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BWW Reviews: New Voices Add Luster to LA BOHEME at the Met by Richard Sasanow
- March 23, 2014 I thought someone spiked the water cooler backstage at the Met during the first half of LA BOHEME on March 19.
Tenor Vittorio Grigolo's Rodolfo jumped around in the opening scene like he had too much caffeine or needed medication for hyperactivity (think Ritalin). Charming, yes, boyish, definitely, but when he professed his love for Mimi after half an hour's acquaintance, one wondered whether he didn't need something to calm him down. And he wasn't alone.
Opera Colorado Hosts Family Day at the Opera Tonight by BWW News Desk
- March 22, 2014 In collaboration with and sponsored by Arts & Venues Denver, Opera Colorado presents Family Day at the Opera today, March 22 at 1:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
Opera Philadelphia Presents DOUBLE EXPOSURE Tonight by BWW News Desk
- March 21, 2014 Opera Philadelphia is inviting the public to participate in Double Exposure, a unique, 'opera in the making' event spotlighting the talents of two of the company's Composers in Residence. Tonight, March 21, an audience at FringeArts will enjoy scenes from new operas currently being written by composers Lembit Beecher and Missy Mazzoli. In a twist, the four scenes will each be staged twice, by two different teams of singers and musicians led by stage directors Daniel Fish and Stephanie Havey.
The Utopia Opera Presents DER FREISCHÜTZ This Weekend by BWW News Desk
- March 21, 2014 This weekend, March 21 and 22, Utopia Opera presents the rarely-performed German operatic gem, Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826). One of the first operas of the German romantic tradition, the fully staged production will be performed with a 20-piece orchestra at the Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College (695 Park Avenue). Utopia founder and artistic director, William Remmers, conducts and directs both shows.
Mini-Operas THE WANTON SUBLIME & THE COMPANION Set for Roulette, 4/22 by BWW News Desk
- March 20, 2014 American Modern Ensemble (AME), in partnership with American Opera Projects (AOP) and presented by Ear Heart Music (EHM), performs 'The Wanton Sublime & The Companion,' a pair of one-act chamber operas, on Tuesday, April 22, 2014, 8:00 PM, at Roulette (509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY). Tickets: $20 general; $15 members/seniors. Roulette.org
Opera Colorado Presents Family Day at the Opera, 3/22 by BWW News Desk
- March 20, 2014 In collaboration with and sponsored by Arts & Venues Denver, Opera Colorado presents Family Day at the Opera on March 22 at 1:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. This free family performance will feature an abridged production of The Barber of Seville sung in English. Performed by Opera Colorado's 2014 Young Artists, Family Day at the Opera features the professional production of The Barber of Seville that Opera Colorado takes directly into schools and community venues across the state of Colorado.
San Diego Opera Votes to Fold at the End of This Season by BWW News Desk
- March 19, 2014 UT San Diego reports that after 49 years, San Diego Opera has voted to fold at the end of this season. The executive committee, General and Artistic Director and CEO Ian Campbell, along with the board of directors, voted 33-1 today to cease operations.
Experiments in Opera to Premiere BROTHER, BROTHER at Abrons Art Center, 5/2-3 by BWW News Desk
- March 19, 2014 Experiments in Opera (www.ExperimentsInOpera.com) announces the premiere of Brother Brother, the final production of their 2013-14 Season at Abrons Arts Center, with music and libretto by Aaron Siegel. This 90-minute opera, which has been in development with Experiments in Opera for the last two seasons, explores the relationship between Orville and Wilbur Wright following their first flights in 1903. Scored for 2 vibraphones, glockenspiel, strings, flute, vocal soloists, actors and chorus, Brother Brother will be premiered on Friday May 2 and Saturday May 3, 8pm in the Playhouse at Abrons Art Center, 466 Grand Street, New York. For tickets ($20 general, $15 student), patrons should call Theatermania at 212-352-3101 or visit www.AbronsArtsCenter.org.
