Los Angeles Opera News

Elegant themes and opulent variations by a wide range of Baroque composers set the tone for the holidays as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) features critically acclaimed virtuoso John Schneiderman playing lute and Baroque guitar in the first of five "Baroque Conversations" concerts on Thursday, December 5, 2013, 7 pm, at Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles. LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, who hosts and curates the concert, is joined by LACO's Tereza Stanislav, violin, Armen Ksajikian, cello, Nico Abondolo, bass, and Patricia Mabee, keyboard. The program opens with Passacaglia in D major by Sylvius Leopold Weiss and also includes Karl Kohaut's Lute Concerto in F major (No. 1); Tarquinio Merula's Ciaccona; three sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti; the Ciaconna from Mauricio Cazzati's Varii e Diversi Capricci, Op. 50; and Arcangelo Corelli's "La Follia," Op. 5, No. 12, among other works. Critics have called Schneiderman "dazzling' and "expressive," noting that, "Schneiderman's tone… turns delicate textures into sparkling jewels."

Scenes from the opera, 'The Age of Innocence,' music and libretto by David Carpenter, will be performed at Christ and St. Stephen's Church, 120 W. 69th Street in Manhattan, today, November 17th at 3pm, free admission. Based on the novel by Edith Wharton, the opera tells the story of a love-triangle set in New York City in the 1870s.

Los Angeles Children's Chorus, acclaimed for its pure, agile, bel canto sound that has made it one of the most in-demand children's choirs in the county, spotlights the music of Benjamin Britten and the English choral tradition and also performs a compelling array of music from around the globe at its popular annual Winter Concert on Saturday, December 7, 7 PM, and Sunday, December 8, 2013, 7:30 PM, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. The repertoire includes Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols, Friday Afternoons and selections from his extensive collection of folksong settings, as well as a selection of English carols and cathedral anthems from Sir David Willc*cks, John Rutter and others.

English conductor Jane Glover will make her Met debut on December 16 leading the company's holiday presentation, an abridged, English-language production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, directed by Julie Taymor. The 100-minute version of Taymor's popular staging of the opera will star Alek Shrader as the brave prince Tamino; Heidi Stober as Pamina, the princess he must rescue; Eric Owens as the mysterious Sarastro; Shenyang as the Speaker; and Nathan Gunn as the hapless bird-catcher Papageno. Albina Shagimuratova and Kathryn Lewek will alternate in the role of Pamina's vindictive mother, the Queen of the Night. The Magic Flute launched the recent Met tradition of presenting a family-oriented production each holiday season, with sharply discounted tickets and two special weekday matinee performances. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the production!

(STOCKTON, CA)—The Stockton Symphony opens its second Classics concert of the season with two beautiful examples of French symphonic repertoire: Ravel's “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” and Bizet's “Symphony in C Major,” juxtaposed with a very recent flute concerto, “Trail of Tears,” by American composer Michael Daugherty. The vivid contrast makes for an extremely intriguing and satisfying evening.

Utah Opera presents a unique, cabaret-style theater experience featuring some of opera's best known arias in Kathleen Cahill's, irreverent Fatal Song onstage at Rose Wagner Theatre.

November 12, 2013 – East Providence, RI ? December 7 marks the cultural high point of Rhode Island's holiday season, when the RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA joins forces with THE PROVIDENCE SINGERS, CHRISTINE NOEL, artistic director, in their seventh annual performance of George Frideric Handel's MESSIAH. Soloists include soprano MARTHA GUTH, mezzo-soprano ABIGAIL FISCHER, tenor CHRISTOPHER HUTCHINSON, and bass-baritone MATTHEW BURNS . The Philharmonic's Resident Conductor FRANCISCO NOYAconducts. The perennial favorite holiday concert features a family-friendly start time of 7:00pm on Saturday December 7 at The Vets in Providence. WPRO News Talk 630 is the media sponsor. Tickets (starting at $15) are available at www.riphil.org/tickets and the RIPO box office at 401.248.7000.

October 15, 2013 – Richmond, Virginia This November, The Richmond Symphony invites you to An Evening with Kate Lindsey, an Altria Masterworks concert. Kate Lindsey, a homegrown rising star mezzo-soprano, returns to the Richmond area for a not-to-be-missed evening of French arias and orchestral showpieces with The Richmond Symphony and Conductor Steven Smith.

