James Conlon News

The Metropolitan Opera's 2014-15 season will feature 26 operas, three of them company premieres, in six new productions and 18 revivals showcasing the talents of the world's leading singers, conductors, and theater artists. The three operas that will have their first-ever Met performances, each staged by a director making his Met debut, are John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer, conducted by David Robertson and directed by Tom Morris, opening October 20; Rossini's La Donna del Lago, conducted by Michele Mariotti and directed by Paul Curran, opening February 16, 2015; and Tchaikovsky's one-act opera Iolanta, conducted by Valery Gergiev and directed by Mariusz Treli?ski. Iolanta will be presented in a double bill with a new staging of Bartok's one-act Duke Bluebeard's Castle, also conducted by Gergiev and directed by Treli?ski.

Month in and month out, medici.tv takes music lovers to one-of-a-kind concert happenings around the world - the next best thing to being there. The next great medici.tv experience is tomorrow, Friday, February 7, at 2pm EST, with the live webcast of Charles Wuorinen's opera Brokeback Mountain, in its much-anticipated premiere production at Madrid's Teatro Real. Wuorinen, the 75-year-old composer who has both a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur 'genius' grant to his credit, based his opera on the short story of the same name by fellow Pulitzer-winner Annie Proulx, who also penned the libretto (her first). The heartbreaking story of a complex emotional-sexual relationship between two Wyoming cowboys over 20 years starting in 1963 earned wide renown in Ang Lee's 2005 film version, which won three Academy Awards among many other international prizes. The New York Times first-night review of the Madrid production called Wuorinen's opera 'a serious work, an impressive achievement,' praising the 'intricate, vibrantly orchestrated and often brilliant score that conveys the oppressiveness of the forces that defeat these two men.' The review also described the stage production by Belgian director Ivo van Hove as 'starkly beautiful,' with the conducting by Titus Engel drawing 'a pulsing, incisive performance' from the orchestra. The opera stars Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch and American tenor Tom Randle as the closeted ranch hands Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist. The Times review pointed out: 'The cast, to a member, embraces every chance to maximize every lyrical bit in the vocal writing.'

Professional singers and musicians from LA Opera will collaborate with more than 400 members of the Los Angeles community to present the world premiere of Jonah and the Whale, a new opera for audiences of all ages by composer Jack Perla and librettist Velina Hasu Houston. Conducted by LA Opera Music Director James Conlon and directed by Eli Villanueva, the performances will take place at 7:00pm on both March 21 and 22 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, located at 555 West Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has announced the winners for the 26th Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers that took place the evening of January 30 at the Wortham Theater Center's Cullen Theater in front of a capacity crowd.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra welcomes back revered conductor, and former CSO Creative Director, Rafael Fru?hbeck de Burgos for his second engagement of the 2013- 14 season. On February 28 and March 1 at historic Music Hall, Maestro Fru?hbeck de Burgos will conduct one of the most epic works in orchestral and choral repertoire-Verdi's Requiem. The piece pulls together massive forces of orchestra, chorus and soloists for an impassioned and dramatic blockbuster of human emotion. Perhaps best known for the famous 'Dies irae' movement, prevalent in pop culture in movies, advertisements and television, Verdi's masterpiece depicts a journey from terror and darkness to joy and light.

Conductor James Conlon, Music Director of LA Opera, concludes his three-year commemoration of the centenary of composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) and brings the Britten 100/LA celebration to a close in Los Angeles with LA Opera's production of Billy Budd, which opens on February 22 and continues through March 16, 2014. For more information about this production, please visit www.LAOpera.org.

The centenary of British composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) has been observed around the world by musicians and institutions of every kind. Music Director James Conlon, whose lifelong fascination with Britten is reflected in his personal three-year performance cycle of the composer's works in America and Europe, is the inspiration for LA Opera's Britten 100/LA: A Celebration, an extensive collaboration featuring performances, conferences and exhibitions presented by a host of organizations throughout the Southland.

The Collegiate Chorale announces the New York premiere of battle hymns on May 15, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Pier 86, 12th Ave. & 46th Street in New York, NY.

Part child and part saint, endowed with physical as well as spiritual beauty, a young sailor unwittingly undermines the chain of command on the high seas in British composer Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd, returning to LA Opera's stage for six performances, February 22 through March 16.

