Found for you in the newspapers: THE SATURDAY PRESS (15. NOVEMBER 2025)
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On the death of opera singer Donald McIntyre:
On the death of the opera singer Donald McIntyre: The Gentleman of Bayreuth Sir Donald McIntyre was often seen at the Bayreuth Festival, including as “Wotan”. The New Zealand opera singer died in Munich on November 13th at the age of 91.
The City of Vienna will save on scholarships in the cultural sector in the future
From 2026, as a result of budget consolidation, there will only be 48 work grants instead of the previous 84 – the IG Freie Theaterarbeit sees “dangerous drying up”
DerStandard.at.story.3000000.stadtspart
Vienna/State Opera
11/12/25 “Faust in the Repertoire” Vienna State Opera
That would be a production of “Faust,” if the Doctor’s Mephistophelian rejuvenation would magically manifest itself in the audience present: every octogenarian would then leave the State Opera as a dashing youth – and the Haus am Ring would be sold out for years because of such a staged miracle. But such miracles are not even granted to a “theater adventurer” like Frank Castorf.
Wien
Unsuk Chin: “For me, music has no boundaries
The Korean composer Unsuk Chin shows how a contemporary opera can inspire a wide audience. From November 17, 2025 you can see this for yourself in “Alice in Wonderland” at the Theater an Wien. A conversation about their hard journey, shocking teachers and the impact of K-Pop.
Wien
The people of Budapest in the music club: “Joseph’s Legend” in reeling ecstasy (Paid item)
The Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer played Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Strauss’ biblical ballet with Veronika Eberle: orgiastic explosions of color.
DiePresse.com.josephslegende
Ruth Cerha at Wien Modern: The meaning of life? Dance and love! (Paid item)
Since her father’s death, Ruth Cerha has worked on the musical station theater “Night Doesn’t Know About Day”: a semi-successful premiere.
Art Curia defends planned recording of Teodor Currentzis
Chairman Peter Noever believes that art cannot be taken over by politics, but is based solely on the pillars of “humanity, diversity and freedom”… His appreciation appears unacceptable from a Ukrainian perspective: In view of the war, Russian “soft power” is turning into an enemy weapon and must therefore be canceled, the best-known Ukrainian rock singer Svyatoslav Vakarchuk recently explained to the APA. The Ukrainian ambassador in Vienna, Wassyl Chymynez, had previously asked those responsible via ORF to make decisions “very accurately and orderly”. Even within the Curia itself, the proposal does not seem to have met with unqualified approval. The composer Olga Neuwirth, for example, told the APA when asked that she understands it “when one critically questions Mr. Currentzis’ planned award with the highest cultural award in the country of Austria.” However, she is “not involved in this matter at all as she has not attended the meetings for over a year for various reasons”.
DerStandard.at.story3000000.currentzis
Berlin
Teatr Wielki in the Philharmonie: Despondent voices from the heroic field (paid item)
To celebrate Poland’s national holiday, the Teatr Wielki will be performing at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall. The concert performance of Karol Szymanowski‘s “King Roger” is a real rarity.
DerTagesspiegel.de.theatregrand
Late Berlin encounter with Szymanowski’s King Roger Between Faith and Desire
One can find it very astonishing that a symbolist modern masterpiece like Karol Szymanowski’s “King Roger” (1926) has never been staged in a city like Berlin – with three major opera houses. This was recalled on Wednesday evening in the Philharmonie by moderator Frederik Hanssen, who, as the music editor of a large local daily newspaper, has been following all premieres for over 30 years and now welcomed the audience from the podium to explain what the piece is about.
Berlin/State Opera
Director Lydia Steier: Seduction and reflection belong together (Paid item)
Berlin. Lydia Steier stages Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann” at the State Opera as a disturbingly sensual artist’s opera. A conversation
BerlinerMorgenpost.de.staatsoper
Nuremberg
75 years of the ION music festival: top stars and more tickets for the big anniversary
The ION music festival in Nuremberg is celebrating its anniversary season with top international stars. Around 30 concerts will take place from June 19 to July 5, 2026. You should note these highlights of the program.
BR-Klassik.de.nuernberg
Mainz
Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” from November 29th at the Staatstheater Mainz
A warm fairy tale for the soul in which generosity triumphs over spite: With Cinderella In 1817, Gioachino Rossini wrote a humorous version of the famous story of Cinderella, full of confusion and lively music. Director Stephanie Kuhlmann, who lives in Mainz with her warm-hearted and touching productions of youth operas humanoid and The Snow Queen not only thrilled a young audience, the work is now being brought to the stage of the Great House.
