Grace Bumbry News

Following a sold-out summer European tour, Erica Papillion-Posey, mezzo-soprano and Clayton G. Williams, baritone will perform their blockbuster concert series, Souls of the Soil, for the people of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Mezzo-soprano, Erica Papillion-Posey described as “…a living tribute and testimony to the memory of the great Ms. Marian Anderson, the legendary opera superstar and African-American trailblazer [Denver Weekly News] will return to roots performing jazz in her native Louisiana this December.

Following a sold-out summer European tour, Erica Papillion-Posey, mezzo-soprano, and Clayton G. Williams, baritone, will perform their blockbuster concert series, Souls of the Soil, for Denver audiences.

Following a sold-out summer European tour, Erica Papillion-Posey, mezzo-soprano and Clayton G. Williams, baritone will perform their blockbuster concert series, Souls of the Soil, for Detroit audiences.

Mezzo- Soprano, Erica Papillion-Posey has been selected as a semi-finalist in the 2014 Paris Opera Awards.

Following a sold-out European tour, Erica Papillion-Posey, mezzo-soprano and Clayton G. Williams, baritone will perform selections from their blockbuster concert series, Souls of the Soil, for Michigan audiences.

In New York, Donizetti's ROBERTO DEVEREUX will forever be associated with Beverly Sills' powerful portrayal of Elizabeth I, and her stern photo glaring out from the cover of Time Magazine. However, Italian soprano Mariella Devia, a vocal miracle at 66, nearly caused a riot in the role at Carnegie Hall on June 5, performing with the Opera Orchestra of New York under the baton of its founder, Eve Queler.

The New York Philharmonic and the Music Academy of the West have entered into a four-year partnership that will create unique and intensive opportunities for selected Music Academy Fellows to train with New York Philharmonic musicians and Music Director Alan Gilbert in Santa Barbara and New York. Alan Gilbert, the New York Philharmonic, its Assistant Conductors, and musicians will have a presence at the Music Academy Summer Festival for training and performances each summer for four years beginning in 2014, culminating in a joint concert with the New York Philharmonic and Academy Festival Orchestra celebrating the Music Academy's 70th anniversary in 2017.

On Sunday, January 12, 2014, Opera Index will presents its 35th Distinguished Achievement Award to mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias, described as one of the finest singing actresses of our time, at its Winter Gala in the Grand Salon of the JW Marriott Essex House, 160 Central Park South, beginning at 6 p.m. with a reception in the Petit Salon. The three-time Grammy and two-time Emmy Award-winning artist made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1954 and over her half-century-long career, has sung more than 50 roles. Ken Benson, renowned artists manager and longtime Opera Index supporter, will present the award to Ms. Elias.

The Metropolitan Opera will celebrate its longtime Music Director James Levine's 70th birthday with two full days of special programming on Met Opera Radio (Sirius XM Channel 74). The weekend-long marathon will feature 14 classic Levine performances, hand-picked by the maestro himself, beginning on Saturday, June 22 and continuing through midnight on Levine's birthday, Sunday, June 23. The first broadcast, at 6 a.m. Saturday, will be a 1991 performance of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera starring Luciano Pavarotti; the celebration will conclude at 12 a.m. on Monday, June 24 with a 1994 performance of Verdi's rarely heard Stiffelio, starring Placido Domingo in the title role. Complete details, including complete casting and original broadcast dates for all 14 performances, are below.

Broadway producer Rocco Landesman was born and raised in St. Louis, where his family owned the Crystal Palace, a Gaslight Square cabaret that featured cutting edge theater and performers. Landesman developed and produced the Broadway musical Big River, which won 7 Tony Awards in 1985.

The Music Academy of the West will present a cultural feast of more than 200 events during its 2013 Summer School and Festival, which starts on June 17 and runs through August 10. Among the highlights of this year's festival will be a new production of Mozart's beloved opera The Magic Flute - Santa Barbara's first in 15 years - as well as the West Coast premiere of bereshit by Matthias Pintscher, who is regarded as one of the most sought-after young German composers of his generation. "Magic, Legend, and Ritual" is the festival's theme, and the 66th anniversary season will present performances by violinist Midori, pianist Jeremy Denk, baritone Vladimir Chernov, and the Takacs and Brooklyn Rider string quartets - as well as conducting turns by Leonard Slatkin, James Gaffigan, Bernard Labadie, and Nicholas McGegan. Showcasing the Academy's talented Fellows, together with star guest performers and faculty, the events will be presented at the Academy's scenic Miraflores campus and in venues throughout Santa Barbara.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

Staatsoperndirektor Dominique Meyer, Generalmusikdirektor Franz Welser-Möst, Ballettdirektor Manuel Legris und der Kaufmännische Geschäftsführer Thomas W. Platzer haben heute, Dienstag, 27. März 2012 den Spielplan der kommenden Saison 2012/2013 präsentiert.

Candide, das Musical der Herren Voltaire und Bernstein, ist das einzige seiner Art, dessen genaue Inhaltsangabe - rasch vorgetragen - ebenso lange dauert wie das Musical selbst.

Die 2. Berliner Seefestspiele werden 2012 von Oscar-Preisträger Volker Schlöndorff inszeniert, einem der bedeutendsten und international erfolgreichsten Vertreter des deutschen Films. Vom 16. August bis zum 2. September führt Schlöndorff die Regie des französischen Opernklassikers am Berliner Wannsee.

Opera Index presents its 2012 Distinguished Achievement Award to opera pioneer and Opera Orchestra of New York founder Eve Queler at its 28th annual black-tie winter gala on Sunday, January 15.