Frederica von Stade News

Today, VOICExperience has announced that the non-profit organization’s annual gala will take place via its web-based streaming service at 7 p.m. EST on Thursday, March 25, 2021. The fundraiser will be hosted by legendary baritone & VOICE Co-Founder, Sherrill Milnes and will take place online to protect the health and safety of singers and patrons.

The Met has announced themed lineups for the first two weeks of February in its ongoing series of Nightly Met Opera Streams, a free series of encore Live in HD presentations and classic telecasts streamed on the company's website during the coronavirus closure.

As the year 2020 draws to a close, stars past and present of New York City Opera (NYCO) have come to the aid of “The People’s Opera” by participating in Un Zoomo in Maschera, a word from the artists of New York City Opera, a special year-end fundraiser which was be released today.

As the year 2020 draws to a close, stars past and present of New York City Opera (NYCO) have come to the aid of “The People’s Opera” by participating in Un Zoomo in Maschera, a word from the artists of New York City Opera, a special year-end fundraiser which will be released on social media today.

This holiday week the Virtual Opera Tour’s Magic Opera Flying Carpet is making its first stop at Opera San Jose for their magnificent online performance of Three Decembers. It costs $40 to watch on demand.The price is a bit steep, but the story is affecting, the music is fabulous and the performances are riveting. 

Talking to Khori Dastoor, General Director of Opera San José brings to mind that old quote from Elizabeth Taylor when she was faced with unimaginable adversity, “Now is the time for guts and guile.” Just one year into her tenure as GD, Dastoor is faced with an almost impossible situation due to the Covid pandemic. Out of all the arts, opera, the artform which she has made her life’s work, arguably has the biggest challenges. After all, the act of singing operatically produces enormous amounts of aerosols, the core audience is older and thus especially at risk for Covid, and the population at large may not consider opera to be essential to their lives. Since creating new works is practically impossible, many GD’s are offering a sort of greatest hits of former glories, video snippets from past years that were already in the can. Or maybe something like a “reading” of an old holiday chestnut like Der Rosenkavalier, presented Brady-Bunch style on Zoom. So what does Dastoor do instead? She goes bravely programs a brand-new, beautifully-produced production of Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers, starring no less than world-renowned opera star Susan Graham, alongside two of Opera San José’s super-talented Resident Artists, soprano Maya Kherani and baritone Efraín Solis. This immensely moving chamber work is based on an unpublished play by Terrance  McNally, adapted by librettist Gene Scheer, and tells the story of a family struggling to connect during the early years of the AIDS pandemic. The work premiered in 2008, yet somehow feels more relevant than ever, given the parallels with what we’re all going through today, as evidenced by McNally’s death from Covid earlier this year. The opera is currently available for streaming through the end of December. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit operasj.org. BroadwayWorld spoke with Dastoor shortly after the filming of Three Decembers had been completed. Dastoor was remarkably open and forthcoming about the challenges of the opera world right now, even as her passion for growing the artform burns stronger than ever. We talked about how she managed to produce Three Decembers during Covid, her successful earlier career as a lyric soprano, and the imperative to keep the arts alive during these difficult times. Her responses to my questions were invariably thoughtful, often surprising and not without humor. And, as a rare woman of color leading an opera company, her understanding of the need to open up her artform runs deep. Above all, though, she is just plain fun to talk to - effortlessly engaging, whip-smart, emotionally transparent, and without an ounce of pretension.

Faced with the inability to perform live opera because of COVID, Opera San Jose opted to film an opera that could be made to fit California health regulations in its new Fred Heiman Digital Media Studio. General director Khori Dastoor chose Jake Heggie’s three-person chamber opera, Three Decembers. Since it’s an opera that needs a big star to play famous actress Madeline Mitchell, Dastoor engaged Susan Graham.

Los Angeles Opera opens its Digital Shorts Series with Gabriela Lena Frank’s  commissioned revision of The Five Moons of Lorca, (Las Cinco Lunas de Lorca). This collaborative piece involves the work of librettist Nilo Cruz, choreographer Irene Rodríguez, and filmmaker Matthew Diamond. Musicians include countertenor Jacob Ingbar, pianist Nicholas Roehler, and members of the LA Opera Chorus. The Five Moons of Lorca, will be streamed through December 25, 2020.

While performing arts organizations around the world are dusting off existing productions of the usual chestnuts during the month of December, Opera San José is taking a more audacious approach with its holiday programming. They are presenting a new, fully-staged production of Jake Heggie’s immensely moving chamber opera, Three Decembers, featuring world-renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in the central role, alongside celebrated Opera San José Resident Artists soprano Maya Kherani and baritone Efraín Solís. Based on the unpublished play Some Christmas Letters by Tony-winning playwright Terrance McNally, Three Decembers follows the story of a famous actress, Madeline Mitchell, and her two adult children, Beatrice and Charlie over three decades (1986, 1996, and 2006). With a witty and touching libretto by Gene Scheer and a soaring musical score by Jake Heggie, Three Decembers is a 90-minute fullhearted American opera about family – the ones we are born into and those we create. The world-class digital production is offered via on-demand streaming through December 31, 2020. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit operasj.org or call (408) 437-4450. BroadwayWorld speaks with charismatic baritone Efraín Solís, who plays son Charlie.

Why should you vote this November? Let John McDaniel count the reasons. Watch as the Grammy and two-time Emmy Award-winner shares a new song about why you should vote.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra and New Japan Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Vienna Philharmonic, Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy Okushiga, and Decca recording label-are joining together to create a social media celebration-#happybirthdayseiji-of the beloved conductor's 85th birthday.

On August 25, 2020, The Grand Teton Music Festivala??s online edition, a?oeMusic from the Mountainsa?? presented a recital performed by Jacquelyn Stucker, soprano, and Festival Music Director Donald Runnicles, piano. Stucker, currently a Jette Parker Young Artist at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, has already been hailed as a versatile new singing actress on Boston and Berlin stages.

Today (August 22-23) in live streaming: Rachel Bay Jones sings with Seth Rudetsky, the Pippin cast reunites on Stars in the House, and so much more!

the exquisite voice, dramatic stage presence and winning personality of this Grammy-nominated artist have garnered kudos throughout the opera world

The Met has announced the Week 23 schedule for its Nightly Met Opera Streams, a free series of encore Live in HD presentations and classic telecasts streamed on the company website during the coronavirus closure.

Terrence McNally, the legendary American playwright, screenwriter, and librettist will posthumously receive The Dallas Opera's most prestigious honor, 'The Maria Callas Award,' in recognition of his contribution to two landmark events in the company's history.

The acclaimed Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo will perform a LIVE broadcast from Mercer County Community College on Friday, June 19th at 12:00 noon on 89.1 FM - The Classical Network www.WWFM.org. 

On May 22, 2020, Opera Philadelphia presented the digital world premiere of composer Lembit Beecher and librettist Hannah Moscovitch's opera Sky on Swings. The company gave the opera's world premiere on Sept. 20, 2018, during its Festival O.

Festival Music Director Alasdair Neale and Executive Director Derek Dean today announced that the Summer Season of the 36th annual Sun Valley Music Festival will be performed and presented via the Internet, with new programming reimagined for the online experience.

On Saturday, May 30, David Hyde Pierce will emcee an Artist Relief Tree (ART) benefit, joined by seven world-class opera singers for Opera Jukebox, an innovative and interactive concert streaming on Facebook, YouTube, and the ART website.