Zürich
A long wait for the resurrection: Mahler’s Second with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
bachtrack.com.de.kritikmahler
Acoustic total work of art: Paavo Järvi with Gustav Mahler’s “Resurrection Symphony” (Paid item)
The Tonhalle Orchestra and its music director have arrived at a particularly demanding work in their Mahler cycle: in the second, the entire concert hall must be transformed into a stage. This is achieved masterfully in Zurich.
NeueZuercherZeitung.ch.paavo
Bayreuth
Richard Wagner Festival: Forced austerity in Bayreuth: cuts on the festival’s anniversary
It wasn’t that long ago that director Katharina Wagner presented a fairly impressive anniversary program for the 2026 Bayreuth Festival. When the opera spectacle turns 150 years old, all of the operas by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) that are part of the Bayreuth standard repertoire should be played – plus the early work “Rienzi”. A total of eleven operas should be on the anniversary schedule.
express-msn.de
CD review
“Argenore” by Wilhelmine of Bayreuth reflects the corruption of the Prussian court
During my first stay in Bayreuth in 2003, I bought a CD with Wilhelmine’s works in the now defunct Margrafen bookstore. The CD was in a tin can with a portrait of the composer on the lid. There was only one aria from “Argenore”. I’m all the more pleased about the release of the four-CD album with the complete work, albeit in a shorter, four-hour-plus version (the original lasted 6 hours).
By Jolanta Lada- Zielke
Klassik-begeistert.de
Vienna/concert hall
Konzerthaus Vienna: brass music at the top level with an international guest star cast
“Birthday Bash” with Gansch & Roses made for a wonderful evening that ended with a standing ovation.
Kurier.at.blasmusik
Amsterdam
Tchaikovsky in Amsterdam: True love attracts, not out
After several problematic works, director Dmitri Tcherniakov achieves another great success with Peter Tchaikovsky’s “Maid of Orléans” at the Amsterdam Opera. The conductor Valentin Uryupin is outstanding.
FrankfurterAllgemeine.net.feuilleton.orleans
Sound recordings
New recordings by Charles Mackerras – The Complete Warner Classics Edition (Podcast)
radiodrei.de.program.schema
Links to English-language articles
News
Marina Rebeka, Asmik Grigorian & Nicholas Brownlee Lead International Opera Award Winners
operawire.com.rebeka.brownlee
Berlin
A Byzantine affair: Szymanowski’s King Roger in Berlin
bachtrack.com.de.reviewopera
Piacenza
Municipal Theater of Piacenza 2024-25 Review: La Traviata
London
Dead Man Walking, English National Opera review – simply stunning
Heggie’s Death Row opera has a superb cast led by Christine Rice and Michael Mayes
TheArts.desk,com.index
Bavarian Radio SO/Rattle review –
consistently fine and fervent playing Janacek’s spine-tingling Taras Bulba was paired with Bruckner’s 7th in an evening of illumination and excitement
TheGuardian.com.music202511.rattle
Vivid Janáček and flowing Bruckner from Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
bachtrack.com.review.rattle
New York
The Frick Collection Concert Season 2025-26 Review:
Sonnambula, Ensemble-in-Residence; Davóne Tines, Bass-Baritone
operawire.com.frick.collection
Los Angeles
Comic relief
Pacific Opera Project’s high-spirited revival of Fra Diavolo is both therapy and an escape
Serial
In Less Than Five Minutes, Get To Know Soprano Jane Burnell
Recordings
Schubert 4 Hands album review – affectionately searching accounts from two pianists in emotional synergy
Leif Ove Andsnes and Bertrand Chamayou find lyrical intimacy and finely tuned emotional balance in Schubert’s late masterpieces for four hands
TheGuardian.com.music
Ballet / Dance
Salzburg
Choreographic Platform Austria shows outstanding local dance in Salzburg
DerStandard.at.story.3000000.choreographic
Speech theater
Vienna/Playhouse
Sara Ostertag’s new Teata: Iranian-Austrian close contact
The director opens her new theater in the Schauspielhaus Vienna with Amir Gudarzi’s novel “The End is Near” in a convincing production including a granulate playground DerStandard.at.story3000000.saraostertag
Migration in the sandpit: “The end is near”, disappointment in the theater (Paid item)
Premiere: Losing your footing in a sea of Styrofoam lenses (Paid item)
Sara Ostertag brought Amir Gudarzi’s novel “The End is Near” in an abstract setting to the theater stage
Kurier.at.saraostertag.schauspielhaus
Exhibitions/art
Vienna public prosecutor seizes Klimt painting
A portrait of Gustav Klimt, which was lost for decades and shows a Ghanaian prince, has resurfaced in Vienna and was most recently seized by the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office (StA). Hungary lays claim to the work, which was not known to be by the great artist when it was transported to Vienna.
