Lawrence Brownlee News

Audible Inc., the world's largest producer and provider of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced the first class of theater commissions selected to receive support from its fund dedicated to the commission and development of innovative English-language works from playwrights around the globe. Announced earlier this year, the $5 million fund will enable the creation of one- and two-person audio plays driven by language and voice, in keeping with Audible's core commitment to elevating listening experiences through powerful performances of brilliantly composed words.

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Bellini's classic I Puritani. Similar to Romeo and Juliet but with a happy ending, this bel-canto gem features the high-flying, thrilling vocals that give bel-canto singing its name.

San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program present the 35th anniversary season of the Schwabacher Recital Series, opening on February 21 and continuing through April 4. The four-recital series offers music lovers an opportunity to hear opera's next generation of stars in the intimate and state-of-the-art Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco. New this season, the recital series moves to Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m.

The International Opera Awards are pleased to announce the finalists for this year's Awards. These were selected by an international jury chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine and classical music critic with The Daily Telegraph: 'It's gratifying to see how the International Opera Awards just keep growing. With a record number of nominations to consider, and our biggest and most international jury yet, I'm delighted to say that our exciting shortlists-covering six continents and around 30 countries-reflect the truly cosmopolitan nature of the art form. Despite the challenges faced by opera companies almost everywhere, opera is vibrantly alive.'

The International Opera Awards are pleased to announce the finalists for this year's Awards. These were selected by an international jury chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine and classical music critic with The Daily Telegraph: 'It's gratifying to see how the International Opera Awards just keep growing. With a record number of nominations to consider, and our biggest and most international jury yet, I'm delighted to say that our exciting shortlists-covering six continents and around 30 countries-reflect the truly cosmopolitan nature of the art form. Despite the challenges faced by opera companies almost everywhere, opera is vibrantly alive.'

Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director, today announced Carnegie Hall's 2018 2019 season featuring approximately 170 performances by many of the world's leading artists and ensembles in classical, pop, jazz, and world music, plus a broad range of innovative education and social impact programs created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, serving audiences in New York City and beyond.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present its 2018-19 season in its creative home at Houston's Wortham Theater Center after a year of displacement due to damage to the building from Hurricane Harvey. The 64th season will open October 19, 2018, with HGO's first performances in 20 years of Wagner's romantic ghost story The Flying Dutchman, in a new production featuring baritoneAndrzej Dobber as the Dutchman and the role debut of award-winning American soprano and HGO Studio alumna Rachel Willis-S rensen as Senta. To close the season, the new Kasper Holten production of Mozart's Don Giovanni featuring the HGO debut of baritone Philippe Sly in the title role and the role debut of soprano Ailyn P rez as Donna Anna will be presented in repertory with The Phoenix, a world premiere about the colorful life of Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart's librettist for the masterful Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and Cos fan tutte. The new work, written by composer Tarik O'Regan and librettist John Caird, will star renowned baritone Thomas Hampson as Lorenzo da Ponte in a belated HGO debut and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni as Da Ponte's son, Lorenzo. HGO will also present a revival of Daniel Cat n's ethereal Florencia en el Amazonas with internationally acclaimed soprano and HGO Studio alumna Ana Mar a Mart nez in the title role; the first HGO presentation of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers with the stellar tenor and baritone pairing of Lawrence Brownlee and Mariusz Kwiecien in the title roles along with soprano Andrea Carroll; and the return of HGO's 2012 production of Puccini's perennial classic La boh me, featuring the role debut of soprano and HGO Studio alumna Nicole Heaston as Mim .

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present its 2018 19 season in its creative home at Houston's Wortham Theater Center after a year of displacement due to damage to the building from Hurricane Harvey.

Lyric Unlimited, a division of Lyric Opera of Chicago, is excited to present Cycles of My Being, a song cycle exploring the realities of life as a black man in America. Composed by Tyshawn Sorey with lyrics by Terrance Hayes, the Chicago-premiere event will star celebrated tenor Lawrence Brownlee in a solo recital with pianist Myra Huang on Thursday, February 22 at 7pm at the DuSable Museum of African American History.Cycles of My Being is a co-commission with Opera Philadelphia, and Carnegie Hall.

It's just about time to wish you all a happy 2018--but I'm not quite ready to put 2017 to rest. Though it won't go into the annals as one of the best years ever, there were quite enough performances and performers that made this year a winner for me, operatically speaking at least, in my corner of the world.

Classical music lovers around the world can share in two longstanding New York City institutions beginning this weekend, as both the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala concert on Sunday, December 10 (6pm ET), and the first of Trinity Church Wall Street's annual performances of Handel's Messiah today, December 15 (7:30pm ET), are broadcast by WQXR, New York City's only all-classical music station, at WQXR 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org.

Classical music lovers around the world can share in two longstanding New York City institutions beginning this weekend, as both the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala concert on Sunday, December 10 (6pm ET), and the first of Trinity Church Wall Street's annual performances of Handel's Messiah on Friday, December 15 (7:30pm ET), are broadcast by WQXR, New York City's only all-classical music station, at WQXR 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org.

A new song cycle exploring the realities of life as a black man in America will receive its world premiere performance with Opera Philadelphia in a special one-night-only event on February 20. Cycles of My Being is the work of composer Tyshawn Sorey, a prodigious multi-instrumentalist and composer who transcends the borders of jazz, classical, and experimental music (New Yorker); lyricist Terrance Hayes, a vital voice that explores race and art and the roving power of language (NPR); and Opera Philadelphia Artistic Advisor Lawrence Brownlee, one of the world's leading bel canto tenors (Associated Press).

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, in association with Lyric Unlimited, has announced the return of Beyond the Aria - the highly acclaimed performance series produced by the Harris Theater which pairs internationally celebrated opera singers of Lyric's mainstage alongside rising stars from The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, in association with Lyric Unlimited, has announced the return of Beyond the Aria - the highly acclaimed performance series produced by the Harris Theater which pairs internationally celebrated opera singers of Lyric's mainstage alongside rising stars from The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC), led by Artistic Director and Founder Francisco J. N ez, debuts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the New York premiere of composer Ben Moore and librettist Kelley Rourke's Odyssey: A Youth Opera, an hour-long re-telling of Homer's epic. This new, fully staged and costumed production incorporates video imagery from the Museum's extensive collection including images of ancient Greek art and artifacts to create thematic links to the action on stage. The production is directed and choreographed by Eric Sean Fogel, with video and projection design by S. Katy Tucker. Three performances, presented as part of the Museum's MetLiveArts series, will be held at The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium on Friday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 4 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim presents San Francisco Opera: Girls of the Golden West on Thursday and Today, September 21 and 22, 2017 at 7:30pm.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim presents San Francisco Opera: Girls of the Golden West today and Friday, September 21 and 22, 2017 at 7:30pm.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim presents San Francisco Opera: Girls of the Golden West on Thursday and Friday, September 21 and 22, 2017 at 7:30pm.

Back home at Carnegie Hall for the second year after more than a quarter century's absence, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala concert, one of the most highly anticipated operatic events of the season, will take place on Sunday, December 10, with single tickets going on sale today.