Washington National Opera presents German soprano Diana Damrau in recital as part of its Celebrity Concert Series tonight, April 8 at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Accompanied by harpist Xavier de Maistre, Damrau will perform selections from Schubert, R. Strauss, Hahn, Chausson, Duparc, and more. Both artists make their WNO debuts with this performance.
Spring will bring a trio of striking productions to Houston Grand Opera, starting with the return-by-popular-demand of the world's first mariachi opera - Cruzar la Cara de la Luna ('To Cross the Face of the Moon'). Cruzar - an HGO commission that the company premiered to acclaim in 2010, with the Houston Chronicle calling it 'a multicultural winner' - will run today, March 22-24 at the Wortham Theater Center. Next up is HGO's new production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (April 18-May 5), conducted by the company's music and artistic director, Patrick Summers, and starring two of today's greatest Wagnerian singers: soprano Nina Stemme as Isolde and tenor Ben Heppner as Tristan, both in their company debuts.
Washington National Opera presents German soprano Diana Damrau in recital as part of its Celebrity Concert Series on Monday, April 8 at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Accompanied by harpist Xavier de Maistre, Damrau will perform selections from Schubert, R. Strauss, Hahn, Chausson, Duparc, and more.
After an intense semi-final round of competition, the Metropolitan Opera today announced the names of ten finalists who will sing on the Met stage in the 2013 National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert on Sunday, March 10 at 3:00 p.m., with the MET Orchestra conducted by Marco Armiliato. The auditions, which are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, have been an important stepping stone in the career of many of the opera world's leading artists. 20 gifted young singers from around the country arrived in New York on Thursday afternoon to prepare for today's semi-final round, in which they sang on the Met stage for the first time in their careers before a panel of judges. After deliberations, the panel has narrowed the field to ten singers who will move to the final phase of the competition.
Twenty young singers who won regional competitions around the United States will come to New York to sing on the Met stage in the semi-finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The Met Auditions, this year celebrating their 60th anniversary, are a major stepping stone to a career as an opera singer and were crucial in introducing many of today's best-known stars, such as Renee Fleming, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Samuel Ramey, Deborah Voigt, and Dolora Zajick.
The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.
The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.
The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live transmissions to movie theaters, will feature 10 productions in the 2013-14 season, offering a significant portion of the Met season to opera lovers around the world.
The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.
Houston Grand Opera (HGO)-the only opera company with two Grammys, two Emmys, and a Tony - continues to raise the bar for American opera with next season's gripping new line-up.
The Opera Orchestra of New York presents an opera-in-concert performance of Umberto Giordano's verismo opera, Andrea Chénier conducted by Music Director Alberto Veronesi at Avery Fisher Hall today, January 6, 2013 at 4:00 pm. Tenor Roberto Alagna sings the title role of Andrea Chénier, one of opera's most dramatic lyric-tenor roles, for the first time, with soprano Kristin Lewis as Maddalena di Coigny, baritone George Petean as Carlo Gérard, with a special appearance by mezzo soprano Rosalind Elias as Madelon.
Promising young opera singers from across the Gulf Coast will compete for the chance to perform on one of the world's most prestigious stages at the Metropolitan Opera National Council District and Regional Auditions today, Jan. 5 and the 6th at Loyola University New Orleans. The winner of the regional auditions will advance to the national semi-final round, held in March on the Metropolitan Opera Stage in New York City.
Promising young opera singers from across the Gulf Coast will compete for the chance to perform on one of the world's most prestigious stages at the Metropolitan Opera National Council District and Regional Auditions Jan. 5 and 6 at Loyola University New Orleans. The winner of the regional auditions will advance to the national semi-final round, held in March on the Metropolitan Opera Stage in New York City.
The Opera Orchestra of New York presents an opera-in-concert performance of Umberto Giordano's verismo opera, Andrea Chénier conducted by Music Director Alberto Veronesi at Avery Fisher Hall on Sunday, January 6, 2013 at 4:00 pm. Tenor Roberto Alagna sings the title role of Andrea Chénier, one of opera's most dramatic lyric-tenor roles, for the first time, with soprano Kristin Lewis as Maddalena di Coigny, baritone George Petean as Carlo Gérard, with a special appearance by mezzo soprano Rosalind Elias as Madelon.
Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will lead his first company performances of Aida,Verdi's grand opera of love and war, beginning November 23. Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska makes her Met debut in the title role of the Ethiopian slave, opposite Marco Berti as Radames and Olga Borodina as Aida's formidable rival, Amneris. Later performances feature Hui He as Aida, Roberto Alagna as Radames, and Dolora Zajick as Amneris. The role of Amonasro, Aida's father, will be shared by Alberto Mastromarino and George Gagnidze. Štefan Kocan will sing the priest Ramfis, and Hungarian bass Miklos Sebestyen will make his Met debut as the King of Egypt. The December 15 matinee performance of Aida will be transmitted worldwide as part of The Met: Live in HD series, which now reaches more than 1,900 theaters in 64 countries around the world.
Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will lead his first Met performances of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, in a new production by renowned opera director David Alden, beginning tonight, November 8. The staging is the first of two new Verdi productions in the current Met season, which includes seven operas by the great composer in honor of the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will lead his first Met performances of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, in a new production by renowned opera director David Alden, beginning November 8. The staging is the first of two new Verdi productions in the current Met season, which includes seven operas by the great composer in honor of the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Houston Grand Opera, with Music Director Patrick Summers and Managing Director Perryn Leech, announces its 2012-13 season, headlined by four new productions. The first of these is Puccini's La boheme, which launches the new season with a new staging by award-winning British director John Caird. To honor 2013's joint bicentennials of Wagner and Verdi, the coming season juxtaposes Tristan und Isolde - starring Ben Heppner and Nina Stemme in a new contemporary staging by Christof Loy - with a revival of Steven Lawless's unforgettable take on Il trovatore. British conductor Trevor Pinnock leads a strong international cast in Mozart's ensemble masterpiece Don Giovanni, while Francesca Zambello's new production of Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat brings together stars of Broadway and the opera house in a celebration of America's own contribution to the art. For a more intimate experience, Daniela Barcellona and Lawrence Brownlee star in Rossini's dramma giocoso, The Italian Girl in Algiers.
Houston Grand Opera opens its 2012-13 season in grand style on October 19, with a brand-new production of Puccini's La boheme starring Dimitri Pittas and Katie van Kooten.