We Speak Arts
Opera Idaho Opens Season with Mozart’s ‘The Abduction from the Seraglio’
A rescue mission, a stubborn overseer, and lovers whose best-laid plans keep going awry: Opera Idaho opened its 2026–27 season with Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio at the Egyptian Theatre in Boise on October 16 and 18, bringing together nationally acclaimed guest artists, Boise talent, and an imaginative blend of scenic and projection design.
The production marked Opera Idaho’s first opera performed in German and its first Mozart opera since October 2023. With English dialogue and projected English captions, audiences could follow every scheme and misunderstanding while enjoying Mozart’s dazzling vocal and orchestral fireworks. Beneath the playful score is an unexpectedly generous story about loyalty, forgiveness, and the courage to look beyond first impressions.
Soprano Christina Mancheni — Boise State University’s Assistant Professor of Music: Voice — led the cast as Konstanze. Her career includes appearances with Utah Opera, Opera Las Vegas and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, as well as a featured performance at the St. Bart’s Music Festival under Maestro Steven Mercurio.
“Everyone needs a little Mozart,” said General Director Stacey Trenteseaux. “This opera gives us permission to laugh, enjoy remarkable voices, and let ourselves be surprised.”
WQXR and Carnegie Hall have announced the lineup for the 2026–27 season of Carnegie Hall Live, the broadcast series that brings performances from the legendary New York venue to audiences nationwide and around the world. Now in its 16th season, the series airs live on WQXR-FM and streams at WQXR.org and CarnegieHall.org, with broadcasts also distributed to public radio stations across the country.
The season opened on October 9 with the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Kirill Petrenko, joined by pianist Víkingur Ólafsson in a program of Brahms and Strauss — part of the orchestra’s four-concert Carnegie Hall residency that launched the Hall’s 2026–27 season.
Among the season’s highlights, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s performs an all-Berlioz program on November 5, 2026, led by Louis Langrée and starring tenor Benjamin Bernheim in a rare New York appearance, pairing Les nuits d’été with the Symphonie fantastique. On January 19, 2027, Franz Welser-Möst conducts The Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus in Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, with soloists Golda Schultz, Taylor Raven, Julian Prégardien, and Anthony Robin Schneider.
The series also carries performances by the Vienna Philharmonic and The Philadelphia Orchestra as part of Carnegie Hall’s season-long Mahler symphony cycle led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, alongside chamber music programs spotlighting Beethoven and Brahms.
Carnegie Hall Live is hosted by WNYC and WQXR’s John Schaefer, with guest hosts Elliott Forrest and Paul Cavalconte. The series is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall and American Public Media. For the full broadcast schedule, visit carnegiehall.org.
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