Dolora Zajick News

The Met has announced the Week 17 schedule for its Nightly Met Opera Streams, a free series of encore Live in HD presentations and classic telecasts streamed on the company website during the coronavirus closure.

After debuting its first-ever commissioned work in the program's history last season, San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, returns with a new group of rising opera stars for its 63rd season.

A day after canceling upcoming performances due to concerns around the coronavirus, the Metropolitan Opera announced that it would stream encore presentations from the award-winning Live in HD series of cinema transmissions on the company website for the duration of the closure.

A day after canceling upcoming performances due to concerns around the coronavirus, the Metropolitan Opera announced that it would stream encore presentations from the award-winning Live in HD series of cinema transmissions on the company website for the duration of the closure. 

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) announced today the winners of the 32nd annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias, which took place in the Cullen Theater of the Wortham Theater Center. This is the fourth year the Concert of Arias was streamed live on Facebook, and the third for livestreaming on YouTube. The livestream was hosted by HGO Studio alumna Jamie Barton. She is currently performing the title role in La favorite and placed third in the 2007 Concert of Arias. The winners were announced during the second portion of the program. 

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has selected the semifinalists for the 32nd annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias, to be presented in the Wortham Theater Center on Feb. 7, 2020 at 7 p.m. A limited number of tickets for the performance are available for purchase here. The program will also be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube for all to enjoy, inviting viewers to cast their votes for the Online Viewers' Choice Award.

The cast of 'ANNE FRANK, a musical', based on Anne Frank's life will feature 12 artists on stage to recreate Anne Frank's life filled with the touching music and lyrics written by Jean Pierre Hadida. This production marks the U.S Off-Broadway Premiere of this successful French musical which will be performed for the first time in English (adapted by Dylan Hadida). Directed and produced by David Serero, this new Off-Broadway production will take place at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street New York 10016), originally produced by Francine Disegni for Broadway Mad Production, Simon & Michal Kalfon.

San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program wraps up its Summer Festival with the Merola Grand Finale, a concert at the War Memorial Opera House featuring the 29 young international artists selected from over 800 applicants in the 2019 Merola Opera Program, who will showcase a dazzling array of opera's most exciting arias and ensembles. Conducted by Maestro George Manahan, Music Director of the American Composers Orchestra and Portland Opera, and directed by 2019 Merola Apprentice Stage Director Greg Eldridge, this evening showcases the hard work and extraordinary talent of the Merola artists. The Merola Grand Finale will be performed at 7:30pm, Saturday, August 17 at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. For tickets or more information, visit www.merola.org or call (415) 864-3330.

San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, commences its 62nd season with a showcase of the program's rising stars in the Schwabacher Summer Concert. A jaded courtesan longing for true love, star-crossed lovers, a comic marriage, a deal with the devil, and brothers separated at birth all take the stage as Merola's talented young artists bring some of opera's most exciting moments to life by performing scenes from La rondine, Lucia di Lammermoor, Die schweigsame Frau, Faust, and Il trovatore.

Sarasota Opera is pleased to announce the lineup for the 2019 season of "HD at the Opera House" and "Classic Movies at the Opera House."  The "HD at the Opera House" series will open on Sunday, May 19th and run through October 6th.

San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, launches its 62nd season offering audiences a look at the opera stars of tomorrow. The 2019 Merola Summer Festival announces this year's 29 Merola artists, selected from more than 800 international applicants from as far away as Brazil, South Korea, New Zealand, and Colombia, as well as across the U.S. Along with the announced world premiere of If I Were You (August 1-6) by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, the singers will perform in the Schwabacher Summer Concert (July 11 & 13) and Merola Grand Finale (August 17). The 2019 Merola Summer Festival includes performances in San Francisco at various locations. Individual event tickets and information available at www.merola.org or 415-864-3330.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) announced today the winners of the 31st annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias, which took place in the Cullen Theater of the Wortham Theater Center. This is the third year the Concert of Arias was streamed live on Facebook, and the second for livestreaming on YouTube. The livestream was hosted by HGO Studio alumna Andrea Carroll. She is currently performing in The Pearl Fishers as Le la and placed first in the 2012 Concert of Arias. The winners were announced during the second portion of the program.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has selected the finalists for the 31st annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias, to be presented in the Wortham Theater Center on February 1, 2019, at 7 p.m. A limited number of general admission tickets for the performance are available for purchase here. The program will also be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube for all to enjoy, inviting viewers to cast their votes for the Online Viewers' Choice Award.

Aida has been called the grandest of grand operas and the production that has graced the Met stage for the last (unbelievably) 30 years still looks absolutely amazing - towering columns, massive sandstone blocks, etc. Oddly, the audience did not applaud the sets (as they have in every other performance of this production I've seen - about 10 times). The big news of the night on Monday was the house debut of American soprano Kristin Lewis, who has made a name for herself across Europe in many Verdi roles. Her Radames was tenor Yonghoon Lee who seems to be the Met's go-to-tenor for the bigger roles these days. Amneris was a spunky young kid named Dolora Zajick - this kid is gonna go places!

American soprano Kristin Lewis, making her Metropolitan Opera debut, will sing the title role in Verdi's Aida on January 7, 11, 14, and 18, 2019, replacing Sondra Radvanovsky, who has withdrawn for personal reasons.

To commemorate the start of Yannick Nézet-Séguin's new position as the Jeanette Lerman Neubauer Music Director, the Met is releasing an audio compilation of performance highlights on iTunes, as well as a series

Los Angeles Opera presented the premiere performance of HANSEL AND GRETEL. The opera's original libretto is steeped in nineteenth century culture but Richard Sparks' translation, originally for the 2006 LA presentation of the opera, brought the text up to date and made it most appealing to contemporary children.

San Francisco Opera Center Director Sheri Greenawald today announced the 12 recipients of the 2019 Adler Fellowship. Selected from participants of the Merola Opera Program, the ten singers and two pianist/apprentice coaches begin their fellowships in January 2019. 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. Since its inception in 1977, the prestigious fellowship has nurtured the development of more than 180 young artists, introducing many budding stars to the international opera stage and launching active careers throughout the world as performers, production artists, arts professionals and educators.

In 2019, San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program will present the first opera commissioned in the Program's history, the world premiere of If I Were You, by distinguished American composer Jake Heggie and noted librettist Gene Scheer. This ground-breaking work will be presented August 1 - 6, 2019, at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre. Today it was announced the opera will be conducted by Nicole Paiement and directed by Keturah Stickann. Information is available at www.merola.org. Tickets will go on sale in Spring 2019.

On Sunday, October 21, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala concert - one of the most highly anticipated operatic events of the season - will bring a galaxy of opera stars to the stage of Carnegie Hall. And opera-lovers around the world unable to make it in person will still have the opportunity to watch the performance live. Thanks to the foundation's partnership with medici.tv, the gala concert will be webcast live (6pm ET/3pm PT), free of charge, both on medici.tv and on medici.tv's Facebook page; the stream will subsequently be available for on-demand viewing for a limited period. In addition, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation continues its collaboration with WQXR 105.9 FM, New York's sole dedicated classical radio station, which will broadcast the performance to listeners in the New York metropolitan region and online at www.wqxr.org on November 10 at 1pm ET/10am PT.