James Levine News

Tenor Russell Thomas will replace Brandon Jovanovich, who has withdrawn due to illness, in the New York Philharmonic performances of the Verdi Requiem, conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert. The performances will also feature soprano Angela Meade (in her Philharmonic debut), mezzo-soprano Lilli Paasikivi, bass-baritone Eric Owens, and the New York Choral Artists, directed by Joseph Flummerfelt, Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, January 17 at 8:00 p.m.

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.

Soprano Angela Meade, the youngest singer ever featured on the cover of the “Diva Issue” of Opera News (November 2014), launches 2015 with a trio of high-profile events in January. She makes her eagerly awaited debut with the New York Philharmonic under Alan Gilbert in three performances of Verdi's Requiem at Avery Fisher Hall (Jan 15-17). Later in the month audiences have the opportunity to hear her star turn in the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala concert on aLive From Lincoln Center broadcast. “Richard Tucker Opera Gala: A New Century”, which was taped last October, airs on PBS on Friday, January 23, 2015. This weekend Meade is performing in a more intimate New York setting at the Morgan Library (Jan 11) where she shares the bill of a George London Recital with baritone Nicholas Pallesen, a fellow winner of the George London prize.

Internationally celebrated pianist Jeffrey Siegel has been soloist with the world's great orchestras, collaborated with many of the pre-eminent conductors of our time, and his ongoing series of Keyboard Conversations flourish in numerous American cities. Harris Center for the Arts is pleased to welcome Mr. Siegel back for yet another of his Keyboard Conversations, concerts with lively commentary.

Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann will return to the Met stage January 12, with Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo in his first company performances of the title role, a poet whose attempts at romance are repeatedly thwarted.

Matt Haimovitz and Christopher O'Riley, two fearless musicians who have bonded over common musical passions of wide range and scope, reunite for BEETHOVEN, Period., an illuminating voyage back to the birth of the cello/piano genre with Beethoven's Sonatas for Pianoforte and Cello. Grammy-nominated Matt Haimovitz, praised as a musical visionary in pushing the boundaries of classical music performance, and O'Riley, acclaimed for his engaging and deeply committed performances and known to millions as the host of NPR's From the Top, turn back the clock to record for the first time on period instruments – Haimovitz's Venetian Matteo Gofriller cello of 1710 set up with gut strings and an early 19th century tailpiece, and O'Riley with an 1823 original Broadwood fortepiano. The new recording on two SACDs is available internationally on February 1, 2015 on the PENTATONE Oxingale Series.

NEW YORK, Dec. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ Mozart's elegant masterpiece of marital discord, Le Nozze di Figaro, conducted by Met Music Director James Levine and staged by Richard Eyre, is the season premiere of Great Performances at the Met Friday, January 16 at 9 p.m. on PBS.

In early 2015, the celebrated mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato continues her multi-part Carnegie Hall Perspectives series showcasing her vocal creativity and multifaceted talents that range from programs of familiar and forgotten repertoire from the Baroque and bel canto eras to new works by Jake Heggie written expressly for her.

Martin Gantner will sing the role of Beckmesser in Wednesday evening's performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, replacing Johannes Martin Kränzle, who is ill. Ryan McKinny will sing the role of Kothner, which Gantner was originally scheduled to sing.

The Collegiate Chorale presents the New York City premiere of Eric Idle and John Du Prez's Not The Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) at Carnegie Hall, tonight and tomorrow, December 15-16, 2014 at 8pm.

Met Music Director James Levine conducts Wagner's epic human comedy Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in its first-ever Live in HD performance today, December 13 at 12pm EST.

I never ran a marathon, but I sure sat through one the other night at the Met. Richard Wagner's DIE MEISTERSINGER clocked in at six hours--a quarter of a day--without a god or flying horse in sight. And while the composer referred to this as a comedy, it's not exactly “I Love Lucy” (nor, for that matter, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO).

Soprano Angela Meade is a 2008 George London Award winner who is the youngest singer ever to grace the cover of the annual "Diva" issue of Opera News (November 2014). Baritone Nicholas Pallesen is a 2013 George London Award winner making his New York recital debut. Joined by pianists Danielle Orlando and Craig Rutenberg, they will perform a duo recital on Sunday, January 11, 2015, at 4:30 PM at The Morgan Library & Museum, presented by the George London Foundation for Singers. Both singers were featured in The Audition, the documentary about the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

The Collegiate Chorale presents the New York City premiere of Eric Idle and John Du Prez's Not The Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) at Carnegie Hall, December 15-16, 2014 at 8pm.

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.

Met Music Director James Levine conducts Wagner's epic human comedy Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in its first-ever Live in HD performance on Saturday, December 13 at 12pm EST.

Town Hall Theater will broadcast the Metropolitan Opera production of Richard Wagner's comedic opera Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg on December 13 at 12 noon.

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra presents Michelle DeYoung this weekend, November 21-22, 2014 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Led by guest conductor Asher Fisch, the performances feature Schumann's Symphony No. 2, Berg's Seven Early Songs, and Strauss's Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration) with mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung. Both concerts include Meet the Music, a free, interactive pre-concert discussion held one hour prior to concert start time in Uihlein Hall today and in Anello Atrium on Saturday. Today's performance offers a post-concert Meet the Artist Luncheon in the Bradley Pavilion.

Today, November 21, the Metropolitan Opera Guild's 80th Annual Luncheon presents 'Brava, Jessye!' to salute the legendary Jessye Norman, who recently wrote about her life in a memoir titled Stand Up Straight and Sing!

The Dallas Opera, in the latest installment of The Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Art Song Recital Series, will present the phenomenal American tenor,Matthew Polenzani, in an exclusive, one-time-only recital on the afternoon of Sunday, January 11, 2015 at Southern Methodist University's popular Caruth Auditorium (an intimate 490-seat venue located in the Owen Arts Center, 6101 Bishop, Dallas, TX 75205). The two o'clock recital will also feature the exciting and accomplished playing of Mr. Polenzani's frequent recording partner, pianistJulius Drake.