The Berlin stories
Madison Schindele surveys the endlessly diverse offerings of Berlin’s 2026-27 opera season.
Lydia Steier
6 pieces since 2015 — at 2 companies, most often at Oper Stuttgart.
6
pieces
2
companies
12
years
By company
Gorgon wild
Iain Bell and Lydia Steier‘s Medusa stuns in Brussels.
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Echo 72
An opera about the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics was never going to be an easy task.
Early onset dementia
Nothing says “diva” like an insane recital program.
Coups de theatre
This month, both the Paris Opéra and the Opéra-Comique are mounting seminal works about unhinged anti-heroines who meet their downfall after falling head-over-heels for an unavailable, deeply unattainable man – Salome, in the case of the Opéra; and Armide, in the case of the Opéra-Comique.
Headless “Girl” in a topless bar
Today’s listener has heard the scores of the classic Westerns that borrowed from Puccini (and Wagner!) to create the sound of the myth of the West.
(Mighty real)
A problem with scheduling an opera-intensive trip is that you don’t always hear and see the shows in optimum order.
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