meinBezirk.at.wien
Vienna/Mumok
“Exude hospitality”: Fatima Hellberg wants to open the Mumok
The new general director wants to usher in a new era with a big show “Terminal Piece” from summer 2026. She wants to put more focus on the collection and there is a chief curator DerStandard.at.story3000000hospitality
Movies/TV
Whoopi Goldberg
Superstar broke? “Can’t afford” pension
Whoopi Goldberg celebrated global success as an actress, today she polarizes as a TV star. But her eventful life remains marked by disruptions. Whoopi Goldberg (70) celebrates her 70th birthday on Thursday, but her retirement is a long way off. Not because the Hollywood legend doesn’t want to: she would actually like to cut back, as she revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “But it’s not possible yet. I just can’t afford it,” Goldberg openly admitted. “I have to keep paying my bills.”
Heute.at
media
Austria
Huge fuss about short fake news in “Standard”
An embarrassing false report from the “Standard” is currently causing waves: The self-proclaimed quality newspaper accused former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of connections with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in an online article on Thursday. The title: “Epstein emails: Trump advisor brokered meetings between Kurz and Epstein.” The problem: The “Standard” report turned out to be outright fake news. The chats between Epstein and former Trump advisor Steven Bannon had been misattributed and interpreted by an overzealous editor. Kurz immediately denied the report: “This morning the Standard spread the false report that there were efforts to arrange a meeting between Epstein and me in 2018. This is completely fictional. I have now taken legal action.” After the threat of lawsuits, “Der Standard” changed the article completely and made a 180-degree turnaround.
Oe24.at
Political
Merz announcement to Zelensky: Ukrainians should stay at home instead of coming to Germany
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has advocated that young men from Ukraine in particular should “do service in their country” instead of leaving for Germany. The Chancellor also confirmed the government’s plans according to which refugees from Ukraine should no longer be entitled to citizen’s benefit in the future. Instead, they should receive lower payments according to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. With a view to Ukrainians living in Germany, Merz also announced changes so that “the incentives to work are greater than the idea of staying in the transfer system”.
Oe24.at
He stumbled over his hubris. Mahrer-Aus finally moves the ÖVP power base to Lower Austria
The Economic Association – previously an important center of power for the ÖVP – has been massively weakened. Johanna Mikl-Leitner is now in charge in the party. “If you don’t like the cards that are on the table, then overturn the table” – based on Frank Underwood (“House of Cards”), Johanna Mikl-Leitner took the ÖVP’s hand in her hand. In the end, multi-official Mahrer also stumbled over his hubris. First, he took the country hostage for months because of the Economic Chamber election, which was important for the ÖVP business association, torpedoed two coalition negotiations and even forced a chancellor to resign.
Heute.at.
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Bottom line
Bus crashes into bus stop in Stockholm – several dead
The bus driver was arrested, SVT and the newspaper “Expressen” reported, among others. According to media reports, an out-of-service double-decker bus crashed into a bus stop in the afternoon. There were no passengers on board at the time. Recordings from the radio station SVT showed numerous ambulances, fire engines and patrol cars on site. The scene of the accident is near the Tekniska Högskolan subway station, near which, among other things, the Royal Technical University KTH is located.
Oe24.at
Austria
Escape to the South! Palm beach instead of harbor wall: “He’s doing well”
To 40,000 victims of the Klagenfurt millionaire fraudster Benjamin H., it seems like a mockery: Instead of being in prison, the 28-year-old has probably been sitting comfortably in the sun for a long time – because there has been no trace since his escape, despite a search and an arrest warrant. “He’s doing well,” assures an acquaintance.
Austria
Accident dispute escalates: Lugner City is suing Simone for 14,000 euros
Simone Lugner, the widow of master builder Richard Lugner, who died in August 2024, is again faced with a lawsuit from Lugner City. The reason is a traffic accident that she caused in his company car a few days after her husband’s death.
Oe24.at
