Margaret Gawrysiak

What did our critic think of THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT at Minnesota Opera?

Madison Opera's Opera in the Park celebrates its twenty-first year on Saturday, July 23 at 8pm in Garner Park on Madison's West Side.  The free annual concert of opera and Broadway hits returns in full force this summer with both the Madison Opera Chorus and the Madison Symphony Orchestra.  Audience members from across Wisconsin will join each other with picnic baskets and light sticks to listen to beautiful music under the stars...

If ever an opera could be described as “easy listening” and flawlessly engaging, Figaro would qualify hands down

As our region and the world transition from a time of isolation to a return to public gathering, Seattle Center is just beginning to dip our toes into the notion of in-person events. As Seattle Center heads into the summer season, many activities on the grounds will resume. Here are things to do on campus and online this Summer at the Center.

From a new streaming production of Tosca filmed at a historic Seattle cathedral, to live outdoor recitals at Seattle Center, and a conductor dialogue on race and gender, there's plenty of ways to engage with music through Seattle Opera's June offerings.

Picture yourself at the airport: the excited rush of people coming and going. The roar of planes taking off. Familiar sights of suitcases, pilots, people lining up, and—the enchanting sounds of opera?!

Seattle Opera is introducing “single tickets” to its 2021 streaming productions of Don Giovanni, Flight, and Tosca—plus a bonus reprise of The Elixir of Love. This is the company’s first foray into pay-per-view streaming content, which can be enjoyed by opera lovers worldwide.

Here's a look at some of the newly added and upcoming streams being offered by opera companies across North America:

What happens when the world's most irresponsible tenor performs the world's most beautiful music? Find out on June 12 during The Drunken Tenor: Quarantini Edition! In this special online concert, Robert McPherson reprises his hilarious act (described as a?oeJack Black meets Pavarottia??) on Seattle Opera's Facebook, YouTube, and website.

Not even a global pandemic can shut down the power of music. In the face of COVID-19, Seattle Opera and other arts groups are finding creative new ways to perform. This week, Seattle Opera announced its new recital series, Songs of Summer, which will bring beloved singers to a new stagea?"your phone, tablet, or computer screen. Beginning weekly on May 28, recitals will be available to stream on Seattle Opera's website, Facebook, and YouTube.  

Leave everyday life in Puget Sound behind this January and step into the splendor of 1800s Russia. Seattle Opera's Eugene Onegin will offer audiences lush orchestrations by Tchaikovsky, elegant ballroom dances, grand sets, and period costumes worthy of The Last Czars on Netflix. 

Opera Colorado closes its triumphant 2018-19 season with a lavish production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, an opera frequently lauded as the pinnacle of the art form. The Marriage of Figaro opens Saturday, May 4, at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in downtown Denver, with additional performances on May 7, 10, and 12.

With a mix of new and traditional takes on opera, Seattle Opera unveils a 2019/20 Season that offers something for everyone. Audiences will experience new-to-Seattle productions of Rigoletto, Cinderella, and Eugene Onegin; the company premiere of Charlie Parker's Yardbird; and the return of a beloved classic, La boh me.

As a major highlight of its summer-long celebration, June 15-September 2, of the centennial of Leonard Bernstein's birth, Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in Lenox, MA, has programmed several fully staged and semi-staged productions of Leonard Bernstein's work written for the stage, featuring several Tony Award-winning Broadway performers, choreographers, and directors.

Before trick-or-treating begins, start the fun this October with Seattle Opera's "riotously funny" (The Australian) The Barber of Seville. Following The Wicked Adventures of County Ory ('16), stage director Lindy Hume and Maestro Giacomo Sagripanti return to create yet another colorful, eye-catching production with toe-tapping melodies-including one of the most iconic overtures of all time. The performance also includes an appearance by Juilliard-trained burlesque sensation, Marc Kenison, who performs in Seattle and beyond as Waxie Moon. Kenison will bring his comedic and dance stylings to the highly physical role of Ambrogio.

continues to work after 138 years

Lyric Opera of Kansas City concludes its 59th season with Gilbert & Sullivan's delightful comic operetta The Pirates of Penzance  April 22, 26, 28, 29, and 30 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The production will be sung in English with English titles. High res production and artists' photos can be downloaded here .

The inaugural Explorations series continues with Elvis Costello's The Juliet Letters, Jan. 28 and 29 at the Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building at the Richard J. Stern Opera Center.Explorations features eclectic programs in intimate spaces, with programming that crosses musical borders and experiments with a wide range of lyrical expression.

The inaugural Explorations series continues with Elvis Costello's The Juliet Letters, Jan. 28 and 29 at the Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building at the Richard J. Stern Opera Center.Explorations features eclectic programs in intimate spaces, with programming that crosses musical borders and experiments with a wide range of lyrical expression.

Opera is for everyone-and so is Seattle Opera's 2017/18 season! There's a new bilingual performance for elementary-school students, new performance venues such as Georgetown Steam Plant, a new mainstage collaboration with ACT Theatre and Seattle Symphony leaders, and even an outdoor performance offered free of charge. Regardless of background or socioeconomic status, this season offers ways for a broad audience to be able to experience opera; it's an open invitation for the Pacific Northwest.