“Turandot” in Berlin, OSM Festivals & Tchaikovsky at the Shell

Rafael Payare kicks off the summer making his Berlin State Opera debut conducting Puccini’s Turandot (July 6–14). Philipp Stölzl’s production stars soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska (title role), tenor Arsen Soghomonyan (Calaf), soprano Adriana González (Liù), and bass René Pape (Timur).  

As Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM), Payare leads the ensemble at two Quebec festivals in Mahler’s Seventh Symphony and more at the Festival de Lanaudière (July 19–August 3) and repertoire ranging from Verdi’s Requiem to works for the Middle Eastern oud and orchestra at OSM’s own “La Virée classique” (August 14–18). 

In late August, Payare returns to The Rady Shell with the San Diego Symphony for a “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” featuring Juno-nominated violinist Blake Pouliot in the composer’s Violin Concerto, and the iconic 1812 Overture accompanied by a pyrotechnic firework display over the bay (August 30).