Alan Held News

Puccini's story of the strong-willed diva returns to the Kennedy Center stage in WNO's Tosca, from May 11 25, 2019. Tickets start at $35.

The second and third repetition is ultimately what will establish a piece as an addition to the repertoire...

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announced today that Kim Pensinger Witman, Vice President of Opera and Classical Programming, has announced her intention to retire in February 2019  after 22 years of leading Wolf Trap's nationally renowned opera and classical music programs. Witman will be succeeded in the role by Lee Anne Myslewski, who has served Wolf Trap since 2006 as Director, Artistic Administration.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra today announces its 2019 Season, the first developed under the joint leadership of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, David Robertson, and newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Emma Dunch.

The George London Foundation for Singers has been honoring, supporting, and presenting the finest young opera singers in the U.S. and Canada since 1971. The foundation and the George London Awards (the prize of the foundation's annual competition) are named for the legendary Canadian-American bass-baritone, one of the greatest opera singers of 20th century, who devoted much of his time and energy in his later years to the support and nurturing of young opera singers.

The George London Foundation for Singers has been honoring, supporting, and presenting the finest young opera singers in the U.S. and Canada since 1971. The foundation and the George London Awards (the prize of the foundation's annual competition) are named for the legendary Canadian-American bass-baritone, one of the greatest opera singers of 20th century, who devoted much of his time and energy in his later years to the support and nurturing of young opera singers.

Washington National Opera (WNO), led by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, announces its 2018-2019 season, one that continues its focus on bold productions of classic operas, fascinating contemporary perspectives, and the best in American artistry. The season includes a new WNO production of Verdi's classic romantic drama La traviata, the company premiere of Kevin Puts's and Mark Campbell's Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night, Tchaikovsky's epic Eugene Onegin, Gounod's devilishly entertaining Faust, and Puccini's towering masterpiece Tosca. The season also features a weekend of four world premieres during the American Opera Initiative Festival; a revival of WNO's hit world-premiere holiday family opera The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me; a special Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist performance of La traviata; and other exciting vocal events, including the annual Mars, lnc.'s Opera in the Outfield.

On Friday, February 16, 2018, 16 of the best young American and Canadian opera singers will perform with pianist Craig Rutenberg before a panel of judges and an enthusiastic audience at The Morgan Library & Museum. At the event's conclusion, six of them will be named this year's winners of the George London Award, an honor that has been conferred upon hundreds of the best young singers since 1971. The award, currently a $10,000 prize, is named for the legendary Canadian-American bass-baritone, one of the greatest opera singers of 20th century.

Franz Welser-M st will lead concerts on three continents as part of The Cleveland Orchestra's 100th season in 2017-18, including two trips to Europe, appearances in New York City, and a return to Tokyo's Suntory Hall. All told, over 20 concerts are planned across seven weeks of touring, in addition to the Orchestra's regular home season in Cleveland at Severance Hall.

Miami Music Festival (MMF) is proud to announce the second season of their prestigious Miami Wagner Institute, welcoming Grammy Award-winning soprano Christine Brewer and returning bass-baritone Alan Held to MMF's team of internationally acclaimed faculty, to teach and perform with eight rising dramatic stars.

Miami Music Festival (MFF), an intensive training program for the next generation of classical musicians to work with mentors and gain performing experience, announces the lineup for the 2017 season from June 6 through July 30, 2017 at various venues in Miami. In its fourth season, MMF will host young artists from around the world selected from top conservatories and universities. MMF receives nearly 1,500 international applicants each season with only a small portion selected for participation through a rigorous audition process.

In the third installment of the Washington National Opera's mammoth staging of Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung at the Kennedy Center, a new Brunnhilde awakens, Fafner's dragon turns out to be more of a monster truck, and the titular star of the work, Siegfried, turns out to be much more of a jerk than you'd ever want him to be.

Ten years of planning and $10 million in production costs couldn't prevent the Washington National Opera from pleasing all the gods in its ambitious staging of all four operas in Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung.

In 2006, then Washington National Opera Artistic Director Placido Domingo announced that the Opera would take on their first complete cycle of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). In the subsequent years, the opera produced the first three of the four-some, but not in quick succession. As the opera and the nation suffered an economic downturn, the complete cycle was never realized. Until now.

Washington National Opera (WNO) concludes its landmark 60th anniversary season with its first complete presentation of Richard Wagner's four-part The Ring of the Nibelung, perhaps the most challenging production to mount in all of opera. Three cycles of Wagner's epic will be presented from tonight, April 30 to May 22, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. These performances will be the first time the company has presented The Ring in complete cycles in its history, and they are the only complete cycles to be presented in North America in 2016. Conceived and directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and with the WNO Orchestra led by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin, the production brings together an internationally renowned cast, including British soprano Catherine Foster (Brünnhilde, Cycles I & II), Swedish soprano Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde, Cycle III), American tenor Daniel Brenna (Siegfried), American bass-baritone Alan Held (Wotan/The Wanderer), and many other of today's great Wagnerian singers.

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents its first complete presentation of Richard Wagner's four-part Ring cycle. Three full cycles will be presented from tonight, April 30, to May 22, 2016 and will be directed by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin.

Washington National Opera (WNO) concludes its landmark 60th anniversary season with its first complete presentation of Richard Wagner's four-part The Ring of the Nibelung, perhaps the most challenging production to mount in all of opera. Three cycles of Wagner's epic will be presented from April 30 to May 22, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. These performances will be the first time the company has presented The Ring in complete cycles in its history, and they are the only complete cycles to be presented in North America in 2016. Conceived and directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and with the WNO Orchestra led by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin, the production brings together an internationally renowned cast, including British soprano Catherine Foster (Brünnhilde, Cycles I & II), Swedish soprano Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde, Cycle III), American tenor Daniel Brenna (Siegfried), American bass-baritone Alan Held (Wotan/The Wanderer), and many other of today's great Wagnerian singers.

Washington National Opera's Artistic Director Francesca Zambello announces the WNO's upcoming production of The Ring, a cycle of four epic operas by German composer Richard Wagner, April 30-May 22, 2016.  Peek into a WNO rehearsal room in the videos below!

Music Director Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) have announced the Orchestra's 2016-2017 season, its tenth season under the direction of Maestra Alsop.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced the roster of emerging artists and renowned teaching artists engaged for the 14th season of its Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. Under the leadership of program director Michael Heaston, the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program continues to increase its number of performances throughout the season and expand its training regimen, including mentorship byArtist in Residence Alan Held, the acclaimed bass-baritone who will star as Wotan in WNO's Ring cycles next season.