Richard Tucker News

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is back in New York City and Lincoln Square restaurants step up to the plate! The runways will be lit and the area's restaurants are sure to be packed with people taking advantage of Lincoln Square BID's successful dining promotions: Fashion Plate Prix Fixe and Lincoln Square Crew Cuts. The Event runs February 7-14 and the Upper West Side's most popular restaurants are hosting fashionably exceptional deals for everyone coming to, living in or working in the Lincoln Square neighborhood.

Tenor Stephen Costello will be hitting the high Cs - nine of them, in fact - when he opens San Diego Opera's season, making his role debut as Tonio in Donizetti's La fille du regiment (Jan. 26-Feb. 3). The Philadelphia-born singer - winner of the Richard Tucker Award - performed in the company's production of Faust in 2011, leading San Diego.com to declare that Costello's "polished tenor boasts all the traits we hope for." He is coming off his Berlin State Opera debut in December as Rodolfo in Puccini's La boheme, of which Der Neue Merker observed that he "won over the audience quickly," adding that the singer "has a mellow sweetness in his voice and produces a delightful piano. Yet he has the vocal force required for outbursts of anger and despair." The tenor is looking ahead to more Donizetti, with a March run in L'elisir d'amore at the Vienna State Opera and an April production of Lucia di Lammermoor with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto.

Soprano Renee Fleming and Mezzo-Soprano Susan Graham, two of the world's foremost stars of opera, join together for a rare recital of duets at The McCallum Theatre tonight, January 22 at 8:00 pm. Through selections from the French, German and American repertoire, the compelling and dynamic singers will create a lively evening of collaboration.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO)-the only opera company with two Grammys, two Emmys, and a Tony - continues to raise the bar for American opera with next season's gripping new line-up.

Gotham Chamber Opera continues its 2012-2013 Season with ELIOGABALO (1667) by Francesco Cavalli. The show will run from March 15-29, 2013 at 8pm at The Box, 189 Chrystie Street, NYC. Tickets are $30-$250 and are available on www.ticketcentral.com or by phone at 212-279-4200. Eliogabalo will be performed on Friday, March 15; Tuesday, March 19; Thursday, March 21; Saturday, March 23; Tuesday, March 26; and Friday, March 29.

Live From Lincoln Center, the award-winning series celebrating live performance at the world's largest performing arts center, will expand its 2013 broadcast season to a total of nine programs. Live From Lincoln Center's winter and spring broadcasts are: 'Ring Them Bells! Rob Fisher Celebrates Kander & Ebb', 'Kristin Chenoweth: The Dames of Broadway...All of 'Em!!!', Josh Groban, 'Stephanie Blythe: We'll Meet Again - The Songs of Kate Smith', Carousel and Audra McDonald.

Soprano Renee Fleming and Mezzo-Soprano Susan Graham, two of the world's foremost stars of opera, join together for a rare recital of duets at The McCallum Theatre on January 22 at 8:00 pm. Through selections from the French, German and American repertoire, the compelling and dynamic singers will create a lively evening of collaboration.

Gotham Chamber Opera continues its 2012-2013 Season with ELIOGABALO (1667) by Francesco Cavalli. The show will run from March 15-29, 2013 at 8pm at The Box, 189 Chrystie Street, NYC. Tickets are $30-$175 and are available on www.ticketcentral.com or by phone at 212-279-4200.

Carrying on the Houston legacy of holiday seasons past, The Houston Symphony will perform Handel's Messiah tonight, December 21 and the 22nd and 23rd at Jones Hall.

American soprano Ailyn Perez earned yet another honor on Wednesday when she was named the winner of the 15th annual Placido Domingo Award. The prestigious award, personally given by Maestro Domingo to an artist of his choosing, celebrates the accomplishments of Hispanic artists as well as those who contribute to the awareness of opera and its educational value in the Latino community of Los Angeles. Earlier this year, Perez also won the namesake award of one of the other legendary tenors in opera's history - the 2012 Richard Tucker Award. Born in Chicago to Mexican parents, Perez is the first Hispanic singer to receive the Richard Tucker Award in its 34-year history.

Soprano Ailyn Pérez, winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award, was fresh from a string of European appearances, including her Bolshoi Theater debut and performances at the Hamburg State Opera, when she lit up the stage at New York's Avery Fisher Hall at the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala on November 11. The gala was filmed for national broadcast in the U.S. as part of the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center series on PBS and will air tonight, December 13. Live from Lincoln Center: The Richard Tucker Opera Gala, which is being hosted by singer and actress Audra McDonald, will include a feature on Pérez, backstage access to the artists, and selections from the musical performance.

Many of today's biggest names in opera - such as baritones Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Gerald Finley; mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina; tenors Stephen Costello, Marcello Giordani, and Giuseppe Filianoti; bass Ildar Abdrazakov; and bass-baritone Erwin Schrott - will light up TV screens across the country on Thursday, December 13 at 8 pm (check local listings) for the national broadcast of the Richard Tucker Opera Gala on PBS's Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center.

Carrying on the Houston legacy of holiday seasons past, The Houston Symphony will perform Handel's Messiah on December 21, 22 and 23 at Jones Hall.

The Collegiate Chorale announces its upcoming performance with the American Symphony Orchestra, Beatrice di Tenda by Vincenzo Bellini tonight, December 5, 2012 at 6pm at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, NYC. Tickets start at $12.50 and are available at www.carnegiehall.org.

Soprano Ailyn Perez, winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award, was fresh from a string of European appearances, including her Bolshoi Theater debut and performances at the Hamburg State Opera, when she lit up the stage at New York's Avery Fisher Hall at the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala on November 11. The gala was filmed for national broadcast in the U.S. as part of the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center series on PBS and will air on Thursday, December 13. Live from Lincoln Center: The Richard Tucker Opera Gala, which is being hosted by singer and actress Audra McDonald, will include a feature on Perez, backstage access to the artists, and selections from the musical performance.

PBS announced yesterday that five-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald will be the new host for the long-running series LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER. The singer and actress will host seven broadcasts of the show starting next month through spring of 2013.

Lincoln Square Business Improvement District (BID) hosts the 13th annual Winter's Eve at Lincoln Square, New York City's largest outdoor holiday festival tonight, November 26th from 5:00PM - 9:00PM.