59E59 Theaters is thrilled to announce that the Little Opera Theatre of NY returns with Rossini's comic opera OPPORTUNITY MAKES THE THIEF (L'OCCASIONE FA IL LADRO OSSIA IL CAMBIO DELLA VALIGIA).

General Director Plácido Domingo announced LA Opera's 2014/15 season, created in collaboration with Music Director James Conlon and President and CEO Christopher Koelsch. The upcoming season will include six mainstage productions, with 41 performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Additional performances will take place in other venues through an expansion of the Company's Off Grand initiative. The season will open on September 13, 2014, and will run through June 14, 2015.

General Director Plácido Domingo announced LA Opera's 2014/15 season, created in collaboration with Music Director James Conlon and President and CEO Christopher Koelsch. The upcoming season will include six mainstage productions, with 41 performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Additional performances will take place in other venues through an expansion of the Company's Off Grand initiative. The season will open on September 13, 2014, and will run through June 14, 2015.

Two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Patti LuPone joins with opera diva Patricia Racette for the new Los Angeles Opera production of THE GHOSTS OF VERSAILLES in early 2015 according to a new announcement.

Acclaimed as an artist who possesses "compelling virtuosity and sensitivity" (Los Angeles Times), pianist Joyce Yang captivates audiences around the globe with a full schedule of concerto and recital performances. Just 27 years old, Yang first came to international attention in 2005, when she became the Silver Medalist of the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. As the youngest contestant that year, she swept two additional awards as an all-around winner. More recently, she was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2010, one of the most prestigious prizes in classical music. This performance marks Yang's Seattle debut.

On February 22, our year-long Britten 100/LA celebration culminates with the opening of Billy Budd. This powerful tale of innocence and betrayal on the high seas based on Herman Melville's classic American novella features baritone Liam Bonner leading an all-male cast, including tenor Richard Croft as Captain Vere and bass Greer Grimsley making his LA Opera debut as Claggart, the master-at-arms maddened by Billy's goodness and beauty.

Over the past decade, Albanian tenor SAIMIR PIRGU has become an indispensable part of musical life here and abroad. During this time, audiences have witnessed his development from a highly-gifted fledgling singer to a seasoned world-class performer.

(Los Angeles) December 19, 2013 — General Director Plácido Domingo announced updated details for LA Opera's first production of Lucia di Lammermoor since 2003. Conducted by Music Director James Conlon and directed by Elkhana Pulitzer in her LA Opera debut, the new production stars Albina Shagimuratova in the title role as the dagger-wielding Scottish lass and Saimir Pirgu as her secret lover, Edgardo. Lucia di Lammermoor will open on Saturday, March 15, 2014, and run for a total of six performances through April 6 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce will take a star turn together when they co-host the Ninth Annual Opera News Awards, set to take place on Sunday, April 13, 2014, in the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel in New York City. They will be joined by a distinguished line-up of presenters – Luca Pisaroni, Susan Graham, Renata Scotto, Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Francesca Zambello – who will pay tribute to five superb artists who have made an invaluable contribution to the art form: the late director Patrice Chéreau, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig,bass-baritone James Morris, and soprano Nina Stemme. First introduced in 2005, the Opera News Awards gala dinner, which features the hosts and presenters speaking about the awardees and introducing video performance clips, has become one of the most anticipated opera events of the season: an evening of celebration, appreciation, reuniting and celebrity-spotting that is without parallel in the industry.

The centenary of British composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) has been observed around the world by musicians and institutions of every kind. Music Director James Conlon, whose lifelong fascination with Britten is reflected in his personal three-year performance cycle of the composer's works in America and Europe, is the inspiration for LA Opera's Britten 100/LA: A Celebration, an extensive collaboration featuring performances, conferences and exhibitions presented by a host of organizations throughout the Southland. Britten's centenary year may be drawing to an end, but Britten 100/LA events will continue into early 2014, culminating in LA Opera's February and March performances of Billy Budd.

Sel Kardan, President and CEO of The Colburn School, announced today the establishment of The Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School. Los Angeles philanthropist Marilyn Ziering has made the Initiative possible with a generous $1 million gift to Colburn. The Initiative builds upon the Recovered Voices project at LA Opera, established to support conductor James Conlon's long-term commitment to bring attention to the works of important composers whose music was suppressed during the Nazi years in Europe.