Israeli Opera offers tourists and visitors to Israel a rich and varied program of opera, dance, and music, as well as performances for the whole family in the upcoming 2017-2018 season.

La Bohème

La Bohème , a story of love at first sight, farewell, reunion and death, will be performed in November 2017. Puccini’s poignant opera of love lost and regained returns to the stage with all its mesmerizing melodies, bringing to the stage the magic of Christmas Eve in Paris. La Bohème is from the repertoire.  Conducted by Francesco Cilluffo and directed by Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera, this performance is sung in Italian with English and Hebrew subtitles and includes the Israeli Opera Chorus, The Efroni Children Choir and the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Ido Ricklin returns to the Israeli Opera to direct Britten’s haunting score of Shakespeare’s comedy in January 2018. Four lovers are lost in a night of agony and ecstasy at the center of which the queen of the fairies falls in love with an.. .ass. Conducted by Daniel Cohen and directed by Ido Ricklin, this performance is sung in English with English and Hebrew subtitles and is accompanied by the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion.

Don Giovanni

Mozart’s opera, Don Giovanni, tells the story of the greatest lover of all time, who chases women from land to land before he settles in Spain where he fails to add another conquest to the 1,003 women he already seduced there. This is one of the greatest operas ever written in a new captivating production and will be performed in February 2018.

Conducted by Daniel Oren and directed by Kasper Holten, this performance is sung in Italian with English and Hebrew subtitles and includes the Israeli Opera Chorus accompanied by the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion.

Here is a clip showing Kasper Holten and the cast from the Royal Opera house discussing Don Giovanni.

Don Carlo

Daniel Oren conducts a new production of Verdi’s masterpiece in March 2018, based on a play by Schiller, about love, friendship, political intrigues and the ongoing battle between state and religion. Directed by Giancarlo del Monaco-Zukerman, this performance is sung in Italian with English and Hebrew subtitles and includes the Israeli Opera Chorus accompanied by the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion.

The Tale of Tsar Saltan

For the first time in Israel, Rimsky-Korsakov’s beguiling opera based on a poem by Pushkin will be performed in May 2018. A magical production featuring three sisters, three wishes and that everlasting haunting melody of the flight of the bumblebee. Conducted by Evgeny Brazhnik and directed by Alexander Titel, this performance is sung in Russian with English and Hebrew subtitles. Soloists, orchestra and chorus come from the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Opera House, Moscow.

Dido and Aeneas

The powerful love story of the Queen of Carthage and the Trojan prince who conquers her heart only to leave her to die in her despair will be performed in June 2018. A new colorful production of Purcell’s beguiling score setting to music Virgil’s emotional tale of love. Conducted by Ethan Schmeisser and directed by Cecile Roussat and Julien Lubek, this performance is sung in English with English and Hebrew subtitles and includes the Israeli Opera Chorus accompanied by the Barocada Orchestra.

Carmen

The Metropolitan Opera’s sizzling and larger than life production of one of the most popular operas in all time returns to the stage in July 2018 with hundreds of participants featuring Bizet’s sensuous score and the free spirited gypsy who believes in free love. Conducted by Karen Kamensek, directed by Gadi Shechter after the production of Franco Zeffirelli, this performance is sung in French with English and Hebrew subtitles and includes the Israeli Opera Chorus, the Bat Kol Children Choir, and accompanied by the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion.

The Israel Opera

Since its inauguration, the Israel Opera has aimed to develop its identity as an Israeli Opera, nurturing Israeli artists and soloists, commissioning and performing original operas by Israeli composers and encouraging the next generation of Israeli opera singers with  the Young Artists Program (the Opera Studio) and the promotion of young Israeli singers, who launched their career at the Israeli Opera and have since performed worldwide.

Many Israeli conductors, directors and singers work regularly with the Israeli Opera. Following their career at the Israeli Opera, quite a few of them were invited to appear and work at prestigious opera houses around the world. Conductors Asher Fisch, the Music Director of the Israeli Opera, Dan Ettinger and Rani Calderon, director Omri Nitzan as well as designers Buki Schiff, Roni Toren, Felice Ross and others work regularly with opera companies around the world and are highly acclaimed. Many Israeli singers appear frequently at international opera houses; Gaby Sadeh, Hadar Halevi, Sharon Rostorf-Zamir, Larissa Tetuev and Anna Skibinsky to name but a few, all made their first professional steps on the stage of the Israeli Opera, where they continue to perform regularly. Alongside them, many Israeli singers and conductors appear at the Israeli Opera both in leading and supporting roles and prove that the Israeli Opera has been blessed with highly talented artists.

In order to cultivate the future generation of the Israeli Opera singers, the Israeli Opera has established the Opera Studio program for young artists. Many opera singers have taken part in this program since its inception. All these singers, among them Ira Bertman, Svetlana Sandler, Anastasia Klevan and others, have appeared in different Israeli Opera productions in leading and supporting roles.

Since its establishment the Israeli Opera has commissioned and performed several operas by Israeli creators. The operas performed at the Opera House include Josef by Josef Tal and Israel Eliraz, Alpha & Omega by Gil Shohat to a libretto by Dori Manor and Ana Herman and A Journey to the End of the Millennium by Joseph Bardanashvili and A. B. Yehoshua, which was commissioned especially for the 20th anniversary of the Israeli Opera. In addition, the opera also produced The Quest to Polyphonia by Richard Farber and Dear Son of Mineby Haim Permont and Talma Alyagon. The Israeli Opera will continue to commission new operas by Israeli composers and to perform them on its main stage and throughout Israel.

For more information and tickets: http://www.israel-opera.co.il/eng/