Karen Kamensek News

Although the Metropolitan Opera is closed through the end of the year, you can still experience some of the its greatest performances on the big screen at The Ridgefield Playhouse. 

Today (June 19) in live streaming: the first ever Antonyo Awards, Peter Pan Live! and so much more!

San Francisco Opera continues streaming performances as part of its Opera is ON initiative with Richard Strauss' Salome (June 20), Jules Massenet's Manon (June 27) and Carlisle Floyd's Susannah (July 4). The presentations, filmed live in high-definition at the War Memorial Opera House, will be viewable on demand for free at sfopera.com on the streaming date starting at 10 am PT and expiring at 11:59 pm the following day.

Although Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is called the City of the Arts, you may be surprised that it's small, regional opera house, Piedmont Opera, as become a hot opera ticket across the nation.

The Met has announced the Weeks 13 and 14 schedules for its Nightly Met Opera Streams, which feature the Met's acclaimed productions of Philip Glass's Akhnaten and Satyagraha, both available to the public for the first time on the Met's streaming platforms.

The Charlotte Symphony (CSO) announces details for the 2020a?"21 season, Christopher Warren-Green's eleventh as Music Director. From symphonic masterworks by Beethoven and Mahler to the entertaining Pops Series, movies-in-concert, family favorites, and performances throughout the community, the CSO's 2020a?"21 season reaffirms its strong commitment to serving as Charlotte's symphony through diverse and compelling programming, exceptional live concert experiences, and deep engagement with the community.

The 2020 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, listed by The New York Times as a classical season highlight, comes to Los Angeles March 13 -22, presented by the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with support from The Strad and classical music radio KUSC.

I admit this is an absolutely personal, totally one-sided view of what gave one man opera thrills last year and what I will look back on with delight. Some are old works, some are new, some are individual performers, some are ensembles, some are complete productions, some are merely the highlight of an evening, most are domestic, a few are foreign. In any case, as the new decade begins, I recall that these are the vocal highlights that made my heart beat a little faster and made me look forward to the year ahead.

On November 2, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, the Mannes Orchestra, and Gandini Juggling gave thousands of attendees at Brooklyn Museum's free First Saturdays event a taste of Philip Glass's AKHNATEN.

It has taken 35 years for Philip Glass's AKHNATEN to get to the Met, since its premiere at the Staatsoper in Stuttgart in 1984. If you're an acolyte of Glass, Phelim McDermott's production, designed by Tom Pye, made it well worth the wait; if you're not, there's enough going on to keep you occupied during the 3 ½-hour performance.

The Metropolitan Opera production of Philip Glass's Akhnaten comes to the big screen in HD at The Ridgefield Playhouse on Sunday, December 1 at 12:55pm in an extra special encore presentation featuring a live Q&A on The Playhouse stage during intermission with The Met Opera's Susan Gomez Pizzo, Solo Ladies Wardrobe Supervisor, and Louis Valantasis, Principal Men's Wardrobe Supervisor.

A modern masterpiece makes its long-awaited Met premiere. Director Phelim McDermott tackles another one of Philip Glass's masterpieces, following the now-legendary Met staging of Satyagraha.

The 2019-2020 season of The Met: Live in HD will continue at the Warner Theatre on Saturday, November 23 with the Met premiere of Glass's AKHNATEN at 12:55 pm in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre. The 2019-2020 season is sponsored by Viron Rondo Osteria. A complimentary 45 minute pre-opera lecture by Nunzio DeFilippis will be offered in the Studio Theatre Lobby two hours before the broadcast, sponsored by Land Rover Hartford.

The Metropolitan Opera presents the company premiere of Philip Glass's modern masterpiece Akhnaten on November 8, 2019, with performances continuing through December 7.

In the video beloiw, Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and choreographer and juggler Sean Gandini talk with Live in HD host Angel Blue about the incorporation of juggling in Phelim McDermott's new production of Philip Glass's a?oeAkhnaten.a??

Watch as the cast of Philip Glass's Akhnaten, including Anthony Roth Costanzo, Disella Lárusdóttir, and members of Gandini Juggling, take part in an early rehearsal. Production: Phelim McDermott. Conductor: Karen Kamensek.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim is pleased to announce its fall 2019 season. Since 1984 the performing arts series has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to leading creators.

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts, will begin its 14th season on October 12, with the Met's production of Puccini's Turandot, starring Christine Goerke in the title role, led by the Met's Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild today announced that the honorees of its “Diamond Jubilee” celebration will be luminaries Martina Arroyo and Teresa Stratas.  The Guild's 85th Annual Luncheon will take place on Wednesday, November 20th at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.  Special remarks by Stephanie Blythe and musical tributes by Ailyn Pérez and Matthew Polenzani will be performed during the event.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim announces its Fall 2019 season. Since 1984 the performing arts series has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to leading creators.