L Barbier News

Anthony Freud, Lyric Opera of Chicago's general director, announced today that Ian Robertson, chorus director of San Francisco Opera since 1987, will serve as guest chorus master at Lyric Opera starting December 11. Lyric Opera's search for a permanent chorus master is ongoing.

Mercury is elated to welcome a Mercury-favorite, soprano Lauren Snouffer, to A Baroque Christmas on Dec. 7 & 8 at the Wortham Center, Cullen Theater. The repertoire is entirely Baroque, featuring both popular and unique Christmas favorites!

Lincoln Center Theater's Platform Series, a forum for public discussion between Lincoln Center Theater artists and interested theatergoers, opens its 15th season with two pre-performance talks with the creators of its two new productions - Golden Boy and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.

This December, the Met will present an all-new holiday presentation: an abridged, English-language version of Rossini's classic comedy The Barber of Seville. Bartlett Sher returns to direct this adaptation of his hit 2006 production, which will have a running time of approximately two hours. Yves Abel conducts a cast led by Isabel Leonard as the feisty heroine Rosina, Alek Shrader as the handsome Count Almaviva, Rodion Pogossov as the local jack-of-all-trades Figaro, John Del Carlo as the wicked Dr. Bartolo, and Jordan Bisch as the music teacher Don Basilio. The new English-language libretto is by J. D. McClatchy, the American poet who also provided the translation for the Met's holiday production of Mozart's The Magic Flute. In keeping with the Met's recent tradition of family-oriented holiday programming, The Barber of Seville will feature sharply discounted tickets and a special weekday matinee performance.

Juan Diego Flórez wurde gestern, Dienstag, 27. November 2012 mit dem Titel 'Österreichischer Kammersänger' ausgezeichnet. Die Verleihung erfolgte im Teesalon der Wiener Staatsoper durch Staatsoperndirektor Dominique Meyer und durch den Geschäftsführer der Bundestheater-Holding Dr. Georg Springer in Vertretung von Bundesministerin für Bildung, Kunst und Kultur Dr. Claudia Schmied.

Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will lead a rare revival of Berlioz's Les Troyens beginning December 13. Francesca Zambello's production, critically acclaimed when it premiered at the Met in 2003, will star Marcello Giordani in his house role debut as Aeneas, the central character in the grand tragedy, which travels from the crumbling walls of Troy to the North African kingdom of Carthage. Deborah Voigt will reprise her performance of the Trojan prophetess Cassandra, a role she debuted in the premiere of Zambello's production, and Susan Graham will sing her first Met performances of Dido, the lovesick queen of Carthage. The cast also features Julie Boulianneas Aeneas's son, Ascanio; Karen Cargill as Dido's devoted sister, Anna; Paul Appleby as the young sailor Hylas; Eric Cutler as Dido's court poet, Iopas; Richard Bernstein as the Trojan priest Pantheus; Dwayne Croft as Cassandra's fiance, Coroebus; and Kwangchul Youn as Narbal, Dido's trusted advisor. The Saturday, January 5 matinee performance of Les Troyens will be transmitted worldwide as part of the Met's Live in HD series, which is now seen in more than 1,900 movie theaters in 64 countries around the world.

Lincoln Center Theater's Platform Series, a forum for public discussion between Lincoln Center Theater artists and interested theatergoers, opens its 15th season with two pre-performance talks with the creators of its two new productions - Golden Boy and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.

Bruce Sledge will make his Met role debut as the King of Naples in this evening's performance of Thomas Ades's The Tempest, replacing William Burden, who is ill.

Due to a delay in the start of technical rehearsals caused by last week's storm, Lincoln Center Theater has announced that its been forced to postpone previews, by one night, of its 75th Anniversary production of the Clifford Odets classic GOLDEN BOY, directed by Bartlett Sher. Previews will now begin this Friday, November 9 at 8pm, having been originally scheduled to begin Thursday, November 8. Opening night for GOLDEN BOY will remain as originally scheduled, on Thursday, December 6 at 6:45pm, at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44 Street), the same theatre where the play premiered in 1937. Ticket holders to the November 8 performance should return their tickets to their point of purchase for a refund or exchange.

