Gerald Finley News

The Theatrical Management Association (TMA) has announced the nominations for its Theatre Awards UK 2011.

Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni looks forward to a stellar 2011-2012 season, beginning with two starring turns at the Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2011-12 season will feature the world's leading singers, conductors, and stage directors in seven new productions, including a world premiere, a Met premiere, and the first complete performances of a new Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle conducted by Music Director James Levine and directed by Robert Lepage.

Ellie Dehn will make her Met role debut as Donna Elvira in this spring's performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni, replacing Annette Dasch, who has withdrawn due to pregnancy. Dehn will sing the performances on February 21, 24, 29, March 3, 7, 10, 14, and 17.

The seventh annual Opera News Awards will be presented on Sunday, April 29 at The Plaza in New York City, paying tribute to five extraordinary artists who have made an invaluable contribution to the art form: sopranos Karita Mattila and Anja Silja, baritones Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Peter Mattei, and director Peter Sellars.

The fast-rising Luca Pisaroni was a hit at Houston Grand Opera in his house and role debut last month as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. After opening night, the Houston Chronicle reported: "With his dashing looks and proud manner, Pisaroni exudes complete authority and magnetism. His potent bass-baritone unfurls with such grandeur and resoluteness that one can easily believe this is a fellow who has spent his entire life getting his way."

Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni, who has proven to be an up-and-coming vocal and dramatic draw on both sides of the Atlantic, looks forward to capping his season with a high-profile European summer schedule. He returns to the U.K.'s Glyndebourne Festival to make his role debut as Argante in Handel's Rinaldo (July 2 - Aug 22), as well as appearing in the same production at London's world-famous BBC Proms festival on August 25.

The fast-rising Luca Pisaroni was a hit at Houston Grand Opera in his house and role debut last month as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. After opening night, the Houston Chronicle reported: "With his dashing looks and proud manner, Pisaroni exudes complete authority and magnetism. His potent bass-baritone unfurls with such grandeur and resoluteness that one can easily believe this is a fellow who has spent his entire life getting his way."

The complete list of presenters at the sixth annual Opera News Awards, which will take place on April 17 at The Plaza in New York City, has been announced: beloved singer Barbara Cook will present the award to tenor Jonas Kaufmann; iconic film director Francis Ford Coppola will present to conductor Riccardo Muti; legendary soprano Renata Scotto will present to soprano Patricia Racette; conductor Andrew Davis will present to soprano Kiri Te Kanawa; and award-winning playwright John Guare will present to bass-baritone Bryn Terfel.

Broadway icon Patti LuPone and acclaimed mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe will co-host the sixth annual Opera News Awards, which will take place on April 17 at The Plaza in New York City.

The complete list of presenters at the sixth annual Opera News Awards, which will take place on April 17 at The Plaza in New York City, has been announced: beloved singer Barbara Cook will present the award to tenor Jonas Kaufmann; iconic film director Francis Ford Coppola will present to conductor Riccardo Muti; legendary soprano Renata Scotto will present to soprano Patricia Racette; conductor Andrew Davis will present to soprano Kiri Te Kanawa; and award-winning playwright John Guare will present to bass-baritone Bryn Terfel.

Broadway icon Patti LuPone and acclaimed mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe will co-host the sixth annual Opera News Awards, which will take place on April 17 at The Plaza in New York City.

A new opera based on the life of tabloid queen Anna Nicole Smith opened at Royal Opera House yesterday,February 17. The show, entitled ANNA NICOLE is described on their website as 'a celebrity story of our times that includes extreme language, drug abuse and sexual content,' and imposed a minimum age of 16. This new opera is provocative in its themes, exciting in its bravura style and thrilling with its sheer contemporary nerve,' it added in language normally reserved for reality TV. Anna Nicole Smith's life made the news -- you can bet this world premiere will too.'

The Metropolitan Opera's 2011-12 season will feature the world's leading singers, conductors, and stage directors in seven new productions, including a world premiere, a Met premiere, and the first complete performances of a new Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle conducted by Music Director James Levine and directed by Robert Lepage.

The New York Philharmonic will launch Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic: 2010-11 Season, its second series of recordings with Music Director Alan Gilbert, beginning December 14, 2010, as a new iTunes Pass. With iTunes Pass, music fans get music and other content delivered directly to their iTunes music library as it becomes available, over a season, tour, or other set period of time.

The New York Philharmonic will launch Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic: 2010-11 Season, its second series of recordings with Music Director Alan Gilbert, beginning December 14, 2010, as a new iTunes Pass. With iTunes Pass, music fans get music and other content delivered directly to their iTunes music library as it becomes available, over a season, tour, or other set period of time.

Simon Rattle, Artistic Director of the Berlin Philharmonic, will make his Metropolitan Opera debut December 17 leading a revival of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande. The cast will feature Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená as Mélisande and French baritone Stéphane Degout as Pelléas. Gerald Finley will sing the role of Pelléas's jealous brother Golaud, Felicity Palmer will sing the role of his mother Geneviève, and Willard White will complete the cast as the aged monarch Arkel. All five singers are making their Met role debuts.

Soprano Twyla Robinson will make her New York Philharmonic debut in Mendelssohn's Elijah, led by Music Director Alan Gilbert, Wednesday, November 10, 2010, at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, November 11, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, November 13, at 8:00 p.m.