Alek Shrader News

As both a celebration of the Washington National Opera and a culmination of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Leonard Bernstein at 100 celebration, last weekend's Opera Gala definitely found success. While the evening had its share of disappointments (Titus Burgess of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fame fell ill and was unable to perform; Patti LuPone, the top-billed artist of the evening, performed only two fairly short numbers) there was an undeniable electricity to the night. Previously, the WNO held an annual ball which, according to Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein, included neither opera nor a ball. Switching the format to one with a formal gala reception, an opera-filled performance, and elegant dinners hosted by Ambassadors and foreign dignitaries proved the Kennedy Center can still pull off some new tricks.

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, running now through May 26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, running now through May 26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Check out photos of the production below!

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, running now through May 26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Check out photos of the production below!

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, running now through May 26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Check out photos of the production below!

When you hear the first few notes of the rollicking overture, you know Bernstein is genuflecting hard to Johann Strauss. Yet this is a story in which the principal characters are bayoneted, hanged, maimed, raped, prostituted, ravaged by disease, and enslaved, among other things, a story which, thematically, takes the characters and us right to the edge of the Nietzschean abyss and gives us a good long sobering look into it - not the sort of thing Strauss or Gilbert and Sullivan ever did.

After many months of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, five singers have been named as the winners of the nation's most prestigious vocal competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Each winner receives a $15,000 cash prize and the exposure that comes with winning the competition that launched the careers of many of opera's biggest stars.

American soprano Emily Pogorelc makes her Washington National Opera (WNO) debut as Candide's forlorn love interest, Cunegonde, in Leonard Bernstein's effervescent social critique that blurs the lines between opera and musical theater. Candide runs from May 5-26, 2018 at the Kennedy Center Opera House.  

Michigan Opera Theatre CEO and President Wayne S. Brown and Principal Conductor Stephen Lord today announced the company's 2018-19 opera season.  MOT's 48th opera season will be the second under Lord's artistic leadership and celebrates masterworks of literature turned opera, with "Eugene Onegin" (Pyotr Tchaikovsky), "Candide" (Leonard Bernstein) and "The Grapes of Wrath" (Ricky Ian Gordon/Michael Korie). The season also includes a staple of the opera repertoire, "The Barber of Seville" (Gioachino Rossini) and a fairytale opera, "Hansel and Gretel" (Engelbert Humperdinck). The season begins Sept. 29 with a gala concert featuring opera superstar Renee Fleming.  

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, May 5-26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Candide is one of Bernstein's most popular and enduring works, blurring the lines between opera and musical theater. Heading the all-American cast are three powerhouses from the world of opera: tenor Alek Shrader in his WNO debut in the title role, soprano Kathryn Lewek as his forlorn love interest Cunegonde, and WNO audience favorite and local legend Denyce Graves as the Old Lady. This new-to-Washington production, the centerpiece of the Kennedy Center's season-long Leonard Bernstein at 100 celebration, is directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by Nicole Paiement.

Seattle Opera teams up with both ACT Theatre and Seattle Symphony for the first time to celebrate Shakespeare in a brand-new production of Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict. The story, based on Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing, delights in the "skirmish of wits" between fiery Beatrice and bombastic Benedict and their failed resolution to avoid falling in love with each other. Their merry-war-turned-love-story has proven catnip to Hollywood-there are two film versions, one directed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Joss Whedon, and the other directed by Kenneth Branagh and also starring Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, and Michael Keaton. Now the story is ready for the Seattle Opera treatment.

Jamie Bernstein, daughter of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, will serve as the Tucson Desert Song Festival's (TDSF) Artist-in-Residence for 2018. Ms. Bernstein, a narrator, writer and broadcaster, will share insights and memories of her father and his work and will provide context to help understand the complex life and career of Leonard Bernstein.

San Francisco Opera Center Director Sheri Greenawald today announced the eleven recipients of the 2018 Adler Fellowship. Eight singers, two pianist/apprentice coaches and one director will take part in the program. The multi-year performance-oriented residency offers advanced young artists intensive individual training, coaching and professional seminars, as well as a wide range of performance opportunities. Adler Fellows are selected from the artists who have participated in the Merola Opera Program. The prestigious fellowship has nurtured the development of more than 175 young artists since its inception.

George Frideric Handel composed the opera seria, ALCINA, for a 1735 premiere at London's Covent Garden. Handel's anonymous librettist based his text on Riccardo Broschi's 1728 book for L'ISOLA DI ALCINA. Three years following its 1735 run, ALCINA was revived but after that it fell dormant until the twentieth century. On July 29, 2017, Santa Fe Opera premiered a co-production of ALCINA with the National Opera of Bordeaux and the Teatro Real of Madrid.

Music Director Alan Gilbert begins his final weeks by leading the New York Philharmonic in Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. The program juxtaposes the tragedy and optimism of human experience through Schoenberg's depiction of the horror of the Holocaust and the message of hope, brotherhood, and joy in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw will feature Gabriel Ebert as narrator (in his Philharmonic debut) and the men of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, directed by Joe Miller. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony will feature soprano Camilla Tilling, mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack (debut), tenor Joseph Kaiser (debut), bass-baritone Eric Owens, and the Westminster Symphonic Choir, directed by Joe Miller. The performances will take place Wednesday, May 3, 2017, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, May 6 at 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. The program will be presented without intermission.

After a months-long series of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, a panel of expert judges named six young singers as the winners of the nation's most prestigious vocal competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Each winner receives a $15,000 cash prize and the prestige and exposure that come with winning the competition that launched the careers of many of opera's biggest stars.

Arizona Opera is pleased to present its 2016/2017 season finale, Cinderella (La Cenerentola). Composed by well-known Italian opera icon Gioachino Rossini of Barber of Seville fame, this production is sure to dazzle both opera regulars and newcomers. Cinderella is sung in Italian with English supertitles.

San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program present the 34th season of the Schwabacher Debut Recitals, opening on March 26 and continuing through April 30.

San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program present the 34th season of the Schwabacher Debut Recitals, opening on March 26 and continuing through April 30. The four-recital series offers music lovers an opportunity to hear opera's next generation of stars in the intimate and state-of-the-art Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco.