Cremona, Potsdam, Montreal, London, Nuremberg

The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis by Cavalli at the Monteverdi Festival in Cremona

The 43rd Monteverdi Festival at the Ponchielli Theatre in Cremona presented The Wedding of Thetis and Peleus, Francesco Cavalli’s first opera, in its very first modern staging. Conductor Antonio Greco’s musical reconstruction — which involved filling in the gaps in the score using the only known manuscript source — made it possible to present a complete performance of the work. The opera was originally composed for the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice for the 1639 Carnival. The twenty-eight characters in Orazio Persiani’s libretto were portrayed by a cast of young singers, several of whom were winners of the Cavalli Monteverdi Competition. Director Petra Deidda had them perform mostly at the front of the stage, where the orchestra could also be seen by the audience — a staging that encouraged full immersion in this theatrical celebration.

With Valentina Ferrarese, Ferran Albrich, Danilo Pastore, Angelo Testori, Alessandro Ravasio, Jorge Navarro Colorado, Mara Gaudenzi, Marzia Marzo, Benedetta Zanotto, Arrigo Liverani Minzoni, Matteo Laconi, Giacomo Pieracci, Maximiliano Danta, Gaia Ammaturo, Alessandro Simonato, Marcello Zinzani, Antonio Greco and the Cremona Antiqua Orchester and Choir.

In Potsdam, Baroque music under Raphael’s gaze

A small event at the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, where countertenor Andreas Scholl made his debut, accompanied by flautist Dorothee Oberlinger and harpsichordist Olga Watts. They performed a programme of arias by Handel, Caldara, Corelli, Bach and Telemann. The concert took place in the Raphael Hall of the Orangery at the Palace, a space bathed in natural light and designed by Frederick William IV. This hall houses a unique collection of around fifty copies of Raphael’s paintings, providing an extraordinary setting for these Baroque pieces.

With Andreas Scholl, Dorothee Oberlinger and Olga Watts.

Opening of the Montreal Baroque Festival

The Montréal Baroque Festival opened in the chapel of the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Church in Montréal with Johann Sebastian Bach’s Ascension Oratorio, performed by the Ensemble Caprice and the Festival’s Grand Choir, conducted by Matthias Maute. The solo parts were performed by Ellen (Len) Torrie (soprano), Nicholas Burns (countertenor), Charles Daniels (tenor), and Alasdair Campbell (baritone). The traditional Baroque parade on Saint-Paul Street, scheduled for earlier that day, had to be canceled due to the weather.

With Len Torrie, Nicholas Burns, Charles Daniels, Alasdair Campbell, Matthias Maute, the Ensemble Caprice and the Festival’s Grand Choir.

Franco Fagioli in London with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera of Versailles

The countertenor and the musicians of the Royal Opera Orchestra of the Palace of Versailles, conducted by Stefan Plewniak, made their London debut at St Martin-in-the-Fields Anglican Church with the programme “Arias for Velluti, the Last Castrato”.

With the Orchestra of the Royal Opera of Versailles, Stefan Plewniak and Franco Fagioli.

The Mass in B Minor to Close the 2026 Bachfest in Leipzig

In keeping with tradition, the 2026 edition of the Leipzig Bach Festival concluded with a performance of the Mass in B minor by the St Thomas Choir and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, conducted by St Thomas’s cantor, Andreas Reize. This mass, composed of 27 distinct movements, was written by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig over several creative periods. It incorporates movements from earlier cantatas and was finally completed in 1749, just under a year before Bach’s death.

With Dorothee Mields, Miriam Feuersinger, Ulrike Malotta, David Fischer, Manuel Walser, Andreas Reize, the Thomanerchor Leipzig and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

In Nuremberg, the Grand Musical Night opening the 75th edition of Musikfest ION

The ION Festival in Nuremberg opened its 75th-anniversary edition with a Grand Musical Night: three concerts performed at three different venues, each repeated three times, offering the audience a musical journey from 7:00 p.m. to midnight. In the Rathaussaal, soprano Maayan Licht, accompanied by the {oh!} Orkiestra ensemble, conducted by Martyna Pastuszka, drew a full house with a repertoire blending the works of Handel, Vivaldi, and Porpora, as did the Solomon’s Knot ensemble at St. Sebald’s Church with Bach’s cantatas, and the Chanticleer ensemble at St. Egidius Church in a program dedicated to vocal music in all its forms.

With Maayan Licht, Martyna Pastuszka, the ensemble {oh!} Orkiestra, the ensemble Solomon’s Knot and the ensemble Chanticleer.