élisabeth de Valois in “Don Carlos,” Lisa in “Pikovaya Dama,” Maddalena di Coigny in “Andrea Chénier,” and the title roles in “Tosca,” “Luisa Miller,” “Iolanta,” “Fedora,” and “Norma.”  

Andrea Sanguineti

October 25, 2026

RIGOLETTO | ANDREA SANGUINETI | ESSEN

Andrea Sanguineti conducts Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Aalto-Theater in Essen on October 25 and November 8 and 14. The Italian conductor, who serves as General Music Director of the Aalto Musiktheater and the Essener Philharmoniker, leads performances of Kateryna Sokolova’s production, which premiered in September 2025. The cast includes Claudio Otelli in the title role, Alejandro del Angel as the Duke of Mantua, Natalia Labourdette as Gilda, Almas Svilpa as Sparafucile, and Anna Lapkovskaja as Maddalena. Inspired by the world of Oscar Wilde and late-Victorian London, Kateryna Sokolova’s staging relocates Verdi’s tragedy to an opulent society in which cruelty and decadence coexist with profound loneliness. The production features sets by Nikolaus Webern and costumes by Constanza Meza-Lopehandía.

Domingo Hindoyan

October 22, 2026

BERNSTEIN / GUBAIDULINA / TCHAIKOVSKY | DOMINGO HINDOYAN | UTAH SYMPHONY

Domingo Hindoyan joins the Utah Symphony for three concerts on October 22, 23, and 24. The first takes place at the BYU Concert Hall in Provo, followed by two performances at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City. Violinist Maria Ioudenitch joins him for Leonard Bernstein’s “Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium),” a work inspired by the ancient Greek dialogue on love. The program opens with Sofia Gubaidulina’s “Fairytale Poem” and concludes with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 5.” The concerts follow the October 17 opening of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” at LA Opera, Domingo Hindoyan’s first production as the company’s Richard Seaver Music Director. He also continues as Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.  

GEORGE GAGNIDZE

October 22, 2026

TOSCA | GEORGE GAGNIDZE | SHANGHAI

George Gagnidze makes his Teatro La Fenice debut as Scarpia when the company brings Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” to Shanghai on October 22 and 24. Renato Palumbo conducts Joan Anton Rechi’s production at the Shanghai Grand Opera House. One of today’s most authoritative interpreters of Scarpia, the Georgian baritone has sung the role at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, the Wiener Staatsoper, Opéra national de Paris, Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Teatro San Carlo. Reviewing his portrayal, the *Los Angeles Times* wrote that George Gagnidze “made the biggest impression with his booming, authoritarian Scarpia, who could also ooze false gallantry.” *The New York Times* described him as “an exceptionally menacing Scarpia, singing with robust, earthy power and seductive lyricism when the villain turns on the charm.”

Domingo Hindoyan

October 22, 2026

BERNSTEIN / GUBAIDULINA / TSCHAIKOWSKY | DOMINGO HINDOYAN | UTAH SYMPHONY

Domingo Hindoyan takes the podium with the Utah Symphony for three concerts on October 22, 23, and 24, pairing Bernstein’s “Serenade” with works by Gubaidulina and Tchaikovsky. The first performance takes place at BYU Concert Hall in Provo, followed by two concerts at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City. The program opens with Sofia Gubaidulina’s “Fairytale Poem,” followed by Leonard Bernstein’s “Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium),” featuring violinist Maria Ioudenitch as soloist. Inspired by Plato’s reflections on love, the work precedes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, which closes the evening. The Utah Symphony engagements come shortly after the October 17 opening of Bizet’s “Carmen” at LA Opera, marking Domingo Hindoyan’s first production as the company’s Richard Seaver Music Director. The Venezuelan-born conductor is also Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.