If you can't get enough of operas, symphonic concerts and a few musical theatre pieces thrown in for good measure, have I got a summer for you! Start in New York City and head north--almost around the corner, or a weekend (or more) away--and you'll find more than enough to keep you happy during the sultry weather ahead. (Even if it doesn't turn out quite so sultry…) It covers the gamut from Handel to Puccini, from serial podcasts to light opera, from dramma serio to musical comedy, with an added emphasis on Leonard Bernstein as the music world celebrates his 100th birthday.
DON GIOVANNI, opera by Mozart, will be performed this June at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St. New York NY 10011), starring David Serero as Don Giovanni along with an international cast.
In 1968, two great American leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy were felled by assassins' bullets. On Christmas Eve of the same year, three American astronauts became the first human beings to orbit the moon, demonstrating that the dream of President John F. Kennedy was near realization, even after his untimely death. Now, the American people are called upon to abandon the last half century of degradation and war, and choose the optimistic path, identified as 'the future Spirit of Humanity.' In that spirit, the genius Ludwig van Beethoven once said that if his music were properly understood, 'warfare in and among nations would become an impossibility.' This performance is dedicated to that principle, and will be performed at the scientific tuning of C=256Hz.
On May 25, 2018, Los Angeles Opera presented a concert version of Matthew Aucoin's third opera, CROSSING. This work was first seen in Boston in June of 2015. Its story deals with Walt Whitman's stint as a volunteer at a Civil War military hospital near Washington DC. In 1862,
Deemed 'an essential artist' by The New York Times, soprano Sondra Radvanovsky continues to astound audiences around the world with her magnificent portrayals of opera's great dramatic heroines. Toronto audiences have the rare opportunity to experience Radvanovsky's artistry in the intimacy of a recital setting, on Saturday, November 24 at 8pm at Koerner Hall, with pianist Anthony Manoli, presented by ShowOne Productions. The all-Italian program, From Bel Canto to Verismo, will touch upon Radvanovsky's history-making roles, which have firmly established her as one of the reigning voices of our era.
In the right hands, Rossini's IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA can be one of the funniest pieces in the standard operatic repertoire. At the many productions of this work that I have seen, there were, at best, a few smiles. When comedy is not done right, it's a tough, often sloppy, slog. Last night at Berlin's Staatsoper unter den Linden, I (and the rest of the audience) laughed out loud numerous times during this thoroughly charming, utterly delightful and simply hilarious production. BARBIERE at the Staatsoper has restored my faith in going to the opera in Berlin. In contrast to most productions in Berlin, IL BARBIERE splendidly entertains, rather than tries to 'educate' its audience, and does so with wit, style, and skill.
DON GIOVANNI, opera by Mozart, will be performed this June at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St. New York NY 10011), starring David Serero as Don Giovanni along with an international cast.
The first of four extraordinary hour-long performances produced by New York City Opera in Bryant Park this summer, watch passions flare in this adaptation of Carmen, one of the world's most beloved operas. The innkeeper Lillas Pastia narrates the tempestuous story of the irresistible seductress Carmen and her hapless lover Don José in this hour-long presentation of highlights from Carmen, Bizet's beloved opera, from New York City Opera. Offered to the New York public free-of-charge, this presentation is a perfect introduction to opera for newcomers of any age.
The title role is one of the most challenging soprano roles in the repertoire. Lucky for the Canadian Opera Company, they have one of the world's greatest sopranos leading their cast - Ms. Sondra Radvanovsky.
San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra led by Nicholas McGegan anchors a presentation of Handel's pastoral three-act opera Atalanta in the Venetian Theater (July 22); and New York's On Site Opera presents a fully staged site-specific production of Mozart's charming early opera The Secret Gardener (La finta giardiniera) in Caramoor's Sunken Garden (July 13). Superstar mezzo Susan Graham will also be on hand this summer for a season-closing concert of Handel and Mozart arias with the resident Orchestra of St. Luke's (July 29); Metropolitan Opera favorite Isabel Leonard gives an intimate Spanish recital with guitarist Sharon Isbin (June 28); and San Francisco's beloved all-male chorus Chanticleer celebrates its 40th anniversary season with a centuries-spanning concert (July 26). The festival's 73rd summer season (June 16–July 29) offers these operatic and vocal events and much more, all presented on Caramoor's historic and idyllic Westchester estate: 90 acres of picturesque Italianate architecture and gardens just one hour's drive from Manhattan.
