January 2024 Vol ume 75 No. 1 Editor John Allison Deputy Editors Erica Jeal Henrietta Bredin US Editor Rebecca Paller Commercial Director Megan Jackson Editorial Board Hugh Canning Rupert Christiansen Andrew Clark Andrew Clements Richard Fairman George Hall Fiona Maddocks Roger Parker Editorial O ffices 36 Black Lion Lane London W6 9BE Tel: +44 (0)20 8563 8893 editor@opera.co.uk www.opera.co.uk

operamagazine @operamagazine @opera_magazine S ubscriptions and customer services Esco, Trinity House, Sculpins Lane, Wethersfield, Braintree CM7 4AY Tel: +44 (0)1371 851804 opera@escosubs.co.uk Members of the Metropolitan Opera Guild Tel: +1 212 362 0068 guild@metopera.org Digital edition Exact Editions support@exacteditions.com www.exacteditions.com/opera Advertising Russell Bass, Cabbells Ltd Tel: +44 (0)20 3603 7937 russell@cabbells.uk Front cover Aigul Akhmetshina (see pp. 26-31) (photo: Lera Nurgalieva)

with

Founded in 1950 by the Earl of Harewood

Past Editors Harold Rosenthal

and Rodney Milnes

5 The coasts of Bohemia

By the Editor   6 Newsdesk   9 The 2023 International Opera Awards  12 Mystique and mythology

Yehuda Shapiro on Callas as a cross-cultural icon  16 Readers’ letters  18 Callas as catalyst

Nicholas Payne and Daniel Snowman share their memories of Maria Callas  23 Ideas man

Timothy Vernon talks to Sylvia L’Écuyer  26 Putting out the message

Aigul Akhmetshina talks to Richard Fairman  32 Te x m i x

Austin Opera’s Annie Burridge talks to Maria Mazzaro  36 Metropolitan Opera broadcasts  40 Opera in the USA  64 Opera around the world 107 Opera in the UK 124 Opera on film 125 Opera on CD 13 0 Opera on DVD and Blu-ray 13 2 Obituaries 13 4 Coming events

including plans for the UK houses; Spotlight; ‘We hear that …’; Opera calendar home and abroad 14 4 Stage Door: Sun-Ly Pierce

Rebecca Paller

Opera, January 2024

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