Stephanie Blythe News

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts, will begin its 13th season on October 6, with the Met's grand production of Verdi's Aida, starring one of the world's most acclaimed sopranos, Anna Netrebko.

Accelerating his arrival as Music Director by two seasons, Yannick Nezet-Seguin will take up the post in time for the start of the Metropolitan Opera's 2018-19 season, it was announced today.

Michael Kahn today announces Shakespeare Theatre Company's 2018-2019 Season. With two world premieres from celebrated playwrights, a multiple Tony Award-winning presentation, a dynamic adaptation of a classic novel, two Shakespeare plays and a group of acclaimed directors and artists, it is an ambitious grand finale for STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn, who will retire from the company at the end of the Season.

The Metropolitan Opera National Council, Eastern Region host committee will hold its regional finals auditions Sunday, March 4th at Merkin Concert Hall (129 West 67th Street) beginning at 3 pm. For this first time, the auditions will be presented as a ticketed concert open to the public.

Palm Beach Opera today announced its 2018-2019 mainstage opera season, which will include performances of Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni, and Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus, as well as a new concert, Rising Stars of Opera. All of Palm Beach Opera's thrilling and elaborate productions will be performed in the Dreyfoos Concert Hall at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. 

The Dallas Opera is proud to announce its spectacular 2018-2019 Season, "Swept Away," consisting of five captivating mainstage productions, including a passionate Puccini pairing during the month of March, designed to melt the last blast of winter, followed by the company's first-ever Falstaff.

The Atlanta Opera continues its 2017-18 season with Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment, known for its romance, comedy, and vocal acrobatics. Andriana Chuchman will make her Atlanta debut as Marie, the adopted daughter of the French 21st regiment. Santiago Ballerini, an alum of The Atlanta Opera Studio artist, returns to Atlanta as Tonio. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe makes her role debut as The Marquise of Berkenfeld. This production marks the debut of The Daughter of the Regiment at the Cobb Energy Centre, and the first presentation in Atlanta since 1985.

Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning's popular Music Mondays series features informal performances and lively conversations with renowned performers and conductors. Monday Music sessions are held on Mondays through March 26. The morning sessions, hosted by Edward Alley, are 10:30 a.m. at Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road. Afternoon sessions, hosted by Dr. Joseph Holt and Robert Sherman, are at 3 p.m. at Venice Presbyterian Church, 825 The Rialto. Tickets are $10 per session. To purchase tickets, visit www.sillsarasota.org. For more information, call 941-365-6404.

MasterVoices presents Our America a unique program taking audiences on a journey through the contributions immigrants have made to the tapestry of American music on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. at the Great Hall at The Cooper Union. Conceived by MasterVoices Artistic Director Ted Sperling, the program spans multiple genres and centuries, ranging from arrangements of the spirituals Gospel Train, Wayfaring Stranger, I've Been in the Storm So Long, and Ain't That Good News ; Irving Berlin's Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, and Let Me Sing and I'm Happy, ; selections by Victor Herbert, Kurt Weill, Leonard Bernstein, and Gershwin; and new works by Jerusalem native and BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop member Daniel Rein and award-winning Chinese American composer Randall Eng.

It's just about time to wish you all a happy 2018--but I'm not quite ready to put 2017 to rest. Though it won't go into the annals as one of the best years ever, there were quite enough performances and performers that made this year a winner for me, operatically speaking at least, in my corner of the world.

The Adelphi Orchestra, now in its 64th season of Music for All, presents 'Power and Majesty' with works by Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and Faure under the baton of AO Artistic Director Jason Tramm on Sunday, January 28th at 2PM, at the Pascack Valley Regional High School Auditorium.

Merkin Concert Hall's 2018 lineup features a wide range of events, from talks to concerts and everything in between. Check out some of their upcoming events!

Pasadena Symphony's annual Holiday Candlelight concert returns to All Saints Church today, December 16, 2017. Having sold out for the past six years, the symphony will offer two performances to meet community demand at 4:00pm & 7:00pm.

Classical music lovers around the world can share in two longstanding New York City institutions beginning this weekend, as both the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala concert on Sunday, December 10 (6pm ET), and the first of Trinity Church Wall Street's annual performances of Handel's Messiah today, December 15 (7:30pm ET), are broadcast by WQXR, New York City's only all-classical music station, at WQXR 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org.

It was great that the 2017 Richard Tucker Gala was heard live on WQXR.org and on WQXR radio on Sunday, but those of us who were in Carnegie Hall had it much better. This year's winner, soprano Nadine Sierra, sounded wonderful (and looked ravishing, by the way) as she whipped through Verdi's 'Caro nome' (RIGOLETTO) and 'Ah, forse lui Sempre libera'), with secure high notes and thoughtful drama, and Bernstein-Sondheim's 'Tonight' (WEST SIDE STORY), paired with tenor Vittorio Grigolo. She's a charming, extremely gifted performer.

Classical music lovers around the world can share in two longstanding New York City institutions beginning this weekend, as both the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala concert on Sunday, December 10 (6pm ET), and the first of Trinity Church Wall Street's annual performances of Handel's Messiah on Friday, December 15 (7:30pm ET), are broadcast by WQXR, New York City's only all-classical music station, at WQXR 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org.

Mezzo soprano Hyona Kim will join PREformances with Allison Charney classical concert series on November 27th for the second concert of its 2017-18 debut Season at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center. Ms. Kim joins host and founder soprano Allison Charney in a program which will feature preformances by Royal Stockholm Philharmonic cellist Kajsa William-Olsson who will play Martinu's Cello Concerto, No. 1 as she prepares to perform it with full orchestra later this season; Orchestra of St. Luke's principal flutist Elizabeth Mann who will play Prokofiev's Flute Sonata with pianist Donna Weng in advance of their upcoming concert at Princeton and the ARK trio, who will perform Michael Ching's reimagining's of five of Schubert's classic songs in his cycle Arrangements and Derangements: Interpretations of Schubert.

Pasadena Symphony's annual Holiday Candlelight concert returns to All Saints Church on Saturday, December 16, 2017. Having sold out for the past six years, the symphony will offer two performances to meet community demand at 4:00pm & 7:00pm.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, in association with Lyric Unlimited, has announced the return of Beyond the Aria - the highly acclaimed performance series produced by the Harris Theater which pairs internationally celebrated opera singers of Lyric's mainstage alongside rising stars from The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

OPERA NEWS Editor in Chief F. Paul Driscoll has announced the recipients of the 13th Annual OPERA NEWS Awards.