Tenor Matthew Polenzani--he of the refined singing, elegant deportment and serious nature--is having a great season at the Met, with major roles in a pair of new productions. First, he was Nadir, whose love for the priestess Leila (Diana Damrau) tempts her to give up her vows in Bizet's LES PECHEURS DE PERLES (THE PEARL FISHERS). Now he's working his mojo on no less than Elisabetta (Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of England), in the new production of Donizetti's ROBERTO DEVEREUX at the Met, premiering March 24.
It was indeed an auspicious occasion at Chapman University on Saturday night where over a thousand guests gathered for the much-anticipated official opening of the Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco Center for the Arts. The black tie event featured a concert performance by luminaries of the opera world, including Placido Domingo, Deborah Voigt, and Milena Kitic, joined by a number of Chapman alumni, the Chapman University Singers, and Alumni Choir.
On Sunday, March 20th 2016, The Miami Symphony Orchestra (MISO) led by Maestro Eduardo Marturet, alongside Stage Director Richard Jay-Alexander and Classical-Crossover Director Rudy Perez, will perform with an awe-inspiring list of artists which include Afro-Cuban ensemble Tiempo Libre, virtuoso pianist-composer Lola Astanova, electric guitarist Brev Sullivan, vocalists Louis Amanti, Haven Star, EnVee, Malena Burke, Victor Valdez, King David, and R&B legend Sam Moore, who will be honored at the concert.
Alban Berg's tragedy of a sexually irresistible woman who destroys the lives of everyone around her, Lulu, airs on THIRTEEN'S Great Performances at the Met Sunday, April 10 at 12 p.m. on PBS. (Check local listings.) (In New York, THIRTEEN will air the opera at 12:30 p.m.)
?After a months-long series of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, a panel of expert judges named five 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.
San Francisco Opera's SF Opera Lab opens its inaugural season with innovative programming that celebrates the power of the human voice theatrically in intimate spaces, including the state-of-the-art Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco Opera's new Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera.
After an international search, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has chosen three new singers and one new pianist/coach for the 2016-17 HGO Studio. The artists are Yelena Dyachek, soprano, the Ana Maria Martinez Encouragement Award recipient at Concert of Arias 2016; Zoie Reams, mezzo-soprano, the second-place prize winner at Concert of Arias 2016; Sol Jin, baritone, the Audience Choice Award winner at Concert of Arias 2016; and Peter Walsh, pianist/coach. One of the most respected and highly competitive young artist programs in the world, the HGO Studio provides comprehensive career development to young singers, pianist/coaches, and conductors who have demonstrated potential to make major contributions to the field of opera. The HGO Studio received applications from 475 artists; of those, about 275 were heard in auditions in Houston, New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Los Angeles. For singers, the audition process culminates in HGO's annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, held this year on February 4.
Following yesterday's highly competitive semi-final competition, nine young singers will advance to the final phase of the Metropolitan Opera's 2016 National Council Auditions, America's most prestigious vocal competition. The selected finalists, chosen by a panel of experts from the classical music industry, will compete on the Met stage on Sunday, March 13 at 3 p.m. The winners will receive individual cash prizes of $15,000 and the prestigious-and potentially career-launching-title of National Council Auditions Winner. The Grand Finals Concert will feature Antony Walker conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as each finalist performs two arias.
The Merola Opera Program and the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch present a free screening of Verdi's opera RIGOLETTO at the next Merola Goes to the Movies, on Sunday, March 20, 1:00 pm, in the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch (100 Larkin Street). Admission is free.
San Francisco Opera's SF Opera Lab opens its inaugural season with innovative programming that celebrates the power of the human voice theatrically in intimate spaces, including the state-of-the-art Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco Opera's new Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera.
The 33rd season of the Schwabacher Debut Recitals continues on Sunday, March 20 at the new Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater with baritone Efraín Solís and pianist Robert Mollicone.
The 33rd season of the Schwabacher Debut Recitals continues on Sunday, March 6 at the new Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater with bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch and pianist John Churchwell.
? On the heels of their Billboard Top 10 Classical Crossover album, Well-Strung, the Singing String Quartet, were recently named winners at the 9th Annual OUTmusic Awards for Best Classical Recording/Performance with 'Since U Been Gone (Mozart meets Kelly Clarkson)." The major award, which was announced on January 24th, coincides with the launch of the pop-classical quartet's 2016 tour dates. In addition to the group's current 3-week engagement at The Palm in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the group returns home to the U.S. with West Coast dates in Palm Springs (March 12), Los Angeles (March 13), Portland (March 15), Seattle (March 16) and then New York at Joe's Pub (April 4th). For tour dates and tickets please visit http://well-strung.com/.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center has announced a special one-night-only performance by the internationally acclaimed singing string quartet Well-Strung. The four performers, who specialize in pairing classical compositions by Mozart, Beethoven, and Dvo?ak with pop hits by Adele, Britney Spears, and Ke$ha, will make their Renberg Theatre debut on Sunday, March 13 at 7pm.
The Dallas Opera resumes the 2015-2016 Season in early spring with Jules Massenet's heart-wrenching and seductive tale of love, lust, and spectacularly bad choices: MANON, opening March 4, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House for the first of four performances.
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has chosen the finalists for the 28th annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias, to be presented in the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Theater Center tonight, February 4, at 7 p.m.
Houston, February 2, 2016—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has chosen the finalists for the 28th annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias, to be presented in the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Theater Center on today, February 4, at 7 p.m. This year's finalists are:
San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program present the 33rd season of the Schwabacher Debut Recitals. This season, the recitals move to the state-of-the-art Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco Opera's new Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera, located on the fourth floor of the Veterans Building (401 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco). The February 28 series-opener—Ports of Call with New York Festival of Song Artistic Director Steven Blier and 2016 San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows Amina Edris, Edward Nelson and Brad Walker—marks the inaugural public performance in the Taube Atrium Theater, which boasts the innovative Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system. The 5:30 p.m. Sunday recital series continues on March 6 with bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch and pianist John Churchwell; March 20 with baritone Efraín Solís accompanied by pianist Robert Mollicone; and April 24 with baritone Kihun Yoon and pianist Mark Morash.
The Merola Opera Program is pleased to recognize Merola 1988 alumna Patricia Racette with the Merola Distinguished Alumni Award in a ceremony tonight, January 7, 2016, in San Francisco.