Opera Exposures, the not-for-profit organization dedicated to presenting concerts and recitals featuring seasoned professional musicians and young operatic artists in accessible venues at affordable prices, will celebrate National Opera Week by presenting a FREE recital today, October 28, at 3 PM at St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street at 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.

Music Director George Rothman will lead Riverside Symphony in the opening concert of the orchestra's 32nd season on Saturday evening, November 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The program will feature soprano Heather Buck performing two song sets orchestrated from their original voice and piano versions.

Opera Exposures, the not-for-profit organization dedicated to presenting concerts and recitals featuring seasoned professional musicians and young operatic artists in accessible venues at affordable prices, will celebrate National Opera Week by presenting a FREE recital on Sunday, October 28, at 3 PM at St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street at 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.

The Metropolitan Opera will open its 2012-13 season tonight, September 24 at 7:00 p.m. with a new production of Donizetti's delightful comic gem L'Elisir d'Amore, starring Russian diva Anna Netrebko-in her second consecutive Met opening night-as the irresistible heroine Adina. Matthew Polenzani sings the role of the lovelorn peasant Nemorino, Mariusz Kwiecien sings Sergeant Belcore, his romantic rival, and Ambrogio Maestri is the potion-peddling Doctor Dulcamara in Bartlett Sher's new staging of the classic love story, which will be conducted by Maurizio Benini. The principal singers and conductor will return to reprise the opera this January and February, with Netrebko's offstage partner Erwin Schrott replacing Maestri in the role of Dulcamara.

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents American baritone Nathan Gunn in concert as part of its Celebrity Series today, September 23 at 4 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Accompanied by the WNO Orchestra under the baton of Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, Gunn will perform selections from operas by Mozart, Rossini, and Bizet, plus songs by Sondheim and other Broadway composers. American tenor William Burden will join him for a few duets. All three artists will make their WNO debuts with this performance.

Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov [ahb-drah-ZAH-koff], fresh from his appearances with Italian maestro Riccardo Muti at the Salzburg Festival, commences a powerhouse 2012-13 season with two iconic Mozart roles. First, in September, the two-time Grammy Award-winner appears as the infamous anti-hero of Don Giovanni at the Washington National Opera; then, in October and November, he sings the title roles of Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera.

Anthony Crivello will now be playing the role of 'Eddie Fuseli' in GOLDEN BOY at Lincoln Center Theater, the role for which Bill Camp was previously announced. Additionally, Vayu O'Donnell completes the 19-person cast.

Affirming its place as an emerging leader in the development of new operatic works, the Opera Company of Philadelphia announced today that Nathan Gunn, internationally-renowned baritone, has been appointed as the director of its newly-formed American Repertoire Council.

The Metropolitan Opera will open its 2012-13 season on September 24 at 7:00 p.m. with a new production of Donizetti's delightful comic gem L'Elisir d'Amore, starring Russian diva Anna Netrebko-in her second consecutive Met opening night-as the irresistible heroine Adina. Matthew Polenzani sings the role of the lovelorn peasant Nemorino, Mariusz Kwiecien sings Sergeant Belcore, his romantic rival, and Ambrogio Maestri is the potion-peddling Doctor Dulcamara in Bartlett Sher's new staging of the classic love story, which will be conducted by Maurizio Benini. The principal singers and conductor will return to reprise the opera this January and February, with Netrebko's offstage partner Erwin Schrott replacing Maestri in the role of Dulcamara.

Construction of the Human Heart, a bold and imaginative play by award-winning Australian playwright Ross Mueller, directed by Brendan Naylor, will receive its U.S. premiere at the Access Theater, 380 Broadway, with previews beginning tonight, September 5, at 8pm and opening Friday, September 7, at 8pm. Performances continue through September 16.

Construction of the Human Heart, a bold and imaginative play by award-winning Australian playwright Ross Mueller, directed by Brendan Naylor, will receive its U.S. premiere at the Access Theater, 380 Broadway, with previews beginning Wednesday, September 5, at 8pm and opening Friday, September 7, at 8pm. Performances continue through September 16.