Isabel Leonard News

Carnegie Hall's has announced some changes to its 2018-2019 schedule. See the newly announced details below!

Tanglewood's season-long Bernstein centennial celebration-one of the most comprehensive looks at Bernstein's amazing impact on the worlds of music and theater taking place in the anniversary year-will culminate in a gala concert on Bernstein's actual 100th birthday, August 25. Reflecting the season-long theme, The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood concert will spotlight Bernstein's wide-ranging talents as a composer, his many gifts as a great interpreter and champion of other composers, his role as an inspirer of a new generation of musicians and music lovers across the country and around the globe, and his presence as a driving musical force at Tanglewood, 1940-1990.

If you didn't find a performance to attend in the first part of this series--or you simply can't get enough operas, symphonic concerts and musical theatre pieces thrown in for good measure--here's more to choose from. It covers the gamut from the Mozart REQUIEM to Bernstein, Bernstein and more Bernstein.

As both a celebration of the Washington National Opera and a culmination of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Leonard Bernstein at 100 celebration, last weekend's Opera Gala definitely found success. While the evening had its share of disappointments (Titus Burgess of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fame fell ill and was unable to perform; Patti LuPone, the top-billed artist of the evening, performed only two fairly short numbers) there was an undeniable electricity to the night. Previously, the WNO held an annual ball which, according to Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein, included neither opera nor a ball. Switching the format to one with a formal gala reception, an opera-filled performance, and elegant dinners hosted by Ambassadors and foreign dignitaries proved the Kennedy Center can still pull off some new tricks.

As a major highlight of its summer-long celebration, June 15-September 2, of the centennial of Leonard Bernstein's birth, Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in Lenox, MA, has programmed several fully staged and semi-staged productions of Leonard Bernstein's work written for the stage, featuring several Tony Award-winning Broadway performers, choreographers, and directors.

Sometimes, classics are dangerous production choices. But sometimes they're reminders of why we love a story in the first place. Washington National Opera's 'Barber of Seville' is most decidedly the latter.

Soprano Nadine Sierra has been named the winner of the 13th annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera. The $50,000 award, the largest of its kind in the United States, is given to extraordinarily gifted singers between the ages of 25 and 40 who have already appeared in featured solo roles at the Met. The award, given in honor of Beverly Sills, was established in 2006 by an endowment gift from the late Agnes Varis, a managing director on the Met board. In 2009 Sierra became the youngest ever winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has gone on to make her mark at the Met with memorable performances in Verdi's Rigoletto, and Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Idomeneo and Don Giovanni. In the Met's 2018-19 season, Sierra will reprise the role of Gilda in Rigoletto.

On Monday, April 23 at 7:00 p.m., Nicola and Beatrice Bulgari and the Carnegie Hall Notables-a membership and ticket program for music enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s-will host the 14th Annual Notable Occasion. This private performance in Zankel Hall for Carnegie Hall Notables and special guests features two American rising star vocalists: soprano Julia Bullock and tenor Paul Appleby offering a combination of arias, lieder, favorites from the American songbook including works by Bernstein, Britten, Lerner and Loewe, Schubert, and Schumann, among other surprises. The two singers will be accompanied by pianist John Arida.

American baritone Nathan Gunn and pianist Julie Gunn, partners in life and often on stage, will make their debut at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in an evening of cabaret by iconic composers ranging from Leonard Bernstein and Cole Porter to Billy Joel and Tom Waits.  The evening concert from an eclectic American Songbook joins Bernstein at 100, the worldwide celebration of the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein, one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history. An Evening with Nathan and Julie Gunn takes place Thursday, March 15, 2018 at 7:30pm in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis.

Juilliard announces the appointment of tenorWilliam Burden to Juilliard's voice faculty in Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts. Mr. Burden's appointment will begin in fall of 2018. Mr. Burden has performed at the world's greatest opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Glyndebourne, Santa Fe Opera, and the Bayerische Staatsoper, among many others.

Accelerating his arrival as Music Director by two seasons, Yannick Nezet-Seguin will take up the post in time for the start of the Metropolitan Opera's 2018-19 season, it was announced today.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced the date and partial casting for its 2018 WNO Gala, which takes place on Sunday, May 20 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. The annual Gala concert features a world-class cast starring Tony® and GRAMMY® Award-winning actor Patti LuPone; Emmy®-nominated singer and actor Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, 30 Rock); and stars from WNO's current season-mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (Rosina inThe Barber of Seville) and soprano Kathryn Lewek (Cunegonde in Candide)-as well as members of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program and other special guests to be announced at a later date. Renowned baritone Nathan Gunn will host and perform, alongside his wife, pianist Julie Gunn.

In celebration of the GRAMMY Awards coming to New York for the first time in 15 years and to honor Leonard Bernstein's 100th anniversary, the Recording Academy in association with CAMI Music, announced today the complete lineup for the GRAMMY Salute To Classical Music . This special event is to be held at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on the afternoon of January 26th, 2018 at 2:30PM. Hosted by world-famous pianist Lang Lang, the concert celebrates the life and legacy of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein and will feature artists across a spectrum of genres. The lineup includes GRAMMY Award winning soprano Isabel Leonard, GRAMMY nominated R&B singer Ledisi, classically-trained string trio Time for Three, Los Angeles-based R&B artist Kiana Led and acclaimed Spanish guitarist Pablo S inz Villegas. (Ren e Fleming, who was previously announced, will no longer be performing due to scheduling conflicts.) For more information, please visit carnegiehall.org, CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 or the Box Office at 57th and 7th Avenue.

From January 23 28, 2018, Carnegie Hall celebrates the legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, who will lead The Song Continues in her final season as Artistic Advisor before passing the torch to acclaimed soprano Ren e Fleming, who will continue this beloved tradition in years to come.

See the full schedule of January and February events at Carnegie Hall below!

From January 23 28, 2018, Carnegie Hall celebrates the legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, who will lead The Song Continues in her final season as Artistic Advisor before passing the torch to acclaimed soprano Ren e Fleming, who will continue this beloved tradition in years to come.

Juilliard Opera's season opens with W.A. Mozart's romantic comedy La finta giardiniera on November 15, 17, and 19, 2017, led by distinguished Metropolitan Opera conductor Joseph Colaneri, who makes his Juilliard Orchestra debut, and directed by faculty member Mary Birnbaum.

Celebrated baritone Christiaan Smith will make his Carnegie Hall debut this fall with 'Songs We Know,' presented by Trespass Productions, this Saturday, November 18 at 8PM in Weill Recital Hall. Tickets, priced at $48 to $78, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, www.CarnegieHall.org.

Juilliard Opera's season opens with W.A. Mozart's romantic comedy La finta giardiniera on November 15, 17, and 19, 2017, led by distinguished Metropolitan Opera conductor Joseph Colaneri, who makes his Juilliard Orchestra debut, and directed by faculty member Mary Birnbaum.

Below, note the following updates to Carnegie Hall's 2017-18 schedule, reflecting changes made since the season was originally announced in January 2017.