Los Angeles Opera News

Lyric Opera of Chicago has recorded Ruggiero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci on film. Last week, the company announced that registration was open for audiences to secure free links to screen the new Pagliacci made at the Lyric Opera House. Audiences can now secure a free, on-demand viewing of this verismo production. More information about the production and reservations are available at lyricopera.org/pagliacci. 

Lyric Opera of Chicago announced that registration is now open for audiences to secure a free link to screen its new, original film production of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, made at the Lyric Opera House. Audiences can now secure a free, on-demand viewing of this verismo production. More information about the production and reservations are available at lyricopera.org/pagliacci.

American Lyric Theater today announces that three composers and three librettists have been selected from over 200 applicants to join the Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP) as Resident Artists this season. The artists selected for this prestigious fellowship are composers Jasmine Arielle Barnes, Johanny Navarro, and Alex Weiser; and librettists Joshua Banbury, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, and Marcus Yi.

On Friday, September 24, 2021 at 6:00pm, Bradshaw Performing Arts Center at Sandhills Community College will present Grammy Award-winning baritone Lucas Meachem in a recital celebrating the release of his first ever solo album, Shall We Gather, out on Rubicon Classics the same day

On Friday, September 24, 2021, Grammy Award-winning baritone Lucas Meachem, highly in-demand at opera houses around the world, will release his first ever solo album, Shall We Gather, on Rubicon Classics.

The Charleston Gaillard Center is thrilled to announce 2021-2022 Series single tickets are on sale Friday, August 6 at 11am for seven performances. Additional performances will go on sale later this month. Featuring ten incredible performances, from award-winning Broadway to stunning dance performances, the 2021-2022 Series creates unforgettable, world-class experiences here in the Lowcountry. 

We board the Magic Opera Flying Carpet on Saturday morning, July 24, and go straight to the Bay Area for San Francisco Opera’s production of Richard Strauss’ Elektra.Soprano Christine Goerke stars in the title role. Director Keith Warner’s production blurs the line between past and present, myth, and reality. Conductor Henrik Nánási debuts.

Portland Opera has announced that Priti Gandhi has joined the company as artistic director. Ms. Gandhi will work with Sue Dixon, and artistic advisors Karen Slack and Damien Geter, to guide the company as an artistic and strategic leader.

On the Los Angeles Opera website, Igor Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex is available to stream now thru July 18th. Stravinsky based his opera Oedipus Rex on the ancient Greek tragedy by Sophocles. Oedipus Rex, is staged with minimal movement, which works well with COVID restrictions. A narrator describes the action in English.

The Santa Fe Opera announces the following casting updates for the 2021 Season opening on July 10 and running through August 27: Laurie Feldman will direct The Marriage of Figaro after a concept by French Director Laurent Pelly, who is unable to travel to Santa Fe due to international travel restrictions and has therefore been following rehearsals and the progress of the production from France.

New Village Arts, the professional theatre in the heart of Carlsbad that is the cultural hub of North County San Diego, announces the addition of two new staff members, Amanda Jordan as Marketing Manager and Sakshi Tiwari as Manager of Connectivity.

In the video, Gallup/Na'nízhoozhí, Anthony Roth Costanzo and Davone Tines sing music by Matthew Aucoin written to poetry by Jake Skeets. Lowe and Skeets are both Navajo artists. Skeets, who grew up in Gallup, gives his hometown a leading role in his poetry. Lowe's film is an unflinching yet tender portrait of the city in 2021.

Seasoned Broadway performer Justin Lee Miller will join Interlochen Center for the Arts this fall as the inaugural Program Director of Musical Theatre. Young artists from around the globe train in musical theatre at Interlochen and develop their confidence as performers in fully staged musicals and plays.

The Board of Directors of The Music Center today announced the appointment to the board of Kent Kresa, retired chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman Corporation; Keith Leonard, current chairman and former chief executive officer of UNITY Biotechnology; Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health, CEO of UCLA Hospital System and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences; and Jennifer Walske, interim faculty director of Impact@Anderson at UCLA.

This is the last week to watch Los Angeles Opera’s online Signature Recital Series which gives viewers exclusive online access to fine performances filmed in stunning venues around the world. The series includes unforgettable singing by mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, tenor Russell Thomas, soprano Christine Goerke, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges, and soprano Julia Bullock—a breathtaking showcase of vocal magic. 

Amazon offers its support for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the music and arts community with a sponsorship of Merola Opera Program's What the Heart Desires recital featuring works by women and people of color, as well as two master classes by world renowned artists.

On June 22, I watched J’Nai Bridges’ online recital at Los Angeles Opera’s website. Bridges has been making highly acclaimed debuts at major opera houses. For her LA Opera recital, she chose major selections by Johannes Brahms and Charles Gounod as well as many lesser-known shorter pieces. She sang with pianist Jeremy Frank, harpist Brandee Younger, violist Drew Forde, and dancer Shauna Davis. Available on LA Opera website now.

Live opera will return this summer with Connecticut Lyric Opera's production of Giacomo Puccini's beloved masterwork La Bohème. The powerful story of love and selflessness, which inspired the Tony and Pulitzer Award-winning rock musical Rent, is presented in partnership with Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra.

On June 18, 2021, I watched Los Angeles Opera’s film of Stravinsky’s 1927 opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex. Jean Cocteau, who wrote the libretto, based it on the ancient Greek tragedy Sophocles wrote ca. 429 BCE. Right now LAO is featuring it online for free.

On Saturday, we see Los Angeles Opera’s online stream of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex. Stravinsky based Oedipus on Sophocles’ Greek tragedy and his 1927 opera is a highly stylized, ritualistic work. A narrator describes the action throughout the course of the opera. Although the opera is in Latin, narration is spoken in the language of the audience.