James Conlon News

As Houston's leading performing arts presenter, Society for the Performing Arts (SPA) has announced its 2013-2014 season filled with music, dance and family entertainment from the world's best artists and companies.

On Tuesday, October 29 at 7:30 p.m., sopranoJessica Rivera and mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor are joined by pianist Robert Spanoon a program featuring three New York premieres, two of which are Carnegie Hall co-commissions. Ms. O'Connor and Ms. Rivera have collaborated in concert halls and on modern operatic masterpieces including Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar and John Adams's El Niño. This unique program features Ms. O'Connor performing the New York premiere of David Bruce's That Time With You, a four-song cycle that she co-commissioned with Carnegie Hall. Ms. Rivera sings the New York premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff's Monica Songs, another Carnegie Hall co-commission. Two selections from The Kitchen Songbook by Gabriela Lena Frank will also have their New York debuts, sung by both Ms. O'Connor and Ms. Rivera. Completing this diverse program, the artists present vocal duets by Saint-Saens, Mendelssohn, and Gounod, as well as Debussy's erotically charged Chansons de Bilitis and Mompou's haunting "Combat del Somni."

The Collegiate Chorale announces its first concert of the season, Mefistofele, by Arrigo Boito on November 6, 2013 at 8pm at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, NYC. Tickets are available at www.carnegiehall.org or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800. Single tickets for this concert start at $15. The Collegiate Chorale will hold its Annual Fall Gala immediately following the concert. (For more information or tickets to the Gala, please contact Mariane Lemieux at mlemieux@collegiatechorale.org or 646-435-9052.)

This year's The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York Heritage Award recipient The Foundation for Filipino Artists Inc., together with executive committee members Loida Nicolas Lewis, Aida Bartolome, Jerry Sibal, Michael Dadap, Dr. Angie Cruz, Edwin Josue and Robert Perlstein, brings to New York Felipe Padilla de Leon, Philippine National Artist for Music, and Guillermo Tolentino's 1957 opera 'Noli Me Tangere,' based on the 1887 classic romantic novel by Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippines' national hero.

Conductor James Conlon returns to the Metropolitan Opera to lead a revival of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream in commemoration of the 2013 Britten centenary, with six performances beginning Friday, October 11, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. The 1996 production by Tim Albery returns to the Met after ten years, and features a cast that includes Kathleen Kim as Tytania, Erin Wall as Helena, Elizabeth DeShong as Hermia, Iestyn Davis as Oberon, Joseph Kaiser as Lysander, Michael Todd Simpson as Demetrius, Matthew Rose as Bottom, and Riley Costello as Puck.

Under the direction of Gerard Mortier, the Teatro Real is fast becoming one of the world's most innovative and exciting opera houses. With eight performances scheduled for early 2014-January 29 to February 11-Teatro Real will mount the first-ever production of Charles Wuorinen and Annie Proulx's BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.

Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC) - led by Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson and acclaimed for its pure, agile, bel canto sound that has made it one of the most in-demand children's choirs in the county - announces its 2013-14 season, entitled "Legacies Unleashed," which spotlights the music of Benjamin Britten and the English choral tradition. The chorus also presents two world premieres and a broad range of other musical genres demanding remarkable vocal versatility and technical skill from LACC's accomplished young choristers, who range in age from 6 to 18.

Under the direction of Gerard Mortier, the Teatro Real is fast becoming one of the world's most innovative and exciting opera houses. With eight performances scheduled for early 2014—January 29 to February 11—Teatro Real will mount the first-ever production of Charles Wuorinen and Annie Proulx's BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.

The editors of Opera News are pleased to announce the honorees for the ninth annual Opera News Awards, paying tribute to five superb artists who have made invaluable contributions to the art form: director Patrice Chéreau, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig, bass-baritone James Morris and soprano Nina Stemme. The Opera News Awards ceremonywill take place on Sunday, April 13 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. All the winners - and a host of the city's cultural, civic, and social luminaries - will be present at the gala awards dinner, which will feature celebrity presenters speaking about the awardees and introducing video performance clips.

Beginning with the 2013-14 season, the New York Philharmonic's Insights Series - in which artists and experts will explore some of the season's themes and concerts - will now be free, and take place at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center. This season's events will include discussions with Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow during his farewell season (October 23); composer-conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and violinist Leila Josefowicz (October 28), who will discuss Mr. Salonen's Violin Concerto, written for Ms. Josefowicz (which they will perform with the Philharmonic in its New York Concert Premiere, October 30-November 5); Music Director Alan Gilbert and Executive Director Matthew VanBesien on the state of the Philharmonic (March 3, 2014); The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Yefim Bronfman (May 20, 2014), who will talk about Beethoven's piano concertos (which he will perform during The Beethoven Piano Concertos: A Philharmonic Festival, June 11-28, 2014); and discussions relating to the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, the details of which will be announced at a later date.

