Erica Iris: singing a "radically revisionist" Carmen

Interview

"Carmen is a passionate woman who lives to fulfill her own desires without compromise. She is strong-minded and determined and doesn't take "no" for an answer. In my opinion, one major misconception about Carmen is that if she's able to get out of any sticky situation, and win things in her favour, then she must have everything under control. She doesn't."

Talking with singers: Massimo Cavalletti

Interview

"I am also happy to come from a family of farmers, from the land that has given and still gives me my cultural and historical roots as well as an attachment to the values of family, homeland and faith, which in many cases are at the foundation of opera itself."

Don't miss: Naomi's Road

Interview

"One of the most beautiful things about this opera is that, despite the family being completely separated and the children being torn away from their parents, they seem to create a secure and loving family unit finding a way to stay together and remain strong against adversity."

Kevin Puts: "I know who I am as a composer."

Interview

"I begin with the libretto and I try not to overthink things. If there is a particularly powerful moment a few scenes down the road in the libretto, I will spend very little time looking at it in advance. I want to experience a fresh excitement when I arrive there, because this will lead to more inspired music and will translate well to what the audience might feel."

Artists to watch: Teng Li

Interview

"As a soloist, I have more license to share my independent voice and vision for the piece. As principal violist in the orchestra, I get to support the vision of the conductor by leading my section to perform as one voice. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to wear different hats in my career, as a soloist, chamber musician and as an orchestral musician."

Talking with singers: Gyula Nagy

Interview

He takes seriously the artistic work he does as a singer, yet the come-what-may attitude that Nagy has about his pursuit of singing is one of his biggest advantages. "If I hadn't gotten this [position at the ROH], then probably I would have gone on auditioning on my own," he says of the Jette Parker programme's influence on his career. "I would have managed somehow. It would have been really different, but there would have been another way."

Joel Ivany: "We're throwing a salon."

Interview

"You're going to be mingling in the lobby and in the auditorium, and you're going to be meeting these people from the salon, which are the students from the school." It's a "play-within-a-play" idea, where the Cendrillon audiences live in the same world as the singers who perform the opera. The members of the cast each have two roles to play: their part in Viardot's opera, and the "character" who exists offstage during the salon evening.

Talking with directors: Frederic Wake-Walker

Interview

"I love going into these places and working with kids," says Wake-Walker. "It's wonderful. I learn so much." He jokes that working primary school students is "pretty much the same" as directing the singers at La Scala, and adds that for any aspiring director, young people offer valuable learning experiences. "Kids ask questions that even the pros at La Scala are sometimes a little bit embarrassed to ask."

Don't miss: Glory Denied at Nashville Opera

Interview

"The moment I enjoy most though, is again in Act II, when Young Alyce sings a letter she has written to Young Jim after he is first stationed in Vietnam. The letter is filled with optimism and love, and it captures those small mundane details of life that so often touch our hearts most deeply."

Talking with singers: Elza van den Heever

Interview

"'Casta Diva' alone is of course that one moment of magic that craves to be sung to absolute precision - problem is, at least for me, that the aria is truly very low in the soprano tessitura and makes it just incredibly difficult and uncomfortable if you're nervous. It’s at the top of the show where you are most vulnerable and scared and nerves often get in the way."