Susan Graham News

Composer, arranger, and conductor, David Berger, is recognized internationally as a leading authority on the music of Duke Ellington and the Swing Era. Conductor and arranger for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra from its inception in 1988 through 1994, Berger has transcribed more than 750 full scores of classic recordings, including more than 500 works by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Several of these transcriptions in addition to a number of original arrangements are featured in last season's Broadway hit, After Midnight.

Isabel Leonard and Jessica Vosk sing "A Boy Like That/I Have A Love" from "West Side Story" also performed by Tony Yazbeck and other Broadway artists on Great Performances: The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood. Watch the performance below!

Celebrated Producer Michael Childers will bring his latest edition of One Night Only to The McCallum Theatre on April 24, 2019 with a star-studded cast including Christine Andreas, John Barrowman, Liz Calloway and more. This season's ONO is a tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber and proceeds will benefit The Barbara Sinatra Children's Center. I had the chance to catch up with Michael as he was crafting this season's sell-out event. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation:

Los Angeles Opera presented the premiere performance of HANSEL AND GRETEL. The opera's original libretto is steeped in nineteenth century culture but Richard Sparks' translation, originally for the 2006 LA presentation of the opera, brought the text up to date and made it most appealing to contemporary children.

Some 39 members of Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC), one of the world's leading children's choirs, are featured in LA Opera's production of Humperdinck's enchanting Hansel and Gretel conducted by James Conlon and starring mezzo-soprano Susan Graham (The Witch), mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke (Hansel) and soprano Liv Redpath (Gretel). The production runs for six performances from November 17 to December 15, 2018, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. LACC's new Artistic Director, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, prepared the young choristers for their roles as the gingerbread children, noted for the purity of their sound and intricate four-part harmony. A perennial favorite, Hansel and Gretel, based on the beloved Brothers Grimm tale and sung in English, features a magical score and plot and is considered to be the composer's best-known work. 

On Friday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m., the Carnegie Hall Notables-a membership and ticket program for music enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s-presents Jamie Barton in an exclusive concert in Zankel Hall for Notables members only. The concert features the award-winning mezzo-soprano alongside pianist Kathleen Kelly performing Lee Hoiby's Bon Appetit!-a 20-minute operatic scene for mezzo-soprano and piano based on an actual Julia Child cooking show-with additional selections to be announced from the stage.

The 2019 Adelaide Festival program to be launched on 30 October 2018 at the Adelaide Town Hall and on 31 October at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art, demonstrates conclusively that the Adelaide Festival, Australia's pre-eminent arts festival, remains the dominant creative powerhouse of Southern-hemisphere celebrations.

In 2019, San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program will present the first opera commissioned in the Program's history, the world premiere of If I Were You, by distinguished American composer Jake Heggie and noted librettist Gene Scheer. This ground-breaking work will be presented August 1 - 6, 2019, at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre. Today it was announced the opera will be conducted by Nicole Paiement and directed by Keturah Stickann. Information is available at www.merola.org. Tickets will go on sale in Spring 2019.

Placido Domingo, LA Opera's Eli and Edythe Broad General Director, has announced final details about the company's upcoming revival of Hansel and Gretel, composer Engelbert Humperdinck's uniquely charming classic for all ages.

In the video below, watch Costume designer Arianne Phillips and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, who plays the title role, discuss the many costumes in Nico Muhly's 'Marnie' with host Susan Graham during intermission of the Live in HD transmission of 'Samson et Dalila.'

Lyric Opera of Chicago is pleased to announce the participation of several outstanding singers in the Renee Fleming 25th Anniversary Concert & Gala*, to honor and celebrate American soprano Renee Fleming's extraordinary commitment to Chicago and her unparalleled contributions to our art form.

Orchestra of St. Luke's Carnegie Hall 32nd-annual series concerts commences this season on October 25 in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, marking the official start of Bernard Labadie's tenure as Principal Conductor of the Orchestra. Bernard Labadie and OSL have chosen Haydn as the theme for his inaugural season, showcasing the Ensemble's strong affinity for this composer. Curated with an eye to interesting musical juxtapositions, the series will offer a variety of perspectives on Haydn's music and influence.  

For his inaugural season as Principal Conductor of Orchestra of St. Luke's, Bernard Labadie has curated a three-concert residency at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage-marking the 32nd year of the OSL series at Carnegie Hall-with a focus on the music and influence of Joseph Haydn. The first concert today, October 25 at 8:00 p.m., which pairs Haydn's "Nelson Mass" with Mozart's Requiem, K. 626 (revised and completed by Robert Levin), marks OSL's first collaboration with La Chapelle de Quebec, the choir founded and directed by Maestro Labadie. Soloists joining the ensembles on stage include soprano Lauren Snouffer, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, tenor Lothar Odinius, and bass-baritone Philippe Sly.

Orchestra of St. Luke's Carnegie Hall 32nd-annual series concerts commences this season on October 25 in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, marking the official start of Bernard Labadie's tenure as Principal Conductor of the Orchestra. Bernard Labadie and OSL have chosen Haydn as the theme for his inaugural season, showcasing the Ensemble's strong affinity for this composer. Curated with an eye to interesting musical juxtapositions, the series will offer a variety of perspectives on Haydn's music and influence.  

Concluding its highly successful 61st season, the Merola Opera Program announces the establishment of an Advisory Council, comprised of leaders in  the field of opera performance, young artist training, arts administration, performing arts, and philanthropy.

For his inaugural season as Principal Conductor of Orchestra of St. Luke's, Bernard Labadie has curated a three-concert residency at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage-marking the 32nd year of the OSL series at Carnegie Hall-with a focus on the music and influence of Joseph Haydn. The first concert on Thursday, October 25 at 8:00 p.m., which pairs Haydn's "Nelson Mass" with Mozart's Requiem, K. 626 (revised and completed by Robert Levin), marks OSL's first collaboration with La Chapelle de Quebec, the choir founded and directed by Maestro Labadie. Soloists joining the ensembles on stage include soprano Lauren Snouffer, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, tenor Lothar Odinius, and bass-baritone Philippe Sly.

Young opera singers from across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and for the first time, Mexico, will compete for $15,000 cash prizes and the opportunity to launch major operatic careers, when the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions launches its 65th annual auditions program this fall. Over 1,000 singers between the ages of 20 and 30 will participate in the program, the longest-running singing competition in the country. Finalists will perform on the stage of the Met at the Grand Finals Concert on Sunday, March 31, 2019.

The BERNSTEIN CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION AT TANGLEWOOD concert was one of the largest and most significant performances taking place worldwide in recognition of what would have been Leonard Bernstein's 100th birthday. The unprecedented and unparalleled event marked the climax of Tanglewood's season-long celebration of the Bernstein Centennial.

Grammy Award-winning mezzo Susan Graham launches her 2018-19 season in the company of Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with whom she reprises her celebrated account of Mahler's Third Symphony on a high-profile European tour that kicks off at London's BBC Proms and takes in Berlin, Leipzig, Vienna, Lucerne, and Paris. Back in the States, she makes her role debut as the Witch in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel at LA Opera, returns to Carnegie Hall for Mozart and Haydn with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, revisits her signature interpretations of two great French orchestral song cycles, singing Chausson with the Naples Philharmonic and Berlioz with the Houston Symphony, and gives solo recitals in California and Illinois.