24th STreet Theatre and Street Symphony, a non-profit organization founded by L.A. Phil violinist and TED senior fellow Vijay Gupta that actively brings live classical musical outreach concerts to the deeply underserved mentally ill, have banded together to present TEDxSkidRow: Mirroring Los Angeles. Curated by Gupta with community organizer Cooper Bates and GOOD/Corps and GOOD Magazine director of strategic partnerships Grace Kim. Sunday's event will take place at 24th STreet Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 8.

The Metropolitan Opera and Le Poisson Rouge announced details for "An Evening of Britten and Muhly," two concerts at Le Poisson Rouge on Thursday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Metropolitan Opera stars Patricia Racette, Kathleen Kim, and Iestyn Davies will perform at the event. Composer Nico Muhly will host and perform on piano.

The Collegiate Chorale announces its first concert of the season, Mefistofele, by Arrigo Boito on November 6, 2013 at 8pm at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, NYC. Tickets will be available for sale on September 16 at www.carnegiehall.org or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800. Single tickets for this concert start at $15. The Collegiate Chorale will hold its Annual Fall Gala immediately following the concert. (For more information or tickets to the Gala, please contact Mariane Lemieux at mlemieux@collegiatechorale.org or 646-435-9052.)

The distinguished pianist Jon Nakamatsu will perform Brahms's Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 alongside Budapest Festival Orchestra's principal cellist Peter Szabo in a pre-concert recital tonight, August 16th at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, August 17th at 7:00 p.m. at Avery Fisher Hall, 20 W 65th St., New York.

James Conlon, LA Opera's Richard Seaver Music Director, has cancelled two August engagements in order to undergo surgery to remove an inflamed portion of his colon as a result of diverticulitis. The surgery will take place in New York, and Mr. Conlon's prognosis is for a full recovery following three to four weeks of recuperation after surgery, according to Mr. Conlon's public relations representative, Constance Shuman at Shuman Associates, Inc.

James Conlon, Music Director of LA Opera, the Ravinia Festival, and the Cincinnati May Festival, has cancelled two August engagements to undergo surgery to remove an inflamed portion of his colon as a result of diverticulitis. The surgery will take place in New York, and Mr. Conlon's prognosis is for a full recovery following three to four weeks recuperation after surgery.

The distinguished pianist Jon Nakamatsu will perform Brahms's Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 alongside Budapest Festival Orchestra's principal cellist Peter Szabo in a pre-concert recital on Friday, August 16th at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, August 17th at 7:00 p.m. at Avery Fisher Hall, 20 W 65th St., New York. Mr. Nakamatsu's appearances precede an all-Brahms program with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, led by David Afkham in his Mostly Mozart debut. The concerts will feature Brahms's Double Concerto with soloists Truls Mork, cello and Vadim Repin, violin and will begin at 8:00 p.m. each evening at Avery Fisher Hall.

Conductor James Conlon received the 2012 Cohon Award from the Rabbi Samuel S. and A. Irma Cohon Memorial Foundation in a ceremony hosted by the Illinois Holocaust and EducationCenter in Skokie, IL on Tuesday, July 23. Mr. Conlon was honored with the Cohon Award in the "Creative Arts" field for his unique work in recovering the music of composers suppressed by the Nazi regime, thus contributing significantly both to Jewish history and to the world of music. The 2012 Cohon Award carries a prize of $30,000, which Mr. Conlon requested be directed to The OREL Foundation, www.orelfoundation.org, an invaluable resource on the topic of suppressed composers of the Twentieth Century for music lovers, students, musicians and scholars.

Maestro Case Scaglione leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in an evening of George Gershwin's Greatest Hits tonight, July 25 at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore and Friday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The program will feature the jazz-filled melodies of Rhapsody in Blue, featuring pianist Jon Nakamatsu, and the timeless music from An American in Paris. Please see below for complete program details.

The Knights resume their annual two-concert summer collaboration with Central Park's Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, now in their fifth consecutive season, with a program led by co-founder and artistic director Eric Jacobsen on July 30, featuring the world premiere of the innovative orchestra's own group composition Chaconne, and a collaboration with tenor Nicholas Phan. Recently hailed as a "major new Britten interpreter" by the New York Times, Phan joins The Knights and hornist Michael P. Atkinson to honor the Britten centennial with a rendition of the English composer's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, which they will then reprise at Chicago's Ravinia Festival on September 3. This second collaboration is part of an extended Chicago-based Britten residency for Phan, beginning with the starring role in a Britten church parable, performed with soloists from the Chicago Symphony (Aug 17), then as Artistic Director of Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago's Britten-centenary themed 2013 Collaborative Works Festival(Sept 11-15), and culminating in a solo Britten recital with The University of Chicago Presents (Oct 18).