Justin Austin News

Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced the company’s 2023/24 Season, which takes audiences on a global tour of opera featuring a richly curated slate of musical events in six different languages.

Washington National Opera has announced its 2023-24 season featuring the world premiere of Tesori's Grounded and more.

Park Avenue Armory's 2023 season will mark the tenth year of its celebrated Recital Series, bringing chamber music programs by world-renowned artists to the restored Board of Officers Room.

Our Song, Our Story is an evening of music highlighting some of the world's most well-known operatic arias, art songs, and spirituals. The concert brought together two of today's most exciting operatic voices in a diverse and powerful event featuring Janinah Burnett and Justin Austin, accompanied by Damien Sneed on piano and the Griot String Quartet; Dr. Amyr Joyner on violin, Justus Ross on violin, Edward W. Hardy (The Woodsman) on viola, and Boubacar Diallo on cello. See photos here!

MasterVoices continues its eclectic 2022-23 season on March 23 at Central Synagogue with Ted Sperling leading O How Good, a performance of Jewish sacred music. The program includes two beloved works of traditional Jewish liturgy set by master composers – Ernest Bloch's Sacred Service and Kurt Weill's Kiddush – as well as the world premiere of And the Sun Goes Up, a new work by Israeli-American composer Daniel Rein, commissioned by MasterVoices.  

Lyric Fest has commissioned COTTON, a new multimedia work combining photography, poetry, and song that is inspired by the cotton photography of Philadelphia artist John Dowell. Slated to have its world premiere performance on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral.

Watch the GRAMMY-nominated Aizuri Quartet's seventh episode of its critically acclaimed AizuriKids series.

Created and directed by composer, conductor, and multi-genre musician Damien Sneed, Our Song, Our Story - the New Generation of Black Voices is an evening of music highlighting some of the world's most well-known operatic arias, art songs and spirituals.

Lyric Fest will continue its 20th anniversary season with Ode to the Lost Song, a collection of songs by Norwegian composer Arne Dørumsgaard, on Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 7:00pm at the Moorestown Community House in Moorestown, NJ, and Wednesday, December 7, 2022 at 7:00pm at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, PA.

The GRAMMY-nominated Aizuri Quartet, “a quartet of expert collaborators” (The New York Times), performs their innovative Song Emerging program at The Greene Space as part of the WQXR Artist Propulsion Lab Concert Series on Friday, November 18 at 7:00pm ET. A livestream is also available.

The GRAMMY-nominated Aizuri Quartet will perform their innovative Song Emerging program at The Greene Space as part of the WQXR Artist Propulsion Lab Concert Series on Friday, November 18 at 7:00pm ET. A livestream is also available.

​​​​​​​New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) releases Paul Bowles' A Picnic Cantata on its in-house label NYFOS Records on Friday, November 18, 2022. Recorded at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center on February 22 and 23, 2017, A Picnic Cantata features sopranos Amy Owens and Chelsea Shephard, mezzo-sopranos Amanda Lynn Bottoms and Naomi Louisa O'Connell, and percussionist Barry Centanni, together with NYFOS Artistic Director Steven Blier and co-founder Michael Barrett on the piano.

One of the momentous events of the first season at the new Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center (and there were many) was the new production of Benjamin Britten's PETER GRIMES in 1967.  Although it had its Met premiere in 1948 at the old house, it was the Tyrone Guthrie production  that cemented its place in the Met repertory.  Starring Jon Vickers as its protagonist, it served to introduce his portrayal to a generation relatively new to the opera.  For approximately the next twenty years Vickers would play Grimes at most revivals.  Since then, there have been others who have played the role-Philip Langridge, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, and Anthony Dean Griffey-and left their mark on this almost mythical role.

New York Festival of Song (NYFOS), led by Artistic Director Steven Blier, continues its 2022-23 Mainstage Series with KABARETT on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 8:00pm. The program highlights songs from Berlin's fabled nightspots during the Weimar era, featuring music by Hollaender, Spoliansky, Bienert, Tucholsky, Eisler, and others. Soprano Sari Gruber, mezzo-soprano Naomi Louisa O'Connell, and baritone Justin Austin join Mr. Blier at the piano.

BroadwayWorld has exclusively shared a video clip of Great Performances' upcoming live capture of the recent Off-Broadway production of Intimate Apparel. In 'No One Does It For Us,' Esther (Kearstin Piper Brown) and Mayme (Krysty Swann) imagine a world in which they can achieve their dreams for the future. 

​​​​​​​New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) continues its 2022-23 season with the 12th rendition of its NYFOS Next Festival on October 16, 2022 at 3:00pm and October 23, 2022 at 3:00pm at the Rubin Museum of Art's Theater.

PBS has shared a first look video of the filmed capture of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Intimate Apparel. Set in turn of the century New York, GREAT PERFORMANCES 'Intimate Apparel' tells the story of Esther (Kearstin Piper Brown), a lonely, single African American woman who makes her living sewing corsets and ladies' undergarments.

 Broadway Black presents The 2nd Annual Antonyo Awards, which honors Black theatre artists during the 2021-2022 season. The live, in-person ceremony will be held on Monday, October 10 at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem (253 West 125th Street). Awards in 29 competitive categories and five honorary categories will be presented along with performances and guest appearances. 

New York Festival of Song (NYFOS), led by Artistic Director Steven Blier, opens its 2022-23 Mainstage Series with HEROES on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 8:00pm at Merkin Hall, co-presented by Kaufman Music Center.

Des Moines Metro Opera recently brought its 50th Anniversary season to a close, and they saved a special treat for their audiences. For the 2024 season, they are commissioning a full-length opera of AMERICAN APOLLO. As a treat to those in attendance this season, they offered the opportunity to see the current 30-minute version of the opera AMERICAN APOLLO. This presentation was also able to be used to workshop the show and how it could be expanded.