James Conlon News

Jason Vest, Northern Kentucky University Professor, will play the role of Jean Valjean in the Department of Theatre and Dance's upcoming production of the smash-hit musical, LES MISERABLES, directed by Department Chair, Ken Jones. Vest, an accomplished tenor, is on faculty in the Department of Music as an Assistant Professor of Voice

Heartbeat Opera is a new company intent upon re-imagining opera in intimate spaces for a new generation. Employing a minimalism that allows the emotional integrity of the music to shine through, the company's work focuses on the body of the singer and the visceral power of the music.

Heartbeat Opera is a new company intent upon re-imagining opera in intimate spaces for a new generation. Employing a minimalism that allows the emotional integrity of the music to shine through, the company's work focuses on the body of the singer and the visceral power of the music. Co-Artistic Directors Louisa Proske andEthan Heard, who trained together in the Directing program at the Yale School of Drama, are committed to nurturing the actor in every singer they work with. The company creates productions of classics and new pieces that are daring and visceral—productions that manifest the emotional grandeur and theatrical power of opera with minimal means. Heartbeat's one-act festival presentation of György Kurtág's Kafka-Fragments, directed by Heard, and the New York premiere of Jacques Offenbach's Daphnis & Chloé, in a new English translation directed by Proske, marks this young company's debut. Heartbeat Opera's resident music ensemble Cantata Profana, described by The New York Times as “a stylish early music ensemble,” will provide musical accompaniment.

Los Angeles) January 10, 2015 — LA Opera professional artists will once again collaborate with more than 300 amateur members of the Los Angeles musical community to present two performances of Benjamin Britten's Noah's Flood this spring at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Conducted by LA Opera Music Director James Conlon, the performances will take place at 7:30pm on Friday, March 6, and at 7:30pm on Saturday, March 7.

LA Opera professional artists will once again collaborate with more than 300 amateur members of the Los Angeles musical community to present two performances of Benjamin Britten's Noah's Flood this spring at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Conducted by LA Opera Music Director James Conlon, the performances will take place at 7:30pm on Friday, March 6, and at 7:30pm on Saturday, March 7.

LA Opera General Director Plácido Domingo announced updated details for the west coast premiere of John Corigliano's magnificently haunting 1991 opera,The Ghosts of Versailles, which receives its long awaited west coast debut tonight, February 7 as the initial production of LA Opera's Figaro Trilogy.

Recognized as one of her generation's great pianists, Olga Kern was born into a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. In 2001, she became the first woman in over 30 years to receive the Gold Medal at the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and subsequently her career has brought her to many of the world's most important venues. With her vivid stage presence, passionately confident musicianship, and extraordinary technique, the young Russian pianist continues to captivate fans and critics alike.

Patti Lupone, ghosts and a gigantic pink elephant!

Houston, TX - February 4, 2015: Houston Grand Opera announced today the finalists for the annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias, to be presented in the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Theater Center on Thursday, February 5, at 7 p.m. This year's finalists are:

Segerstrom Center's Chamber Music Series continues tonight, January 31, 2015 with the acclaimed Szymanowski Quartet. For its third appearance, the Warsaw-based ensemble will perform traditional, popular and rare works by Polish composers Marcin Leopolita, Wac?aw of Szamotu?y, Krzysztof Penderecki and Graz?yna Bacewicz. Pianist Joseph Kalichstein makes his Center debut performing Chopin's Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 and Dvor?a?k's Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 8. There will be a free Preview Talk by musicologist and author Herbert Glass at 7:15 p.m. in Samueli Theater.

Following on the heels of The Ghosts of Versailles, LA Opera presents Rossini's The Barber of Seville, the midpoint of its 2015 Figaro Trilogy and a key part of its three-month Figaro Unbound exploration. LA Opera Music Director James Conlon conducts an international roster of stars including Russian baritone Rodion Pogossov, American mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, American tenor René Barbera, Italian baritone Alessandro Corbelli and Icelandic bass Kristinn Sigmundsson.

Jason Vest, Northern Kentucky University Professor, will play the role of Jean Valjean in the Department of Theatre and Dance's upcoming production of the smash-hit musical, LES MISERABLES, directed by Department Chair, Ken Jones. Vest, an accomplished tenor, is on faculty in the Department of Music as an Assistant Professor of Voice

Plácido Domingo, LA Opera's Eli and Edythe Broad General Director, has announced the company's 2015/16 season. This will be the 30th season presented by the company, created by Mr. Domingo in collaboration with Richard Seaver Music Director James Conlon and President and CEOChristopher Koelsch. The company's 30th anniversary season will include six mainstage productions and two concerts at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, with a total of 40 performances taking place in that venue, as well as 13 performances presented elsewhere through the company's Off Grand initiative. The season will open onSeptember 12, 2015, and will run through June 19, 2016.

The debate over immigration reform takes center stage in ¡Figaro! (90210), a contemporary adaptation of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, presented by LA Opera in its world premiere staging at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre from this weekend, January 16 through 18.

The Collegiate Chorale continues its 2014-15 season with George F. Handel's Susanna on February 3, 2015 at 8pm at Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036. Tickets are $30-$95 and are available at TicketMaster.com. For more information, visit http://collegiatechorale.org/performances/susanna.

Nearly a quarter-century after its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, the monumental 'grand opera buffa' The Ghosts of Versailles, by composer John Corigliano and librettist William C. Hoffman, will receive its long awaited west coast premiere in a new production directed by 2014 Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak. LA Opera Music Director James Conlon will conduct performances featuring the work's original orchestrations, heard for the first time since the opera's 1999 European premiere.

Nearly a quarter-century after its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, the monumental 'grand opera buffa' ?The Ghosts of Versailles, by composer John Corigliano and librettist William C. Hoffman, will receive its long awaited west coast premiere in a new production directed by 2014 Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak. LA Opera Music Director James Conlon will conduct performances featuring the work's original orchestrations, heard for the first time since the opera's 1999 European premiere.

The debate over immigration reform takes center stage in ¡Figaro! (90210), a contemporary adaptation of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, presented by LA Opera in its world premiere staging at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre from January 16 through 18.

OPERA NEWS Editor in Chief F. Paul Driscoll today announced the recipients of the 10th Annual Opera News Awards. This year's honorees—Piotr Beczala, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Sondra Radvanosky, Samuel Ramey and Teresa Stratas—will be feted at a black tie gala celebration on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Previous Opera News Award Winners Martina Arroyo,Gerald Finley and Susan Graham are among the presenters.