Anthony Braxton to Premiere New Opera TRILLIUM J at Roulette, 4/17-19 by BWW News Desk
- March 19, 2014 Esteemed American composer, musician, educator, recording artist and philosopher Anthony Braxton continues his 69thbirthday season with the premiere of his latest multimedia opera, Trillium J (The Non-Unconfessionables) at Roulette in Brooklyn April 17–19. The semi-staged, four-act opera is being presented as part of the two-weekend Tri-Centric Music Festival produced by Braxton's Tri-Centric Foundation, where audiences—or “friendly-experiencers,” as the prolific MacArthur Fellow, Doris Duke Performing Artist and recently-named NEA Jazz Master likes to refer to his listeners—will have the option of experiencing two acts at a time on two separate evenings, or attending a full day with the first two acts presented as a matinee and the second two acts presented that same evening.
Twenty-Nine Artists to Participate in the 57th Season of the MEROLA OPERA PROGRAM, 6/2-8/17 by BWW News Desk
- March 19, 2014 Twenty-three singers, five apprentice coaches and one apprentice stage director, representing ten countries, will participate in the 57th season of the Merola Opera Program from June 2 to August 17. More than 900 artists vied for the 29 coveted spots in the 2014 summer program. Offered free of charge for all participants, the prestigious Merola Opera program is unique in the industry in many ways. Merola is the only young artist program to provide financial support to developing artists for five years following participation. In the past year alone, more than $150,000 was distributed to more than 100 artists supporting varied needs from coaching to language classes to audition travel. In addition, only Merola graduates are considered for participation in the San Francisco Opera's Adler Fellowship program. Selected through an extensive world-wide audition and application process, nearly one third of this season's artists come from countries outside the United States, including: Canada, China, Taiwan, Italy, South Korea, Russia, Iran, Poland and Israel. This year, the program will have three returning Merola artists, Casey Candebat (Merola 2012), Sahar Nouri and Rhys Lloyd Talbot (both Merola 2013).
The Verismo Opera Presents LA TRAVIATA with Sets From the New York City Opera, 4/6 by BWW News Desk
- March 19, 2014 When the curtain opens and the lights strike the stage on April 6, the New York City Opera will be seen in the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera's new production of Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata. Last performed by the company in 2006, Verismo Opera will present this iconic opera with resplendent sets used by the New York City Opera for several decades to present this lavish production on Sunday, April 6, 3:00 p.m., at the Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC), 30 North Van Brunt Street, in Englewood, New Jersey.
BWW Reviews: WOZZECK Redux - Levine and the Met Orchestra Show Vienna Who's Boss by Richard Sasanow
- March 19, 2014 When the Vienna State Opera visited New York at the end of February, it brought Alban Berg's WOZZECK to Carnegie Hall as part of the “Vienna: City of Dreams” festivities. With the big sound of the Vienna Philharmonic central to the concert performance, it set out to show what a quintessentially Viennese opera sounded like played by the hometown band. Sorry, boys [and it's still mainly a male bastion], but the Met Orchestra, conducted by James Levine, could show you a thing or two.
To Sing with Nature: Piotr Beczala at San Diego Opera by Erica Miner
- March 18, 2014 Gracious, charming, highly intelligent and perceptive, Polish-born artist Piotr Beczala (dubbed 'Piotr the Great' in San Francisco), first graced the San Diego Opera stage in his 2010 Boheme debut, triumphed these past weeks in Verdi's A Masked Ball, and will complete his 'March madness' with Verdi's monumental Requiem. Acclaimed for both the beauty of his voice and for his ardent commitment to each character he portrays, he is also an avid golfer, and loves being here in San Diego.
Over 2,400 Artists from 43 Countries Set for Edinburgh International Festival 2014; Programme Announced! by BWW News Desk
- March 18, 2014 Today, at a press conference in Edinburgh, Director Jonathan Mills revealed the artists, companies and work from around the world which will fill the stages of Edinburgh's annual cultural celebration. Over 2,400 artists from 43 nations have been invited to Edinburgh to perform in the annual showcase of the world's great performing artists.
Center Stage Opera Announces the Finalists for the David W. Scott Memorial Vocal Competition by Kaitlin Milligan
- March 18, 2014 Our all-star panel of judges will have their work cut out for them, as 13 outstanding vocalists take the stage at the David W. Scott Memorial Vocal Competition Finals Concert onSaturday, Mar. 29, 7 pm, at Northridge United Methodist Church. Judges Milena Kitic (LA Opera, Metropolitan Opera), Rod Gilfry (Covent Garden, LA Opera, Metropolitan Opera), and Joshua Winograde (Sr. Director of Artistic Planning, LA Opera) will choose the winners in three competition categories: High School, Young Artist, and Professional. And you'll be voting, too, as you cast your ballot for the 'Audience Choice' award winners!
