Ashley Emerson News

You can never be too grown-up for the magic of a Brother's Grimm fairy tale. That's very clear from Seattle Opera's upcoming Hansel and Gretel, which comes from the vivid imagination of French stage director Laurent Pelly. This edgy version of Engelbert Humperdinck's masterpiece presents a thrilling quest ending not in a gingerbread house, but in a supermarket with a checkout lady from hell!

Brooklyn Art Song Society (BASS) is proud to announce its seventh season, beginning in October of 2017.

 The Dallas Opera is pleased to announce that single tickets for its eagerly-anticipated 2016-2017 '60th' Season and popular Family Performances Series will go on sale to the general public on Monday, July 11, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. 

On Site Opera (OSO) announces today that soprano Jeni Houser has been added to the cast of the North American premiere of Marcos Portugal's The Marriage of Figaro (1799).

Just four years into its existence, On Site Opera (OSO) has established itself as one of New York City's most imaginative, nimble opera companies by doing more than simply staging musically and dramatically rich works outside of the opera house.

Just four years into its existence, On Site Opera (OSO) has established itself as one of New York City's most imaginative, nimble opera companies by doing more than simply staging musically and dramatically rich works outside of the opera house. OSO's team of General & Artistic Director, Eric Einhorn, Music Director, Geoffrey McDonald, and Executive Director & Producer, Jessica Kiger have pushed the boundaries of operatic storytelling, producing operas in locations that allow singers and audiences alike to immerse themselves in the narrative. Reviewing the first chapter of The Figaro Project, in which OSO is staging lesser-known operatic adaptations of French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais' (1732-1799) famed trilogy of Figaro plays, Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times wrote, 'This visionary company could be on to something big.' He noted that the 'space proved ideal for the intrigues of the opera.' On Site Opera continues this ambitious three-year undertaking June 14-17, when it presents the North American premiere of Marcos Portugal's The Marriage of Figaro (1799). The production, presented in partnership with The New School's Mannes School of Music and The Portuguese Consulate in New York, will take place at 632 on Hudson, a stunning triplex in the West Village that will serve as Count Almaviva's summer palace. The Figaro Project will conclude with the U.S. premiere of Darius Milhaud's The Guilty Mother (1966) in the summer of 2017.

Thrilling theater and unforgettable music -- that's what audiences can expect from Seattle Opera's 2016/17 Season. The company today announced the operas next up at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. They include: The Wicked Adventures of Count Ory, Hansel & Gretel, La traviata, Katya Kabanova and The Magic Flute.

A little slapstick here, a little mysticism there, some knockout arias, a love story, parental conflict--put them all together and you have Mozart's DIE ZAUBERFLOTE--better known in these parts as THE MAGIC FLUTE. Add a good cast and a spectacular production with wonderful effects, flying boys, Bunraku-style bears, serpents and other animals and you should have a wonderful evening at the Met. The key word is 'should,' because this week's FLUTE was somehow less than the sum of its parts.

American composer Tobias Picker is presented in OPERA America's Creators in Concert series this season on Wednesday, October 8 at 7 p.m. at the National Opera Center. The hour-long presentation includes a discussion with the composer, moderated by OPERA America President and CEO Marc Scorca, and performances of select arias from each of the composer's five operas by sopranos Kristin Sampson and Ashley Emerson, mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel, tenor Daniel Durran, and baritones John Brancy and Christian Bowers. For tickets, priced at $25, or access to a livestream of the event, visit operaamerica.org/CreatorsInConcert.

The Metropolitan Opera will open its 130th season on Monday, September 22 with a new production of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, conducted by Met Music Director James Levine and directed by Richard Eyre.

Tickets go on sale today, August 13, for Opera Philadelphia's 40th Anniversary Season, featuring a stellar cast of international opera stars in five new productions at the Academy of Music and the Perelman Theater.

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, August 13, for Opera Philadelphia's 40th Anniversary Season, featuring a stellar cast of international opera stars in five new productions at the Academy of Music and the Perelman Theater. Single tickets will be available at operaphila.org or 215-893-1018.

The Opera Theatre of St. Louis has opened the fourth production in its June festival season--'The Dialogues of the Carmelites', by Francis Poulenc. The cast features some St. Louis favorites: Kelly Kaduce, who gave us that jaw-dropping Salome five years ago, now plays a much timider leading lady-Sr. Blanche of the Agony of Jesus. And the wonderful Christine Brewer sings the role of the New Prioress.

Seven productions tempt opera-lovers in a bright summer season.

Seven productions tempt opera-lovers in a bright summer season.

THE MAGIC FLUTE (Die Zauberflote), Mozart's last great work, is sometimes viewed as the precursor to musical theater. Mozart's friend, actor-producer Emanuel Schikaneder, wrote the original libretto in the German vernacular (as opposed to the more upper crust Italian) as a 'singspiel,' a play with music. In fact, THE MAGIC FLUTE has significantly more spoken dialogue than The Phantom of the Opera and certainly far more than Les Miserables.

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 2013-2014 season with a new English-language production of one of the most beloved and family-friendly operas in the repertory: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute, tonight, May 3-18 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. The eye-popping new production features set and costume design by Japanese- American artist Jun Kaneko in his WNO debut, and will be sung in a new English version by WNO dramaturg Kelley Rourke. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 2013-2014 season with a new English-language production of one of the most beloved and family-friendly operas in the repertory: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute, May 3-18 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. The eye-popping new production features set and costume design by Japanese- American artist Jun Kaneko in his WNO debut, and will be sung in a new English version by WNO dramaturg Kelley Rourke. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 2013-2014 season with a new English-language production of one of the most beloved and family-friendly operas in the repertory: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute, May 3-18 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. The eye-popping new production features set and costume design by Japanese- American artist Jun Kaneko in his WNO debut, and will be sung in a new English version by WNO dramaturg Kelley Rourke. The opening-night performance on May 3 will be simulcast free to thousands of fans at Nationals Park as part of M&M'S® Opera in the Outfield. A special