The Dramatists Guild Opera Committee's Librettist Initiative premieres the short film a?oeCredit the Librettist: Conversations with Today's Opera Makersa?? at Opera America's New Works Forum on Thursday, January 16 at 10am at the National Opera Center, 330 7th Avenue, 7th Floor, New York.
It may surprise you to learn that Stephen King didn't write 'The Shining' and Sister Helen Prejean didn't write 'Dead Man Walking.' Even more, you may be startled to learn that Herman Melville didn't write 'Moby Dick' and Louisa May Alcott didn't have a hand in 'Little Women.' Well, of course they did--except when it came to turning the works into operas. Then, respectively, Mark Campbell and Terrence McNally took over, as did Gene Scheer and Mark Adamo.
Opera America will feature a public discussion with The Dramatists Guild's Opera Committee's Librettist Initiative at their New Works Forum on Thursday, January 16 at 10am at the National Opera Center, 330 7th Avenue, 7th Floor, New York.
OPERA America has awarded $220,000 in Repertoire Development Grants to The American Opera Project (New York, NY) in consortium with Seagle Music Colony (Schroon Lake, NY), Beth Morrison Projects (New York, NY), Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera and The Dallas Opera. The grants provide technical and financial support to OPERA America Professional Company Members and their producing partners to enhance the quality, quantity and creativity of new American opera and music theater.
Austin Opera today announces its 2019-2020 Season of programming at the Long Center, which includes Verdi's Rigoletto; the company premiere of Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer's Everest, the tale of one of the worst years in the famous mountain's history; and Puccini's final opera, Turandot.
Music at Kohl Mansion has announced the lineup for its 2019-2020 season of chamber concerts in Burlingame's historic Kohl Mansion, opening Sunday, October 20, 2019 at 7 pm. The series will mark its 37th year with eight concerts, along with the groundbreaking Violins of Hope residency January-March 2020. Music at Kohl Mansion welcomes the American Chamber Players, the Minetti Quartett, musicians from the Valley of the Moon Music Festival, the Ariel Quartet, cellist Amit Peled, the Fauré Quartett, and the Heath Quartet. The centerpiece of Music at Kohl Mansion's Violins of Hope San Francisco Bay Area project will be the January 19, 2020 concert featuring the world premiere of a new work written specifically for the Violins of Hope by internationally renowned composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, featuring celebrated mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and violinist Daniel Hope with a string quartet of musicians from the San Francisco Opera Orchestra.
The CU New Opera Workshop (CU NOW), a three-week program to refine an in-progress professional opera, celebrates 10 years at the University of Colorado Boulder this summer. Starting on May 28 and running through mid-June, voice students will collaborate directly with award-winning composer Tom Cipullo to workshop and perform his new piece, "Hobson's Choice."
Opera San Jose is proud to introduce our new ensemble of resident artists. Conductor / Chorus Master / Principal Coach Christopher James Ray, Sopranos Kerriann Otaño and Elena Galvan, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Sanchez, and baritone Eugene Brancoveanu will join returning tenor Mason Gates during the 2019-20 season.
If I Were You, by distinguished American composer Jake Heggie and noted librettist Gene Scheer, will be the first-ever commissioned work in the Merola Opera Program's 62-year history.
Soprano Patricia Westley will replace Mary Evelyn Hangley in the final recital of the 2019 Schwabacher Recital Series, presented by the Merola Opera Program and San Francisco Opera Center. Soprano and first-year Adler Fellow Mary Evelyn Hangley has withdrawn from the April 24 recital for personal reasons.
Chicago Opera Theater (COT) caps its 2018/2019 season with the Chicago premiere of "Moby-Dick," an epic adaptation of Herman Melville's 1851 classic "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale" at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance (205 E. Randolph Street) Thursday, April 25 and Sunday, April 28.
American Opera Projects (AOP) announces the return of its popular Composers & the Voice program for its 2019-21 seasons. Created and led by Composers & the Voice Artistic Director Steven Osgood, six composers and up to three librettists will be selected for two-year fellowships to learn the fundamentals of writing for the voice and opera stage. Workshop sessions with professional opera singers, mentors, and instructors are held at AOP's home base in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Applications and complete information will be available beginning March 18 at www.aopopera.org/composers_voice. The deadline for applications is April 26 with fellowships announced by July 16.
Chicago Opera Theater (COT) caps its 2018/2019 season with the Chicago premiere of "Moby-Dick," an epic adaptation of Herman Melville's 1851 classic "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale" at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance (205 E. Randolph Street) Thursday, April 25 and Sunday, April 28. The production is co-produced by Utah Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, San Jose Opera and Gran Teatre del Liceu.
Chicago Opera Theater's Orli and Bill Staley Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya and Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson General Director Ashley Magnus today announced the plans for the company's 47th season, to include productions of two exciting contemporary operas, a Chicago premiere by Rachmaninov, and the company's second world premiere commission. Yankovskaya will conduct each of these Chicago Opera Theater (COT) productions.
Mezzo soprano Frederica von Stade starred in the San Diego Opera's staging of Three Decembers. One of several works written with her in mind by her close friend Jake Heggie, it' s a chamber opera for three singers and 11 musicians. In a recent Interview Von Stade said, 'I've done three productions, the original in Houston, a new production in Chicago, and this one, which is my favorite.' The libretto by Gene Scheer is based on a play by Terrence McNally.
Von Stade portrays Madeline Mitchell, a self-centered Broadway star who has devoted so much time to her career that her children have come to resent her. She owns the role she premiered in 2008 with acting that makes the character believable, and a voice that remains attractive and compelling, if no longer as versatile as it was earlier in her career.
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.
Austin Opera today announces its 2019-2020 Season of programming at the Long Center, which includes Verdi's Rigoletto; the company premiere of Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer's Everest, the tale of one of the worst years in the famous mountain's history; and Puccini's final opera, Turandot.
San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program present the 36th season of the Schwabacher Recital Series, opening on February 13 and continuing through April 24. The four-recital series offers music lovers an opportunity to hear opera's next generation of stars in the intimate and state-of-the-art Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco.
San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock today announced repertory and casting for the Company's 97th Season, opening Friday, September 6, 2019, with a gala performance of Charles Gounod's Romeo and Juliet (Rom o et Juliette) starring tenor Bryan Hymel and soprano Nadine Sierra in Op ra de Monte-Carlo Director Jean-Louis Grinda's production. In keeping with the Company's time-honored tradition, the new season will be inaugurated with San Francisco Opera Guild's elegant, signature benefit and celebration, Opera Ball 2019.
On February 9th, Opera San Jose's 35th season continues with Moby-Dick, by 2018 Grammy Nominated composer Jake Heggie (Best Contemporary Classical Composition, Great Scott) with a libretto by Gene Scheer.