Canadian Opera Company Presents DON QUICHOTTE with Ferruccio Furlanetto, 5/9-24 by BWW News Desk
- March 18, 2014 The greatest operatic bass in the world today, Ferruccio Furlanetto, makes his Canadian debut this spring in the Canadian Opera Company premiere of the operatic tale of literature's famous dreamer, Don Quichotte by Jules Massenet. Known for an intensely moving portrayal of the title character, Furlanetto stars in this musically lush and romantic homage to Cervantes' iconic hero, Don Quixote. Don Quichotte is sung in French with English SURTITLES, and runs for seven performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on May 9, 11, 14, 17, 20, 22, 24, 2014.
The American Lyric Theater Presents THE LIVING LIBRETTO: OPERA IN EDEN, 4/2 by BWW News Desk
- March 18, 2014 American Lyric Theater's popular series of public libretto readings, The Living Libretto, continues on Wednesday, April 2nd at The National Opera Center. Featuring guest actors from Broadway and off-Broadway, these events are the culminating readings of extensive libretto workshops conducted for the new operas currently being written by ALT Resident Artists. Each reading includes a wine and cheese reception with the featured artists, and is followed by a discussion with the artists moderated by American Lyric Theater's Producing Artistic Director, Lawrence Edelson.
The Metropolitan Opera Presents MADAMA BUTTERFLY with James Valenti, 4/4-15 by BWW News Desk
- March 17, 2014 Internationally Acclaimed Tenor, James Valenti will be making his triumphant return tothe Metropolitan Opera located at 10 Lincoln Center Plaza in New York City as he takes on the role of Lt. Pinkerton inPuccini's “Madama Butterfly” on April 4, 9, 12 and 15. Valenti has been praised by critics for having a voice of Italianate lustre and is part of the long-standing tradition of great Italian tenors. The sought after 6'5 tenor has built a global reputation for his elegant musicianship, commanding stage presence, ardent vocal style and striking good looks.
For Mezzo SUSAN GRAHAM, No Warhorses Need Apply by Richard Sasanow
- March 17, 2014 'I'm not a warhorse kind of singer,' mezzo Susan Graham states matter-of-factly. 'A. I'm a mezzo. B. I'm not a character mezzo. C. I'm not a contralto. The iconic opera repertoire for mezzos, Amneris (AIDA), Azucena (IL TROVATORE), even Eboli (DON CARLO)--those kinds of roles aren't my stock and trade because my voice sits high and has a different timbre.'
Well, what then is her milieu? It's the likes of Handel, who composed several of the arias she has been singing this winter at the Met, as one of the stars of THE ENCHANTED ISLAND, a kind of Baroque 'jukebox opera.' But it's also Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING & I, which she is doing this June at the Chatelet in Paris.
BWW Reviews: Houston Grand Opera's A COFFIN IN EGYPT is Rarely Moving by David Clarke
- March 16, 2014 Houston Grand Opera is presenting the World Premiere of A COFFIN IN EGYPT, a one-act chamber opera based on Horton Foote's play by the same title. Known for crafting touching sentimentality and riveting drama, Horton Foote's legacy is sure to be celebrated for centuries to come. However, this operatic adaptation of A COFFIN IN EGYPT browbeats audiences with nostalgic sentimentality and rarely moves us to feel anything.
Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition Crowns Winners by BWW News Desk
- March 16, 2014 No amount of locally heavy rains across North Texas Saturday evening could dampen the spirits of excited patrons and participants as The Dallas Opera Guild presented an impressive array of highly talented young artists competing for top prizes in the Finals Round of the 26th Annual 'Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition.' This on-stage showcase for young opera singers with Texas connections is conducted annually in the acoustically acclaimed setting of the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.
The Dallas Opera Guild Presents the 26th Annual DALLAS OPERA GUILD VOCAL COMPETITION, Today by BWW News Desk
- March 15, 2014 The Dallas Opera Guild is proud to present the 26th Annual "Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition," an on-stage showcase for talented young opera singers with Texas connections today, March 15, 2014 in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, 2403 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201.