May 5
Jacques Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffman
Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona
Liceu Orchestra and Chorus
Stéphane Denève, conductor
CAST: Michael Spyres (Hoffmann); Kathleen Kim (Olympia); Natalie Dessay (Antonia); Tatiana Pavlovskaya (Giulietta); Susana Cordón (Stella); Laurent Naouri (Lindorf/Coppelius/Miracle/Dappertutto); Francisco Vas (Andrès/Cochenille/Frantz); Carlos Chausson (Crespel); Isaac Galán (Hermann/Schlémil); Alex Sanmarti (Luther); Airam Hernández (Nathanaël); Michèle Losier (Nicklausse/Muse); Manel Esteve (Spalanzani); Salomé Haller (Voice)
Laurent Naouri tackles the combined tour de force of Offenbach's four challenging baritone roles, while a full complement of brilliant sopranos brings a variety of vocal styles to the opera's colorful array of female characters.

May 12
Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus
Antonio Pappano, conductor
CAST: Bryn Terfel (Wotan); Wolfgang Koch (Alberich); Stig Anderson (Loge); Sarah Connolly (Fricka); Gerhard Siegel (Mime); Ann Petersen (Freia); Peter Coleman-Wright (Donner); Andrew Rees (Froh); Maria Radner (Erda); Iain Paterson (Fasolt); Eric Halfvarson (Fafner); Nadine Livingston (Woglinde); Kai Rüütel (Wellgunde); Harriet Williams (Flosshilde)
Das Rheingold gets Wagner's monumental Ring cycle off to a rousing start, in a quickly-paced drama introducing a fanciful world of vivid characters and world-shaping passions.

May 19
Philip Glass: Kepler
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra
Westminster Choir
John Kennedy, conductor
CAST: John Hancock (Kepler); Anne-Carolyn Bird, Leah Wool, Kathryn Krasovec, Gregory Schmidt, Dan Kempson, Matt Boehler (Scholars)
In an encore presentation, the American stage premiere of Philip Glass's dynamic new drama, rooted in the life and inspirational ideas of the 17-century mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler.

May 26
Giacomo Meyerbeer: Robert le Diable (Robert the Devil)
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus
Daniel Oren, conductor
CAST: Bryan Mymel (Robert); Patrizia Ciofi (Isabelle); John Relyea (Bertram); Marina Poplavskaya (Alice); Jean-Francois Borras (Raimbaut); Nicolas Courjal (Alberti)
This five-act extravaganza features everything from an orgy of evil spirits, to a chorus of defrocked nuns rising from their graves, to a deal with the devil which, for once, doesn't turn out all that badly. The work's Paris premiere, in 1831, instantly made Meyerbeer the most celebrated opera composer of the time.

June 2
Antonin Dvorak: Rusalka
Göteborg Opera, Sweden
Göteborg Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Olaf Henzold, conductor
CAST: Elisabet Strid (Rusalka); Nikolai Schukoff (Prince); Anders Lorentzson (Vodník); Annalena Persson (Foreign Princess); Susanne Resmark (Jezibaba); Eva-Lotta Ohlsson, Mia Karlsson, Erika Sax (Wood Sprites); Henrik Andersson (Hunter)
Best known for his dramatic and popular symphonies, Dvorak also wrote more than a dozen operas. Rusalka is the second of them featured this quarter, and is arguably his best. The title character is a beautiful water nymph who falls tragically in love with a human prince, and the opera's music is Dvorak at his finest.

June 9
Richard Strauss: Capriccio
Paris National Opera, Palais Garnier
Paris National Opera Orchestra
Philippe Jordan, conductor
CAST: Michaela Kaune (Countess); Michaela Schuster (La Clairon); Joseph Kaiser (Flamand); Adrian Eröd (Olivier); Bo Skovhus (Count); Peter Rose (La Roche); Ryland Davies (Monsier Taupe)
Forget about the chicken and the egg. Strauss's last opera revolves around a question that's even more elemental, at least in the world of musical theater: Which should take precedence -- the words, or the music?