Opera

The Athens and Thessaloniki concert halls will be screening the Metropolitan Opera's production of Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata" this weekend, conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin and directed by Tony Award-winner Michael Mayer. Soprano Diana Damrau plays the tragic heroine, Violetta, and tenor Juan Diego Florez is Alfredo, her hapless lover.

It took three-and-a-half months for conductor and composer Bujor Hoinic to start the production of the opera "Troy" from scratch and complete it. "Troy" is gearing up to become one of the most important productions of Turkey's State Opera and Ballet (DOB) this year. 

The Athens and Thessaloniki concert halls will be broadcasting the Metropolitan Opera's production of Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida" live at 7.55 p.m. sharp on Saturday, October 6. In this monumental production directed by Sonja Frisell, soprano Anna Netrebko sings her first Met Aida, with mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili as Amneris and Aleksandrs Antonenko as the warrior Radames.

The Istanbul State Opera and Ballet (İDOB) will open the curtain on a new season on Sept. 28, with a concert organized for the 150th death anniversary of Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini. The concert will take place at the Kadıköy Süreyya Opera House at 8 p.m.

Bansko. The Bansko Opera Fest will open with a concert entitled Classic Meets ABBA, Magdalena Sotirova, organiser of the event, told Focus Radio - Pirin. The concert, which is a production of the State Opera - Stara Zagora and features Duo Mania as soloists, starts at 08:30 pm tonight. The best ABBA songs will be played in a classical arrangement.

Croatian music legend Oliver Dragojevichad died in Split, after a year-long battle with cancer.

Born in Vela Luka on the island of Korcula, Dragojevic has enjoyed a long career and was considered one of the most iconic music stars in Croatia.

The Ninth International Istanbul Opera Festival, organized by the State Opera and Ballet General Directorate, will kick off on June 21 with the world famous prima donna Kristine Opolais's gala concert. 

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center is hosting "Cynical Romantic," an exhibition of works by the late artist, director and set/costume designer Stefanos Lazaridis, former artistic director of the Greek National Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera of New York is wooing a younger audience -- make that very, very young.

The Sofia Opera hosts an International Opera Europe forum from March 22nd to March 24th. The Forum will gather in the opera 87 directors and various representatives of major opera theaters from Europe, America and Canada.

Nicholas Payne, Director of Opera Europe, writes about the forum in Sofia: