Joyce DiDonato News

The Metropolitan Opera today announced the names of eight finalists who will sing in the 2011 National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert on March 13 at 3:00 p.m. with the Met Orchestra conducted by Patrick Summers. The finalists are: Joseph Barron, bass-baritone from Pittsburgh, PA; Deanna Breiwick, soprano from Seattle, WA; Sasha Djihanian, soprano from Montreal, Canada; Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone from Suffolk, VA; Michelle Johnson, soprano from Pearland, TX; Joseph Lim, baritone from Seoul, South Korea; Nicholas Masters, bass from New Canaan, CT; and Philippe Sly, bass-baritone from Ottawa, Canada.

The Metropolitan Opera will present its first-ever performances of Rossini's final comic opera, Le Comte Ory, in a production by Bartlett Sher premiering March 24.

Joyce DiDonato, the internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano, has been named Honorary Patron of American Friends of Wigmore Hall. Ms DiDonato's association with the Hall dates back more than a decade, and she is a regular performer at the venue, where her appearances are greatly anticipated and appreciated by a large and enthusiastic following.

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 Metropolitan Opera today announced the names of eight finalists who will sing in the 2011 National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert on March 13 at 3:00 p.m. with the Met Orchestra conducted by Patrick Summers. The finalists are: Joseph Barron, bass-baritone from Pittsburgh, PA; Deanna Breiwick, soprano from Seattle, WA; Sasha Djihanian, soprano from Montreal, Canada; Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone from Suffolk, VA; Michelle Johnson, soprano from Pearland, TX; Joseph Lim, baritone from Seoul, South Korea; Nicholas Masters, bass from New Canaan, CT; and Philippe Sly, bass-baritone from Ottawa, Canada.

A singer could scarcely be hotter than Joyce DiDonato right now: recently named Artist of the Year by Gramophone magazine, the mezzo-soprano has a new Virgin/EMI album just out (Diva, Divo, released Jan 25); is currently starring in the lead role of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking at Houston Grand Opera; and soon embarks on an eight-city U.S. recital tour (Feb 8 - March 6), capping it with her main-stage Carnegie Hall recital debut.

Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard has been named the recipient of the sixth annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera.

Angela Lansbury and Friends (and what incredible friends she has!), an all-star salute to Terrence McNally, has been announced for Monday, March 28, 2011 at the Longacre Theatre at 7 pm. A benefit for The Acting Company, Ms. Lansbury has gathered Audra McDonald, Alan Cumming, Tyne Daly, Edie Falco, Roger Rees and Raul Esparza who will sing, share memories and recreate scenes from dozens of McNally hits. John Glover, Marin Mazzie, Joyce DiDonato, Malcolm Gets, Emily Skinner, Alexandra Silber, Bobby Steggert, Jason Danieley and Stephen Bogardus will round out the evening.

Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman brings her recital, Night & Dreams, to Zankel Hall in New York this coming Thursday in a concert that ends a busy period of performances around the US.

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.

Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman brings her recital, Night & Dreams, to Zankel Hall in New York this coming Thursday in a concert that ends a busy period of performances around the US.

Artist Francesco Vezzoli has created a unique work inspired by Rossini's comic opera Le Comte Ory that will be displayed inside and outside the Metropolitan Opera in the weeks leading up to the opera's Met premiere. Vezzoli's piece, entitled La Comtesse Ory (After Velázquez), incorporates several of the artist's signatures: needlepoint, Renaissance imagery, stylized tears, and religious iconography. The original work, currently on view on the Grand Tier level of the Met, will be reproduced as a banner and displayed on the façade of the opera house beginning February 8.

The Opera Orchestra of New York will present its annual Vidda Award Recital featuring soprano Meagan Miller at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.

The freezing weather did not stop the show or keep Houston opera fans away from last night's annual Concert of Arias; in fact, there was record attendance at the successful event. Eight finalists competed and two baritones, a soprano and a bass were named winners in the final round of the twenty-third annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers at the Wortham Center in downtown Houston.

Houston Grand Opera announced the finalists today in the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers to be presented in the annual Concert of Arias on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the Cullen Theater of the Wortham Center.

Houston Grand Opera announced the finalists today in the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers to be presented in the annual Concert of Arias on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the Cullen Theater of the Wortham Center.

A singer could scarcely be hotter than Joyce DiDonato right now: recently named Artist of the Year by Gramophone magazine, the mezzo-soprano has a new Virgin/EMI album just out (Diva, Divo, released Jan 25); is currently starring in the lead role of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking at Houston Grand Opera; and soon embarks on an eight-city U.S. recital tour (Feb 8 - March 6), capping it with her main-stage Carnegie Hall recital debut.

Houston Grand Opera General Director and CEO Anthony Freud announced the company's 2011-2012 season today. Opening on October 21, 2011, the season offers thirty-two performances of six operas. 'We've chosen an exciting array of operas that will thrill, stimulate and entertain,' says Freud. 'From celebrated masterpieces to rarely-performed operatic gems, our 2011-12 season features world-renowned directors, beloved productions and acclaimed singers.

Hot on the heels of winning Gramophone magazine's 2010 Artist of the Year award, the vibrant mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato will release her third Virgin/EMI solo album - Diva, Divo - on January 25.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) continues its 2010-11 season with the company premiere of Dead Man Walking, American composer Jake Heggie's masterful opera about compassion and redemption.