Opera Now

Opera Now captures the drama, colour and vitality of one of the most powerful of all the performing arts, showcasing the creative spirit of opera both on stage and behind the scenes. In addition, our 32-year magazine archive is now available to subscribers to our ‘digital’ and ‘print & digital’ packages, allowing you to explore more than 270 issues of opera history.

Opera Now

The inner life of singers

LEA SHAW Mezzo-soprano

NEWS & NOTES • WNO orchestra takes industrial action against pay cut

News in Brief

Welsh National Opera announces joint directors

John Eliot Gardiner leaves Monteverdi and sets up new ensemble

Sky Arts Awards recognise achievements in opera

IN Opera Now SPRING 2025

The Sound Booth • Certain repertoire has the weight of history on its shoulders, but we should remember that previous singers were only interpreters

Prompter • Does John Adams still ‘own’ Nixon in China?

Hidden treasures: a letter from Palazzetto Bru Zane • Palazzetto Bru Zane was founded in 2006 for the research and development of neglected French scores. Now, as it prepares for a busy 2025 season, Stephen Pritchard explores the Venetian palazzetto from where it operates and looks at its research into neglected works of Bizet

A culture of fear • Many operas hold traumatic themes, but how does this affect the singers on stage? Rosie Middleton investigates the staging of opera with intimate and traumatic scenes and the wider culture around singers’ psychological care in the industry

Star quality • This September, soprano Nadine Sierra returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto, nearly a decade after her debut in the role. She speaks about her early life, frustrations with the industry and reflects on the deeper truths behind the music

Resurrecting an English rarity • As Wexford Festival Opera prepares to stage Stanford’s English satire The Critic, we explore the work’s history and its place in the composer’s operatic output

A Puccini Century: 10 defining moments • Looking back on 10 key operatic moments in 100 years since Puccini’s death

Embracing the elements • The male soprano Bruno de Sá reflects on the themes of identity, self-expression and emotional depth explored in his new album, Mille Affetti

Britten – Peter Grimes • Exploring the nuances of the character of Peter Grimes, tenor Issachah Savage suggests multiple parallels with our contemporary society and inner demons

The power of contemplation • For his debut album, baritone Huw Montague Rendall brings a new perspective to the roles that have helped him through challenging times in his life. Welcoming the full spectrum of emotion, the singer explores the inner world of his favourite characters

Opera Now LIVE REVIEWS

Give the gift of music this christmas

Worldly wisdom • Celebrating his 60th birthday, tenor Roberto Alagna looks back on 40 years of opera with a new profile album

New releases

Opera Now CHOICE

Spotlight Winter 2024

Behind the scenes with… • A newly established career path, intimacy directors are becoming an ever-more frequent feature of opera productions. Hannah Goalstone shares her journey into the profession

The Opera Now Quiz • Do you know your Verdi from your Wagner? Test your wits in this month’s set of fiendish questions for the dedicated opera buff (with a clue or two in the pictures)

Discover more online at OperaNow.co.uk

MARINA COSTA-JACKSON – SOPRANO • Performance anxiety tarnished Marina Costa-Jackson’s early career. But learning to live alongside it has transformed her experience on stage