Opera Interviews - Page 2

As I write this, mezzo soprano Emily Fons is driving from her home in Milwaukee to San Diego to rehearse the role of Rosina, the wife of roving-eyed count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville by Rossini. Three years ago Fons sang Cherubino here in the related comic opera The Marriage of Figaro by Mozar...

Emily Fons received a Grammy nomination for her work on the recording of Jennifer Higdon’s opera Cold Mountain. Fons has been lauded for her virtuosic abilities in the Baroque and Bel Canto repertoires and for the dramatic commitment and musicality she brings to modern works. She has performed with ...

Her Mozart is lyrical, lush, secure and dynamic, with a forceful top range and fluid technique that makes her vocality perfect for a role such as Donna Anna, which has challenged sopranos over the past two centuries. Yet soprano Vanessa Goikoetxea showed her versatility when she won immense kudos fo...

One of the world’s foremost, most adventurous, female producers of contemporary opera, and a tireless champion of diverse voices, Beth Morrison unequivocally embraces her seemingly limitless drive....

John Riesen made headlines earlier this year when in the early days of the health crisis, he helped bring income to artists by creating the COVID-19 Artist Support - Pure Voice Spotify playlist, Now, Riesen is continuing to bring beautiful music into the world, this time through the release of his ...

Tune in right here today, October 29 (3pm ET), as he chats with one of Broadway favorite Beth Malone. Beth will soon join Seth Rudetsky for two very special concerts on Sunday, November 1 (8pm) and Monday, November 2 (3pm)....

Tune in right here today, October 28 (12pm ET), as he chats with Rafael Casal and Adrienne Warren, who star in one-night-only virtual Halloween benefit concert presentation of The Nightmare Before Christmas, benefitting the Actors Fund and the Lymphoma Research Foundation. ...

Tune in right here today, October 21 (12pm ET), as he chats with one of Broadway's favorite leading ladies, LaChanze. LaChanze will soon join Seth Rudetsky for two very special concerts on Sunday, October 25 (8pm) and Monday, October 26 (3pm). ...

When the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus folded its tent for the last time, I’m not sure whether they held on to its title of “the Greatest Show on Earth.” But Atlanta is showing that there’s still a big tent around with some great shows to be seen. It’s the Atlanta Opera, headed by General...

Tune in right here as he chats with composer John McDaniel, Javier Muñoz, George Salazar, and Joshua Colley from Stick and Stones, which premieres today, October 16, 2020, as part of National Bullying Prevention Month....

Tune in right here today, October 16 (12pm ET), as he chats with Broadway's original Dreamgirl, Jennifer Holliday, who celebrates her 60th birthday in concert on Monday, October 19 (8pm)!...

Tune in right here today, October 15 (4:30pm ET), as he chats with Broadway beltress Keala Settle. Keala will soon Seth Rudetsky for two very special concerts on Sunday, October 18 (8pm) and Monday, October 19 (3pm)....

Tune in right here today, October 14 (5pm ET), as he chats with Broadway couple Jenn Colella and Chilina Kennedy about Divas For Democracy: United We Slay, which streams this Sunday, October 18 (8pm). ...

Tune in right here today, October 14 (3:30pm ET), as Richard chats with Heidi Schreck and Oliver Butler, whose What the Constitution Means to Me premieres Friday on Prime Video!...

Tune in right here today, October 14 (12pm ET), as Richard chats with the wonderful Kate Rockwell. Kate who headlines a concert with Radio Free Birdland on Thursday, October 15 at 7PM ET....

Tune in right here today, October 13 (3:30pm ET), as Richard chats with New York City Ballet Principal Dancer, Tiler Peck, curates and stars in A New Stage. Available to stream starting October 16, A New Stage gives you a front-row seat to experience world-class artistry from the comfort of your hom...

Tune in right here today, October 8 (12pm ET), as he chats with Tony winner Beth Leavel who will headline concerts with Seth Rudetsky on October 11 (8pm) and 12 (3pm)....

Tune in right here today, October 7 (12pm ET), as Richard Ridge chats with Noam Ash, Mike Heslin and Jay Armstrong Johnson from the new web series, BoyFriends....

Tune in right here today, October 1 (12pm ET), as he chats with Broadway's favorite couple, Orfeh and Andy Karl, who will headline concerts with Seth Rudetsky on October 4 (8pm) and 5 (3pm)....

Renée Fleming's long and distinguished career includes performing in some of the world's most famous opera houses, performing on Broadway, and being heard on many recordings singing everything from arias to showtunes. Tonight Ms. Fleming will add another honor to her canon as she and Vanessa Will...

