WBJC’s OperaFest 2026 – part 1
2026 WBJC OperaFest
June 6, 2026: The Bartered Bride
- COMPOSER: Bedřich Smetana
- VENUE: Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria
- CAST:
- Krušina Franz Xaver Schlecht
- Ludmila Margaret Plummer
- Mařenka Slávka Zámečníková
- Mícha Ivo Stanchev
- Háta Monika Bohinec
- Jeník Pavol Breslik
- Vašek Michael Laurenz
- Kecal Peter Kellner
- Director of the Comedians Matthäus Schmidlechner
- Esmeralda Ilia Staple
- Comedian Alex Ilvakhin
- ENSEMBLE: Vienna State Opera Orchestra & Chorus
- CONDUCTOR: Tomáš Hanus
Approx. Length: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Sung in German
June 13, 2026: Fidelio
- COMPOSER: Ludwig van Beethoven
- VENUE: Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria
- CAST:
- Don Fernando Simonas Strazdas
- Don Pizarro Christopher Maltman
- Florestan David Butt Philip
- Leonore Malin Byström
- Rocco Tareq Nazmi
- Marzelline Kathrin Zukowski
- Jaquino Daniel Jenz
- First Prisoner Daniel Lökös
- Second Prisoner Panajotis Pratsos
- ENSEMBLE: Vienna State Opera Orchestra & Chorus
- CONDUCTOR: Franz Welser-Möst
Approx. Length: 2 hours, 27 minutes
Sung in German
June 20, 2026: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
- COMPOSER: Dmitri Shostakovich
- VENUE: Teatro all Scala, Milan, Italy
- CAST:
- Boris Timofeyevich Izmaylov Alexander Roslavets
- Katerina Lvovna Izmaylova Sara Jakubiak
- Sergey Najmiddin Mavlyanov
- Shabby Peasant Alexander Kravets
- Priest Valery Gilmanov
- Zinovy Borisovich Izmaylov Evgeny Akimov
- Steward Jiří Rajniš
- Chief of Police Oleg Budaratskiy
- Aksinya Ekaterina Sannikova
- Sonetka Elena Maximova
- ENSEMBLE: La Scala Orchestra & Chorus
- CONDUCTOR: Riccardo Chailly
Approx. Length: 2 hours, 55 minutes
Sung in Russian
June 27, 2026: Ariodante
- COMPOSER: George Frideric Handel
- VENUE: Paris Opera, Paris, France
- CAST:
- Ariodante Cecilia Molinari
- Il Re di Scozia Luca Tittoto
- Ginevra Jacquelyn Stucker
- Dalinda Sabine Devieilhe
- Lurcanio Ru Charlesworth
- Polinesso Christophe Dumaux
- Odoardo Enrico Casari
- ENSEMBLE: Pygmalion Ensemble; Paris Opera Chorus
- CONDUCTOR: Raphaël Pichon
Approx. Length: 3 hours, 28 minutes
Sung in Italian
July 4, 2026: Aida
- COMPOSER: Giuseppe Verdi
- VENUE: Paris Opera, Paris, France
- CAST:
- Aida Saioa Hernández
- Radamès Piotr Beczała
- Amneris Eve-Maud Hubeaux
- Amonasro Roman Burdenko
- Ramfis Alexander Köpeczi
- Il Re Krzysztof Bączyk
- Un messagiero Manase Latu
- Sacerdotessa Margarita Polonskaya
ENSEMBLE: Paris Opera Orchestra & Chorus
CONDUCTOR: Michele Mariotti
Approx. Length: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Sung in Italian
July 11, 2026: The Makropulos Affair
- COMPOSER: Leoš Janáček
- VENUE: Royal Ballet & Opera, London, England
- CAST:
- Emilia Marty Aušrinė Stundytė
- Albert Gregor Sean Panikkar
- Baron Jaroslav Prus Johan Reuter
- Dr. Kolenatý Henry Waddington
- Vítek Peter Hoare
- Janek Daniel Matoušek
- Count Hauk-Šendorf Alan Oke
- Kristina Heather Engebretson
- ENSEMBLE: Chorus & Orchestra of The Royal Opera
- CONDUCTOR: Jakub Hrůša
Approx. Length: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Sung in Czech
July 18, 2026: Boris Godunov
- COMPOSER: Modest Mussorgsky