Camerata New York to Present the "Triumph of Music" Opera Gala Orchestra to Perform Exquisite Operatic Masterpieces with Renowned International Soloists for Concert at St. Jean Baptiste Church, June 7, 2018 New York, NY - Camerata New York, now in its 17th year, will present the "Triumph of Music," a program featuring operatic favorites from Bizet, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner and others. The opera gala, which is part of Camerata New York's 2017-2018 concert series, is scheduled for Thursday, June 7, 2018, at 7:30 pm, at New York's St. Jean Baptiste Church on 76th Street at Lexington Avenue.
The first of four extraordinary hour-long performances produced by New York City Opera in Bryant Park this summer, watch passions flare in this adaptation of Carmen, one of the world's most beloved operas. The innkeeper Lillas Pastia narrates the tempestuous story of the irresistible seductress Carmen and her hapless lover Don Jose in this hour-long presentation of highlights from Carmen, Bizet's beloved opera, from New York City Opera. Offered to the New York public free-of-charge, this presentation is a perfect introduction to opera for newcomers of any age.
Can you imagine coming out on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera--facing an audience of about 4000 and be ready to sing without really much of a chance to warm up? That takes guts--and it's what the nine finalists in the Met's National Council Auditions Grand Final Concert did on Sunday, April 29. At stake? A grand push forward for the careers in opera that they've dreamed about. (There was also some money involved: $15,000 apiece for the winners, $5,000 each for the runs up.)
BroadwayWorld has an inside look at Lucia di Lammermoor at The Met! Check out the video below where soprano Pretty Yende and glass harmonica player Friedrich Heinrich Kern rehearse the mad scene from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.
Emily Behrmann, General Manager for the Carlsen Center Presents Series, today announced the 2018-2019 season which features iconic women artists including Emmylou Harris, Chita Rivera, Aida Cuevas, Lisa Loeb and Marilyn Maye, scheduled to appear throughout the season. High res photos with IDs can be found here.
Strathmore and Beth Morrison Projects will present the world premiere of Iron & Coal, a multi-media rock opera by composer/lyricist Jeremy Schonfeld and director Kevin Newbury, in the Music Center at Strathmore on Thursday and Friday, May 3 and 4, 2018 at 8 p.m.
When tenor Lawrence Brownlee--he of the sweet, cultured tones and ringing high Cs--was first asked to put a recital together by Carnegie Hall, he chose Robert Schumann's “Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love),” the song cycle about rapture, disillusionment and regret as the centerpiece. But in filling out the program, he turned to something very different--a work, in fact, that hadn't been written yet, reflecting his life as a black man in America: “Cycles of My Being” by composer Tyshawn Sorey and poet/lyricist Terrance Hayes.
Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC), renowned for its exquisite bel canto sound, presents a sweeping program for its Spring Concert, entitled "And This Shall Be For Beauty," led by Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson and featuring two world premieres - Laughing Song by noted Icelandic composer Daniel Bjarnason and I am I am I am by rising Norwegian composer Therese Ulvo - and a musical celebration of Leonard Bernstein's centennial on Saturday, May 12, 7 pm, and Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2018, 7 pm, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Additionally, the Chorus performs works by by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Grieg, Faure, Hilary Tann, Gwenyth Walker and Ola Gjeilo, among others.
The Met's new CENDRILLON is a Cinderella of a production, finally allowing Massenet's take on the classic tale of the girl from the cinders who finds her Prince Charming to reach the Met's stage 119 years after its premiere at the Opera-Comique in Paris.
