News
Lavinia Dames: Debut as Liù
On 15 February 2026 and 20 March 2026, the lyrical soprano Lavinia Dames will perform the role of Liù in Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot for the first time on stage at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Duisburg. Antonio Fogliani will conduct the Duisburger Philharmoniker and the Choir of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in a production by the stage director Huan-Hsiung Li, the set designer Jo-Shan Liang and the costume designer Hsuan-Wu Lai. Further colleagues on stage include Davide Battiniello (Kalaf), Oksana Kramereva (Turandot) and Sami Luttinen (Timur). At the beginning of this season, Lavinia already made her successful debuts as Marzelline in Fidelio and as Zeitel in Anatevka at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, being an ensemble member for more than 10 years.
(published on 11 February 2026)
Sarah Maria Sun: Bamberg Symphony
On 13 February 2026 the soprano Sarah Maria Sun will perform in concert with the Bamberg Symphony at the Stadttheater Fürth as well as on 14 February 2026 at the Konzerthalle Bamberg. The programme presents Jörg Widmann‘s Versuch über die Fuge under the baton of clarinetist and composer Jörg Widmann, sharing the podium with oboe player Barbara Bode. Further works of the programme will be Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy‘s Overture The Hebrids (Fingal’s Cave) op. 26, Widmann’s Paraphrase on Mendelssohn’s Wedding March, Mendelssohn’s Andante from his Clarinet Sonata E-flat major and his Symphony No. 1 c-minor op. 11. Ilian Garnetz will play the solo violin. Sarah Maria Sun has performed Versuch über die Fuge already many times to great acclaim together with Jörg Widmann and she knows this work like no other interpreter. She will sing further performances of this piece with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover and with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic in future months.
(published on 10 February 2026)
Sofia Jernberg: Kunstpreis Berlin 2026
The vocal artist and composer Sofia Jernberg will be awarded the Kunstpreis Berlin 2026 in the category Music by the Akademie der Künste Berlin. This decision has been made by an expert panel, represented by the composers Carola Bauckholt and Iris ter Schiphorst, the board of directors of the Music Section of the Akademie der Künste as well as Christine Fischer, the artistic director of the Stuttgart Institution Musik der Jahrhunderte. We congratulate Sofia Jernberg on this very special award that includes prize money of 5.000€. The award ceremony will be taking place on 18 March 2026 in the Akademie der Künste Berlin. The Große Kunstpreis Berlin will be given this year to the remarkable New York-based singer and artist Meredith Monk.
(published on 9 February 2026)
Tora Augestad: Concerts in the Arctic North
On 12 February 2026, the mezzo-soprano Tora Augestad will give a concert with the Arctic Philharmonic Sinfonietta at the Stormen Konserthus in the Norwegian city of Bodø and on 19 February 2026 she will open the Arctic Chamber Music Festival in Arctic Svalbard sounding the death knell of the polar night. With the performance of the spring songs Im wunderschönen Monat Mai by Reinbert de Leeuw , the musicians - under the baton of Christian Eggen - will herald the start of the upcoming long summer nights. Reinbert de Leeuw has written a delicate re-interpretation of songs by Robert Schumann (Dichterliebe) and Franz Schubert (Winterreise). Tora Augestad recently has recorded de Leeuw’s Lied cycle with the Oslo Philharmonic, its CD release is scheduled for spring 2026.
(published on 2 February 2026)
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