Utah Opera presents a unique, cabaret-style theater experience featuring some of opera's best known arias in Kathleen Cahill's, irreverent Fatal Song onstage at Rose Wagner Theatre.

Can't get enough of Patti LuPone? A documentary following the legendary performer has just been released on Youtube, titled 'Entrances, Exits, and Everything In Between.' Creator Josh Johnston writes: 'What she and I have collaborated on is our effort to show aspiring performers and fans of the arts what it's like in the shoes of a veteran of the craft: everything from the Sunset lows to the Rainbow Highs of performing, Patti LuPone has seen and lived it all.' Check out the sixth episode below!

Verismo Opera Theater will host its second masterclass of the year as part of our Artist Training Program. It is part of our mission to create a space where Chicago Area opera singers can receive advanced career training beyond the classroom. Singers of all experience levels (and fans) are welcome to attend for free.

The Collegiate Chorale presents its first concert of the season, Mefistofele, by Arrigo Boito tonight, November 6, 2013 at 8pm at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, NYC. The Collegiate Chorale will hold its Annual Fall Gala immediately following the concert.

Theatre for a New Audience's inaugural production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by multiple Tony Award-winner Julie Taymor with original music composed by Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning Elliot Goldenthal, opens tonight, November 2, at the Theatre's newly-named building, Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place between Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street, Brooklyn.

Guest conductor Charles Dutoit leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, the English composer's impassioned denunciation of war on Thursday, November 14; Friday, November 15; and Saturday, November 16, all at 8 p.m.

To commemorate the centennial of the opera's 1913 U.S. premiere at the Met, Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier returns for a series of performances conducted by Edward Gardner and featuring a cast of international singers making company debuts and role debuts. Viennese soprano Martina Serafin sings her first Met performances of one of her signature roles, the Marschallin. Alice Coote, who currently stars as Detective Anne Strawson in the North American premiere of Nico Muhly's Two Boys, sings the trouser role of the Marschallin's young lover, Octavian, while Mojca Erdmann makes her company role debut as Sophie, the innocent young woman who comes between the two. Peter Rose reprises his acclaimed interpretation of the Marschallin's oafish cousin, Baron Ochs; Hans-Joachim Ketelsen sings Sophie's protective father, Faninal; and Eric Cutler returns to the role of the Italian Singer. On December 3, German mezzo-soprano Daniela Sindram will make her Met debut as Octavian, a role she will also sing on December 7 and 10. On December 13, French mezzo-soprano Géraldine Chauvet will sing her first company performance of Octavian. At the December 3 performance, two graduates of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program will sing principal roles: Erin Morley as Sophie and Mario Chang as the Italian Singer.

Live opera, 'up close and personal,' returns for four days to Southern California with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera's (LAMet) November 2013 production of Verdi's fiery masterpiece, IL TROVATORE. The mad gypsies and love-sick troubadours of Verdi's imagination will come bristling to life at All Soul's Chapel at Good Samaritan Hospital downtown today and Sunday, November 2nd and 3rd at 3pm.

The Collegiate Chorale announces its first concert of the season, Mefistofele, by Arrigo Boito on November 6, 2013 at 8pm at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, NYC. Tickets are available at www.carnegiehall.org or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800. Single tickets for this concert start at $15. The Collegiate Chorale will hold its Annual Fall Gala immediately following the concert.

(STOCKTON, CA)—The Stockton Symphony opens its second Classics concert of the season with two beautiful examples of French symphonic repertoire: Ravel's “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” and Bizet's “Symphony in C Major,” juxtaposed with a very recent flute concerto, “Trail of Tears,” by American composer Michael Daugherty. The vivid contrast makes for an extremely intriguing and satisfying evening.

Internationally acclaimed soprano Maureen Francis will join the New Jersey Festival Orchestra at the Morris Museum's Bickford Theater, on Saturday, November 2 at 8:00pm, as it brings to life, in glorious symphonic splendor, the original 1925 movie The Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney. Ms Francis will perform the singing role of Christine Daae, the Paris opera singer who is the object of the Phantom's desires.