A lot of repertoire you do over and over, while finding new things within those pieces, but something totally new is interesting...

the exquisite voice, dramatic stage presence and winning personality of this Grammy-nominated artist have garnered kudos throughout the opera world...

Named as one of Musical America's Top 30 Innovators in Classical Music, Josh Shaw is the Executive and Artistic Director of Pacific Opera Project (POP), one of L.A.'s most exciting opera companies. During the past nine seasons, Shaw has directed over 35 productions at POP. Since 2011, Shaw  has dire...

Here's a look at how 'Light Shall Lift Us; Singers Unite in Song' (for OPERA America), a video project featuring 107 opera singers in “a song of hope and solidarity” by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell, came together to help raise up the spirits of their communities as we deal with COVID-19. It went '...

During the shutdown, we're taking the opportunity to look back at some memorable productions. Here, Dick Bird discusses his career with BroadwayWorld, and gives us some fantastic insights into designing the Royal Danish Theatre, Teatro Real Madrid and Scottish Opera's co-production of a modern class...

It's a busy week for Piotr Beczala, at least on the Met on Demand. It started with Monday's free broadcast of 2014's RUSALKA, opposite Renée Fleming (when the interview that follows was conducted) to Saturday night's free ADRIANA LECOUVREUR performance opposite Anna Netrebko, from January 2019. You ...

Some people dream of a White Christmas--or at least an end to the horrors of COVID-19 and a semblance of life returned to normal. I'll drink to that. But high on my list of events I'm hoping to hear in a world turned back on its feet, is the return of Richard Strauss's DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN to the ...

Vocal and dialect coach Vanessa Dinning talks about what she does and how she is bringing her talents online...

The Met's first cancellation due to coronavirus concerns was the revival of Rossini's LA CENERENTOLA, the opera retelling of the Cinderella story, set to star mezzo Tara Erraught in the title role and one of its biggest tenor stars, Javier Camarena as Don Ramiro, her prince. The opera holds a partic...

It's been a big year for soprano Lisette Oropesa, with starring roles at major European houses. But in this country, it's something else entirely: She won the Richard Tucker Award and the Met's Beverly Sills Award. That was followed by a pair of name-above-the-title roles, her first at the Met: her ...

The first thing to know about Brian Jagde is that his name is pronounced a?oeJade,a?? like the jewel...

Brenna Corner started out with dreams of Broadway. It wouldn't be a big surprise if the versatile young director's dreams came true, but not in the way she'd originally pictured. I met with her to learn more about that and the San Diego Opera's upcoming production of Hansel and Gretel. 'Broadway ...

The LA Opera and the Metropolitan Opera join forces to co-produce the world premiere of EURYDICE from the creative minds of composer/conductor Matthew Aucoin and librettist Sarah Ruhl; beginning February 1, 2020 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Based on Sarah's 2003 play EURYDICE, this Greek myth u...

Are you lamenting that you can't get more cornbread and chili while taking in a performance of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's OKLAHOMA? Well, On Site Opera's site specific production of the family friendly musical DAS BARBECÜ, written by Jim Luigs and featuring music by Scott Warrender, is ...

Pelto will make his much-anticipated San Diego Opera debut on Feb. 8, 2020, in their highly imaginative production...

'The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.' And so ends the Book of Revelation, with Chapter 22, in the New Testament...or does it? In speaking with creator-librettist Cerise Lim Jacobs, I find someone who clearly believes that too much is never enough. Thus, she decided that there was...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's classic THE MAGIC FLUTE opens this week at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Saturday November 16, 2019; under the baton of James Conlon (with Grant Gershon conducting on December 1, 12 and 15). This will be the third LA Opera mounting of 1927 and Barrie Kosky's avant-garde ...

Tenor Carl Tanner is in San Diego to sing Radames, the lead male role in Verdi's Aida, a role he's already sung 145 times before. We met to discuss his background and career just before he was due at a rehearsal. Tanner's is the most unlikely tenor in the history of opera....

Rhyming a?oeGingera?? with a??Singera?? may be a stretch, but in Ginger Costa-Jackson's case, it might well be appropriate....

Last January, Joseph Keckler seemed to burst forth, fully blown, like Athena from the head of Zeus, at New York's Prototype Festival (though his emergence was, in fact, no such thing, having already been a staple of the Downtown scene for several years). This month, Philadelphia's got him, at the Op...