Opera Now - November 2023

November's Opera Now celebrates the Paris Opera debut of South Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim as she leads the company in its production of Les contes d’Hoffmann. Taking the US opera scene by storm as the Music Director of the San Francisco Opera, she speaks to us about her unique philosophy of conducting, her fascinating trajectory as a musician and Korean heritage. 

Elsewhere in the magazine, we uncover the reality of life in the pit for orchestral musicians, we question the delicate balance of egos between conductor and directors and feature the young conductor Stephanie Childress ahead of an exciting run of Don Giovanni throughout November at Glyndebourne. We also explore the work of director Tom Volf as he stages his first opera, Norma, in Athens and look to Wexford where the 2023 festival is about to begin.

We review the Royal Opera House’s new production of Das Rheingold, the Santa Fe Opera festival and the Salzburg Festival, as well as recordings including Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald and a collection remembering Renata Scotto from Warner Classics.