Frederick Ballentine News

This April, the English National Opera's (ENO) Artistic Director Annilese Miskimmon will make her company directorial debut with a powerful new production of Poul Ruders' The Handmaid's Tale. Based on Margaret Atwood's seminal novel, this outstandingly relevant work was last staged at the London Coliseum in 2003 when it received its first English language debut. 

Originally commissioned for Cincinnati Opera's 100th anniversary in 2020 and postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Castor and Patience receives its much-anticipated world premiere in July 2022.

Cincinnati Opera today shared updated cast, production, and schedule details for its 2022 Summer Festival, which will take place June 18 through July 31, 2022. After two seasons away, the company returns this summer to its longtime performance venues, Cincinnati Music Hall and the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA).

This April, the English National Opera (ENO) presents a unique concert of Joseph Haydn's Seven Last Words on the Cross, and Joel Thompson's Seven Last Words of the Unarmed. This is the first time these two pieces have been performed together live in the UK.

Named for the groundbreaking African American contralto, the Marian Anderson Vocal Award recognizes a young American singer in opera, oratorio, or recital repertoire with outstanding promise for a significant career. Earlier this year, Washington National Opera (WNO) named tenor Frederick Ballentine as the 2021 recipient and will present him in concert on Tuesday, December 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.

The Metropolitan Opera has posted a video from the final dress rehearsal of their production of Porgy and Bess. In the video, Janai Brugger sings Clara’s Act I aria 'Summertime', conducted by David Robertson.

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess will return to the Met for 13 performances, October 31–December 12, 2021. The classic American opera features many artists from the triumphant 2019–20 production’s Grammy Award-winning cast. Eric Owens and Angel Blue star as the title couple, with conductor David Robertson on the podium.

Originally commissioned for Cincinnati Opera's 100th anniversary in 2020 and postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Castor and Patience receives its much-anticipated world premiere in July 2022.

Today (June 4) in live streaming: a Kate & Allie reunion on Stars in the House, Alex Newell visits Backstage Live, and more!

The Metropolitan Opera announced today the premiere of Yannick: An Artist’s Journey, a new documentary by award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke, about the inspiring path of Yannick Nézet-Séguin to becoming the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director.

The Met has announced themed lineups for two weeks of its Nightly Met Opera Streams, the company’s ongoing series of encore Live in HD presentations and classic telecasts streamed on its website during the Covid-19 closure.

Washington National Opera today announced its 2021–2022 season featuring a triumphant return to the Opera House stage, four world premiere commissions celebrating the Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary, debuts from acclaimed and rising opera stars, the return to the pit for Principal Conductor Evan Rogister and the WNO Orchestra & Chorus, and more.

Today (February 1) in live streaming: Jeremy Jordan and Ashley Spencer sing with Seth Rudetsky, Krysta Rodriguez on Live at the Lortel, and more!

The unforgettable world of Ellen Reid’s      p  r  i  s  m returns to LA Opera for two weeks. This time, the Pulitzer Prize-winning piece is streaming on your home screen.  Composer Reid and librettist Roxie Perkins' sobering story follows a mother and daughter as they explore the trauma of sexual abuse and the elasticity of memory that follows.

The Met has announced themed lineups for the first two weeks of February in its ongoing series of Nightly Met Opera Streams, a free series of encore Live in HD presentations and classic telecasts streamed on the company's website during the coronavirus closure.

After the triumphant sold-out concert at the Wortham last year—Giving Voice: Lawrence Brownlee and Friends Sing Opera, Gospel, and Standards—internationally renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee returns with his co-host, celebrated soprano, HGO Studio alumna, and frequent HGO collaborator Nicole Heaston.

Today (December 11) in live streaming: Laura Osnes, Courtney Reed and Susan Egan visit Backstage Live, and so much more!

Los Angeles Opera has a number of excellent recitals on its website including one by baritone Craig Colclough in which he sings the Shakespeare monologues from Otello and Macbeth that Verdi set to music. Together with pianist Jeremy Frank, Colclough presents a program that also includes works by Beethoven, Wagner, Porter, and Vaughan Williams.

The Met has announced themed lineups for four weeks of its Nightly Met Opera Streams, a free series of encore Live in HD presentations and classic telecasts streamed on the company's website during the coronavirus closure. The schedule includes a week of In Plain English, an Epic Proportions week, followed by a week of Holiday Fare, and more.

This weekend, tenor Frederick Ballentine returns to the L A Opera virtual stage for a spooky Halloween-themed “Living Room Recital.” He partners with mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron and pianist Kunal Lahiry to perform some of opera's most mysterious and scary songs—including the murder scene from Carmen.