» TWO TENDENCIES ARE CLEAR: THE EXTENT TO which festivals now, perhaps more so than opera houses, are committed to opera as a forum for positive cultural, political, and interdisciplinary exchange and secondly, how Canadian singers are taking part in this in a major way. Indeed, almost every festival I visited this summer features one or more Canadian singers, not to mention Canadian stage designer Michael Levine, who was named “Set Designer of the Year” by Opernwelt magazine for his Madame Butterfly at the 2023 Bregenz Festival.
Festival at Aix-en-Provence - July 4 - July 27, 2023
Now celebrating its 75th year, the Aix festival has maintained a commitment to unfussy (no black tie, no long dress) and highest-quality programming. In addition, this year, a youth rate was introduced for audiences aged 8 to 30; tickets were offered at 30% off the regular price for all categories and for the entire program.
The opening performance of Kurt Weill’s at the Theatre de l’Archeveche marked Berlin Schaubuhne director Thomas Ostermeier’s first foray into opera and waspatchwork void of logic but with lots of gags and high jinks that the virtuoso theater troupe pulls off with brio.
