Ben Heppner News

The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) announced the VIP presenters for the 35th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards, to be held on Monday, June 23 at at Harbourfront Centre for the very first time.

Florida Grand Opera (FGO) has announced the members of its 2014-15 class for its Young Artist Program. These artists, consisting of both new and returning members, were selected from more than 600 aspiring young singers who applied for the coveted program.

The Dallas Opera has announced the result of this year's balloting for the 2014 “Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year” Award: American mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, who made a dazzling Dallas Opera stage debut as the headstrong-yet-lovable Rosina in our season finale, Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

Ten artists have been nominated and thousands of subscribers will soon be casting their vote for this year's winner of the prestigious 'Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year' Award. The Dallas Opera bestows this award annually to the performer who makes the most unforgettable impression onstage in their company debut. The winner will be announced at the annual Dallas Opera Board and Trustee Appreciation Dinner tonight, May 22, 2014 in the Crescent Ballroom of the Rosewood Crescent Hotel, 400 Crescent Court in Uptown Dallas.

An internationally sought-after conductor, Florida Grand Opera Music Director Ramon Tebar's engagements take him abroad beginning this month. Following a concert with the Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona with soloistssoprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Saimir Pirgu in Barcelona, Spain, last week, upcoming international engagements includeCarmen with Brazil's Theatro Muncipal de Sao Paulo and a soon to be announced production with Spain's Festival de Opera de A Coruna. Nationally, he can be heard conducting Madama Butterfly with Cincinnati Opera. In May, with his company, Florida Grand Opera in Miami, he closes the 2013-14 season with a six-performance production of Thais.

The internationally-acclaimed Pacific Chorale in Orange County, CA will be presenting a new work created by American opera composer Jake Heggie, and the versatile librettist Gene Scheer entitled 'THE RADIO HOUR'. The choral opera will be conducted by Pacific Chorale's Artistic Director, John Alexander, and stage-directed by James R. Taulli. The premiere work will be performed by the organization's chamber choir, The John Alexander Singers, accompanied by an 8-member ensemble of musicians who are members of Pacific Symphony. The performance is on Sunday, May 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, CA. Scroll down to see an interview with composer Jake Heggie and conductor John Alexander!

Ten artists have been nominated and thousands of subscribers will soon be casting their vote for this year's winner of the prestigious “Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year” Award. The Dallas Opera bestows this award annually to the performer who makes the most unforgettable impression onstage in their company debut. The winner will be announced at the annual Dallas Opera Board and Trustee Appreciation Dinner on Thursday, May 22, 2014 in the Crescent Ballroom of the Rosewood Crescent Hotel, 400 Crescent Court in Uptown Dallas.

Ten artists have been nominated and thousands of subscribers will soon be casting their vote for this year's winner of the prestigious “Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year” Award. The Dallas Opera bestows this award annually to the performer who makes the most unforgettable impression onstage in their company debut. The winner will be announced at the annual Dallas Opera Board and Trustee Appreciation Dinner on Thursday, May 22, 2014 in the Crescent Ballroom of the Rosewood Crescent Hotel, 400 Crescent Court in Uptown Dallas.

The Dallas Opera tonight capped a phenomenally successful season with the announcement that the original Leonard Foglia production of composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer's powerful twenty-first century masterpiece, MOBY-DICK, will be returning to the site of its triumphant 2010 world premiere. This limited engagement will begin onFriday, November 4, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

The internationally-­acclaimed Pacific Chorale in Orange County, CA will be presenting a new work created by American opera composer Jake Heggie, and the versatilelibrettist Gene Scheer entitled 'THE RADIO HOUR'. The choral opera will be conducted by Pacific Chorale's Artistic Director, John Alexander, and stage-­directed by James R. Taulli.

Tonight, February 7, 2014 at 7:30 p.m., the spotlight shines on the rising stars of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio when they take to the mainstage of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. They present their own special performance of Mozart's wry romantic comedy, Così fan tutte. This production is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES and all tickets to the Ensemble Studio performance are accessibly priced at $25 or $55.

The Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio was created in 1980 as a vehicle for training Canada's next generation of opera stars. Its current members will take to the stage of the Four Seasons Centre on February 7th, replacing regular cast members in Atom Egoyan's production of the Mozart opera Cosi fan tutte for one night only. Two current members of the Ensemble say to expect something very different and special.

Pacific Opera Victoria presents Strauss' ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, a witty mash up of high-brow opera and earthy comedy, February 13 through 23, 2014 at the Royal Theatre in Victoria, BC.

Earlier today, TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian announced the 2014/2015 season of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO), the Orchestra's 93rd season. The 2014/2015 season also marks the beginning of the Maestro's second decade on the podium with the TSO.

The Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, Canada's premier training program for young opera professionals, welcomes four talented new Canadian artists for the 2014/2015 season. Soprano Karine Boucher, tenor Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure and bass-baritone Iain MacNeil were among the nine finalists featured in the third annual Ensemble Studio Competition in November 2013. Boucher, Fortier-Lazure andMacNeil were top prize winners at the competitive vocal showcase which was the feature event of the COC's inaugural Ensemble Studio Competition Gala, Centre Stage, an evening dedicated to the discovery and celebration of the next generation of opera stars. In addition to the three opera singers, the 14/15 Ensemble Studio welcomes pianist Jennifer Szeto.

Aspiring opera singers from the Gulf Coast will once again vie for the national spotlight during the annual Metropolitan Opera National Council District and Regional Auditions today, Jan. 11 and Sunday, Jan. 12 at Loyola University New Orleans. The winner of the regional auditions will advance to the national semi-final round, held Sunday, March 23 on the Metropolitan Opera Stage in New York City. The singers who advance to the finals Sunday, March 30 will be accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

On Friday, February 7, 2014 at 7:30 p.m., the spotlight shines on the rising stars of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio when they take to the mainstage of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. They present their own special performance of Mozart's wry romantic comedy, Così fan tutte. This production is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES and all tickets to the Ensemble Studio performance are accessibly priced at $25 or $55.

Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce will take a star turn together when they co-host the Ninth Annual Opera News Awards, set to take place on Sunday, April 13, 2014, in the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel in New York City. They will be joined by a distinguished line-up of presenters – Luca Pisaroni, Susan Graham, Renata Scotto, Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Francesca Zambello – who will pay tribute to five superb artists who have made an invaluable contribution to the art form: the late director Patrice Chéreau, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig,bass-baritone James Morris, and soprano Nina Stemme. First introduced in 2005, the Opera News Awards gala dinner, which features the hosts and presenters speaking about the awardees and introducing video performance clips, has become one of the most anticipated opera events of the season: an evening of celebration, appreciation, reuniting and celebrity-spotting that is without parallel in the industry.

Aspiring opera singers from the Gulf Coast will once again vie for the national spotlight during the annual Metropolitan Opera National Council District and Regional Auditions Saturday, Jan. 11 and Sunday, Jan. 12 at Loyola University New Orleans. The winner of the regional auditions will advance to the national semi-final round, held Sunday, March 23 on the Metropolitan Opera Stage in New York City. The singers who advance to the finals Sunday, March 30 will be accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

Toronto – Soprano Karine Bocher from Quebec City took home first prize and the Audience Choice Award at the Canadian Opera Company's third annual Ensemble Studio Competition on November 26, 2013, at the