Joseph Kaiser News

Boston, MA – February 16, 2016 – Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) unleashes Jules Massenet's melodic, romantic French opera Werther from its late 18th Century German source material, bringing it to an early-20th-Century arrondissement outside Paris as part of BLO's French-inspired season. This new production of Werther opens March 11 for a five-performance run at Citi Performing Arts CenterSM Shubert Theatre in Boston.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2016-17 season, the 50th anniversary of its home at Lincoln Center, will feature 225 opera performances of 26 operas in a varied repertory that ranges from 18th century masterpieces to one of the most acclaimed operas in recent years. Repertoire for the company's 132nd season will include the Met premiere of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's 2000 opera L'Amour de Loin, as well as new stagings of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Rossini's Guillaume Tell, Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, Dvo?ak's Rusalka, and Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. A gala concert on May 7, 2017 will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company's Lincoln Center location with performances by opera's leading stars honoring the Met's past and future. Ticket prices will not increase, remaining the same as in the current season, and audience development programs instituted by the company in recent years will continue.  

New York Festival of Song marks its eighth annual residency at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts with AT HOME, to be performed on Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. at Merkin Concert Hall.

New York Festival of Song's contemporary song series NYFOS Next -- dubbed 'invaluable' by The New Yorker and The New York Times -- enters its sixth season and continues its new format: a three-concert February mini-festival in the intimate state-of-the-art recital hall at OPERA America's National Opera Center. The Thursday concerts take place today, February 4, as well as February 11, and 18, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.

The 68th season of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, under the leadership of General Manager Bernard Foccroulle, will present an international roster of artists in six major vocal productions plus an opera-in-concert from June 30 - July 20. New Festival productions this year are Mozart's Cosi fan tutte directed by Christophe Honore and conducted by Louis Langree with the Freiburger Barockorchester; Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande led by Esa-Pekka Salonen with the Philharmonia Orchestra; and completing the Festival's Handel Cycle, Il Trionfo del tempo e del disinganno conducted by Emmanuelle Haimwith Le Concert d'Astree. In addition, the 2016 season will feature a concert version of Rameau's Zoroastre with Raphael Pichon leading the orchestra and choir of the Ensemble Pygmalion.

Toronto – The future of Canadian opera will be on full display on February 22, 2016 when the rising young stars of the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio sing the lead roles in Mozart's comedic tour-de-force, The Marriage of Figaro. This special, one-night-only performance of the COC's new production takes place at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, with all tickets accessibly priced at $25 and $55. The Marriage of Figaro is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES.

The New York Festival of Song marks its eleventh annual co-presentation with Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts with a new program titled HARRY, HOAGY, and HAROLD.

BroadwayWorld is excited to report that New York Festival of Song has set a starry, Broadway-filled cast for its 2016 spring gala, Topsy Turvy: The NYFOS Guide to Gilbert & Sullivan.

New York Festival of Song's contemporary song series NYFOS Next -- dubbed 'invaluable' by The New Yorker and The New York Times -- enters its sixth season and continues its new format: a three-concert February mini-festival in the intimate state-of-the-art recital hall at OPERA America's National Opera Center. The Thursday concerts take place February 4, 11, and 18, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.

The New York Festival of Song marks its eleventh annual co-presentation with Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts with a new program titled HARRY, HOAGY, and HAROLD.

New York Festival of Song brings back its much-anticipated program 'A Goyishe Christmas to You!' on Monday, December 14, 2015 at 10:00 p.m. at HENRY's Restaurant as part of NYFOS's 'After Hours' cabaret series.

New York Festival of Song opens a new season of NYFOS Mainstage with 'From Russia to Riverside Drive: Rachmaninoff & Friends,' featuring Rachmaninoff's ravishing romanticism and his American contemporaries - songs by Rachmaninoff, Ellington, Gershwin, Schillinger.

Toronto – Emily D'Angelo of Toronto took home First Prize (the Chair's Prize) at the Canadian Opera Company's annual Ensemble Studio Competition on November 3, 2015 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The competition is the feature event of the COC fundraiser Centre Stage, a highly anticipated annual celebration of the next generation of opera stars. D'Angelo was selected from eight finalists to receive the $5,000 award, supported annually by the Chair of the COC's Board of Directors. Lauren Eberwein of Qualicum Beach, BC won the Second Prize of $3,000, and Bruno Roy of Montreal was awarded the Third Prize of $1,500. Emily D'Angelo was also selected by the audience as the winner of the Audience Choice Award, worth $1,500.

?New York Festival of Song premieres SCHUBERT|BEATLES on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. at Merkin Concert Hall, as part of NYFOS's classic long-running Mainstage series.

Out of a pool of 120 aspiring opera singers from across the country, the Canadian Opera Company has selected eight to compete at Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition tonight, November 3, 2015 at Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Toronto – Out of a pool of 120 aspiring opera singers from across the country, the Canadian Opera Company has selected eight to compete at Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition on November 3, 2015 at Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Centre Stage is the COC's annual celebration of the next generation of opera stars. The Ensemble Studio Competition is the evening's feature event: an exhilarating vocal showcase with the singers, selected from nationwide auditions for the COC Ensemble Studio – Canada's premier training program for young opera professionals – vying for cash prizes ranging in value from $1,500 to $5,000.

New York Festival of Song returns to the peace and natural beauty of the North Fork of Long Island to launch the 2015-16 NYFOS Emerging Artists series with a residency and pair of performances: tomorrow, August 23, 2015, 5:00 p.m. at Poquatuck Hall in Orient, NY and tonight, August 22, 2015, 5:00 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church in Bellport, NY.

Celebrated conductor Charles Dutoit will make his much-anticipated return to Sydney next month to conduct the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in two magnificent programs - French Impressions: Ravel, Debussy & Berlioz and Schumann's Magical Cello.