- VENUE: Royal Ballet & Opera, London, England
- CAST:
- Boris Godunov Sir Bryn Terfel
- Pimen Adam Pałka
- Andrei Shchelkalov Andrei Kymach
- Grigory Otrepiev Jamez McCorkle
- Prince Shuisky John Daszak
- ENSEMBLE: Chorus & Orchestra of The Royal Opera
- CONDUCTOR: Mark Wigglesworth
Approx. Length: 2 hours, 24 minutes
Sung in Russian
July 25, 2026: The Marriage of Figaro
- COMPOSER: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- VENUE: Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Glyndebourne, England
- CAST:
- Figaro Tommaso Barea
- Susanna Johanna Wallroth
- Count Huw Montague Rendall
- Countess Louise Alder
- Bartolo Alessandro Corbelli
- Marcellina Madeleine Shaw
- Cherubino Adèle Charvet
- ENSEMBLE: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
- CONDUCTOR: Riccardo Minasi
Approx. Length: 2 hours, 38 minutes
Sung in Italian
August 1, 2026: The Elixir of Love
- COMPOSER: Gaetano Donizetti
- VENUE: Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Spain
- CAST:
- Adina Pretty Yende
- Nemorino Michael Spyres
- Belcore Jan Antem
- Dulcamara Fabio Capitanucci
- Giannetta Núria Vilà
- ENSEMBLE: Gran Teatre del Liceu Orchestra & Chrous
- CONDUCTOR: Diego Matheuz
Approx. Length: 2 hours, 38 minutes
Sung in Italian
August 8, 2026: Pelléas et Mélisande
- COMPOSER: Claude Debussy
- VENUE: Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy
- CAST:
- Pelléas Bernard Richter
- Mélisande Sara Blanch
- Golaud Simon Keenlyside
- Geneviève Marie-Nicole Lemieux
- Arkel John Relyea
- ENSEMBLE: La Scala Orchestra & Chorus
- CONDUCTOR: Maxime Pascal
Approx. Length: 2 hours, 55 minutes
Sung in French
August 15, 2026: Faust
- COMPOSER: Charles Gounod
- VENUE: Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Germany
- CAST:
- Faust Jonathan Tetelman
- Méphistophélès Kyle Ketelsen
- Marguerite Olga Kulchynska
- Valentin Florian Sempey
- Wagner Thomas Mole
- Siebel Emily Sierra
- Marthe Schwerdtlein Dshamilja Kaiser
- ENSEMBLE: Bavarian State Orchestra & Chorus
- CONDUCTOR: Nathalie Stutzmann
Approx. Length: 3 hours, 9 minutes
Sung in French
August 22, 2026: Luisa Miller
- COMPOSER: Giuseppe Verdi
- VENUE: Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria
- CAST:
- Graf von Walter Roberto Tagliavini
- Rodolfo Freddie De Tommaso
- Federica Daria Sushkova
- Wurm Marko Mimica
- Miller George Petean
- Luisa Nadine Sierra
- ENSEMBLE: Vienna State Opera Orchestra & Chorus
- CONDUCTOR: Michele Mariotti
Approx. Length: 2hours, 40 minutes
Sung in Italian
August 29, 2026: Die Fledermaus
- COMPOSER: Johann Strauss II
- VENUE: Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria
- CAST:
- Gabriel von Eisenstein Jonas Kaufmann
- Rosalinde Diana Damrau
- Frank Jochen Schmeckenbecher
- Prinz Orlofsky Daria Sushkova
- Alfred Jörg Schneider
- Dr. Falke Adrian Eröd
- Dr. Blind Lukas Schmidt
- Adele Ilia Staple
- Ida Hannah-Theres Weigl
- Frosch Michael Niavarani
- ENSEMBLE: Vienna State Opera Orchestra & Chorus
- CONDUCTOR: Markus Poschner
Approx. Length: 3 hours, 38 minutes
Sung in German
*All programs, repertoire, and artists are subject to change.
*Part 2 of the Opera Series, beginning Saturday, September 5, will be announced in July
