Susan Graham News

Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will lead a rare revival of Berlioz's Les Troyens beginning tonight, December 13.

Francesca Zambello's new staging of Les Troyens was given its premiere to rave reviews at the Metropolitan Opera in 2003, when the New York Times called it "a visually stunning, seamlessly flowing, and emotionally involving realization of Berlioz's inspired…retelling of Virgil's Aeneid." Now, almost a decade later, the French composer's monumental Trojan War epic returns to the Met for its first revival, opening on December 13 for seven performances.

The Cleveland Orchestra announces the appointment of Mark Williams as director of artistic planning. Mr. Williams will be responsible for managing all aspects of artistic planning and programming at The Cleveland Orchestra, including managing all artist relations, programming, and presentations at Severance Hall and the Blossom Festival. He will begin his duties with the Orchestra on January 7, 2013.

Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will lead a rare revival of Berlioz's Les Troyens beginning December 13. Francesca Zambello's production, critically acclaimed when it premiered at the Met in 2003, will star Marcello Giordani in his house role debut as Aeneas, the central character in the grand tragedy, which travels from the crumbling walls of Troy to the North African kingdom of Carthage. Deborah Voigt will reprise her performance of the Trojan prophetess Cassandra, a role she debuted in the premiere of Zambello's production, and Susan Graham will sing her first Met performances of Dido, the lovesick queen of Carthage. The cast also features Julie Boulianneas Aeneas's son, Ascanio; Karen Cargill as Dido's devoted sister, Anna; Paul Appleby as the young sailor Hylas; Eric Cutler as Dido's court poet, Iopas; Richard Bernstein as the Trojan priest Pantheus; Dwayne Croft as Cassandra's fiance, Coroebus; and Kwangchul Youn as Narbal, Dido's trusted advisor. The Saturday, January 5 matinee performance of Les Troyens will be transmitted worldwide as part of the Met's Live in HD series, which is now seen in more than 1,900 movie theaters in 64 countries around the world.

Charismatic pianist Helene Grimaud comes to Walt Disney Concert Hall to perform an imaginative recital program on her birthday, tonight, November 7, at 8 pm. The lineup features music from her 2010 release, Resonances, which is described as a "music journey through the Austro-Hungarian empire tracing the echoes, pre-echoes and historical links between Mozart, Berg, Liszt and Bartok."

The Dallas Opera has announced that single tickets for Giacomo Puccini's final masterpiece, TURANDOT, as well as a new production of the company's first world premiere commemorating the 25th anniversary of Dominick Argento's THE ASPERN PAPERS will go on sale Wednesday, November 14, 2012 beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Charismatic pianist Helene Grimaud comes to Walt Disney Concert Hall to perform an imaginative recital program on her birthday, Wednesday, November 7, at 8 pm. The lineup features music from her 2010 release, Resonances, which is described as a "music journey through the Austro-Hungarian empire tracing the echoes, pre-echoes and historical links between Mozart, Berg, Liszt and Bartok."

LA BOHÈME opens this week at Houston Grand Opera. It runs from October 19 to November 10, 2012. Busy with rehearsals and putting the final touches on this perennial favorite, Heidi Stober who is portraying Musetta took a few moments to chat about the character, the show, and herself.

The Canadian Opera Company has announced that, after four months of negotiations, the company's offer to the membership of Canadian Actors' Equity Association and the Toronto Musicians Association has been rejected. An agreement would have allowed the COC to continue to produce, in partnership with the CBC, broadcasts of the COC's entire 2012/2013 season on CBC Radio 2 and Radio-Canada's Espace Musique. These broadcasts have been in place since the fall of 2009.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Dominick Argento, who celebrates his 85th birthday on October 27, has made a commitment through a charitable remainder trust to endow a professorship at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music to the value of $1.5 million. In honor of Argento, who received his Ph.D. in composition at Eastman in 1958, the endowed position will be named the Dominick J. Argento Professor.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has declared Tuesday, August 28, 2012 "Richard Tucker Day" in New York City, marking what would have been the legendary Brooklyn-born tenor's 99th birthday.

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) will enter into a new phase of development with a 2012/2013 season marked by notable artistic collaborations and chamber music programs and the Carnegie Hall main stage debut of its recently-appointed Principal Conductor Pablo Heras-Casado. The season kicks off with the free Subway Series and food drive, reflecting OSL's continuing commitment to community engagement throughout New York City and at its state-of-the-art new home, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music.

The Dallas Opera has announced that single tickets for the tremendously popular AÏDA-its 2012-2013 Season Opener-will become available on Monday, September 10, 2012 at 10:00 am.

The editors of Opera News have announced the honorees for the 2012 Opera News Awards, paying tribute to five superb artists who have made an invaluable contribution to the art form: sopranos Mirella Freni and Dawn Upshaw, countertenor David Daniels, baritone Simon Keenlyside, and bass-baritone Eric Owens. The eighth annual Opera News Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, April 21 at The Plaza in New York City. All the winners - and a host of the city's cultural, civic, and social luminaries - will be present at the gala awards dinner, which will feature celebrity presenters speaking about the awardees and introducing video performance clips.

Single tickets go on sale to the general public today, Aug. 1, for Lyric Opera of Chicago's 58th season. The internationally renowned company will present grand opera with exceptional casts and productions in its beautiful home, the historic Civic Opera House. Lyric will offer 68 performances of 9 operas in the 25-week season, including 6 new-to-Chicago productions, Saturday, October 6, 2012, through Saturday, April 6, 2013.

The Dallas Opera announced today that the key role of Juliana Bordereau in the company's 25th Anniversary production of Dominick Argento's THE ASPERN PAPERS will be sung by Canadian-born French soprano Alexandra Deshorties. Ms. Deshorties made her Dallas Opera debut in October of 2009 as Desdemona in Giuseppe Verdi's Otello, in the production that opened the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

Single tickets go on sale to the general public Wed., Aug. 1, for Lyric Opera of Chicago's 58th season. The internationally renowned company will present grand opera with exceptional casts and productions in its beautiful home, the historic Civic Opera House. Lyric will offer 68 performances of 9 operas in the 25-week season, including 6 new-to-Chicago productions, Saturday, October 6, 2012, through Saturday, April 6, 2013.