Lisette Oropesa News

What: Donizetti's comic opera DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT Where: Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, Downtown Pittsburgh When: Saturday, May 2, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 8, 7:30 p.m.* Sunday, May 10, 2:00 p.m.

After a months-long series of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, five young singers have been named the winners of the nation's most prestigious vocal competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Classical sacred music foundation Soli Deo Gloria, Inc.'s 2015 Chicago Bach Project features J. S. Bach's dramatic St. John Passion, BWV 245, with Grammy Award-winner John Nelson conducting an international cast of soloists and the Chicago Bach Choir and Orchestra. The one-night-only performance will be at 7:30 p.m. tonight, March 20, 2015, at the Harris Theater at Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.

Opera Philadelphia's 41st Season serves as a reminder that the company is, as The Washington Post reports, “taking chances, offering unusual and new work along with repertory staples, and carving out a place for themselves as proponents of American opera.” As General Director & President David B. Devan and Jack Mulroney Music Director Corrado Rovarisannounced today, the carefully curated 2015-2016 lineup offers two new American operas: the East Coast Premiere of Cold Mountain, by composer Jennifer Higdon and librettist Gene Scheer and starring the dream team of Nathan Gunn, Isabel Leonard, and Jay Hunter Morris (February 2016); and the World Premiere of ANDY: A Popera, a Warhol-inspired opera-cabaret featuring a score by Dan Visconti and original songs by Heath Allen (September 2015).

Composer Daniel Catan's enchanting and romantic opera, Florencia en el Amazonas, directed by Francesca Zambello, returns to LA Opera tonight for the first of only six performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion through December 20.

General Director Plácido Domingo has announced final details for LA Opera's first revival of Florencia en el Amazonas, an enchanting and romantic opera by composer Daniel Catán. Co-commissioned by LA Opera in 1995, the opera returns to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for six performances from tonight, November 22 through December 20, 2014. In the exquisitely beautiful opera, inspired by the fiction of Gabriel García Márquez, a steamboat passage along the fabled Amazon becomes a poignant voyage of discovery for all seven travelers on board.

General Director Plácido Domingo has announced final details for LA Opera's first revival of Florencia en el Amazonas, an enchanting and romantic opera by composer Daniel Catán. Co-commissioned by LA Opera in 1995, the opera returns to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for six performances from November 22 through December 20, 2014. In the exquisitely beautiful opera, inspired by the fiction of Gabriel García Márquez, a steamboat passage along the fabled Amazon becomes a poignant voyage of discovery for all seven travelers on board.

Florencia en el Amazonas, an enchanting and romantic opera by composer Daniel Catán, returns to LA Opera for six performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion from November 22 through December 20, 2014. In the exquisitely beautiful opera, which was inspired by the fiction of Gabriel García Márquez, a steamboat passage along the fabled Amazon becomes a poignant voyage of discovery for all of the travelers on board. Among the passengers is a celebrated prima donna, returning to her homeland in hopes of reuniting with the great love of her life.

Last night, after a week of competition that brought 40 young singers from 17 nations to Los Angeles, Placido Domingo announced that Rachel Willis-Sorensen, an American soprano, and Mario Chang, a Guatemalan tenor, took the top prizes tonight in the 22nd edition of Operalia, the World Opera Competition. Hosted by LA Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the weeklong contest culminated tonight in a Gala Finals Concert-featuring the LA Opera Orchestra conducted by Mr. Domingo at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion-which was streamed live on Medici TV.

Houston Grand Opera's 2014–15 season, the company's 60th anniversary season, includes the world premiere of A Christmas Carol by Iain Bell—the company's 55th new commission —from award-winning Dickens authority Simon Callow; the continuation of HGO's first Ring cycle, with the American premiere of La Fura dels Baus's groundbreaking take on Die Walküre; the American premieres of Sir Nicholas Hytner's The Magic Flute and Lee Blakeley's Sweeney Todd; a 60th Anniversary Gala Concert featuring mezzo-soprano (and HGO Studio alumna) Joyce DiDonato; and a host of career-shaping role debuts that speak to Patrick Summers's gift for casting. Together with the company's first presentation of John Cox'sOtello, and the returns of Göran Järvefelt's beloved Così fan tutte and Michael Grandage's hit staging of Madame Butterfly, these rich offerings serve once again to illustrate some of the ways that HGO—still the only opera company with two Grammys, two Emmys, and a Tony—epitomizes “one model of what a forward-looking opera company could be” (Greg Sandow, Arts Journal).

General Director Plácido Domingo has announced final details for LA Opera's first revival of Florencia en el Amazonas, an enchanting and romantic opera by composer Daniel Catán. Co-commissioned by LA Opera in 1995, the opera returns to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for six performances from November 22 through December 20, 2014. In the exquisitely beautiful opera, inspired by the fiction of Gabriel García Márquez, a steamboat passage along the fabled Amazon becomes a poignant voyage of discovery for all seven travelers on board.

Houston Grand Opera capped a financially and artistically successful 2013–14 season by presenting Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger —the Polish-Jewish composer's long-suppressed Holocaust opera—to wide acclaim at New York's Park Avenue Armory as part of the Lincoln Center Festival, July 10–13. Earlier this year, HGO gave the American premiere of the work in Houston with the same cast. There was special praise for the production and performances, conducted by HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers. New York magazine described David Pountney's staging as “a multi-story set so vivid you can practically smell the machine oil and coal smoke,” while the Financial Times said: “The production, imported from Houston, is imposing in every way.” The New York Times called the cast “flawless,” adding: “The conductor, Patrick Summers, drew a surging, textured, richly detailed performance of this challenging score (lasting three hours) from the inspired musicians of the Houston Grand Opera.” WQXR's Operavore summed up the import of the performances: “The Passenger shows how a Holocaust opera can hold the stage while examining important, complex issues—and could certainly point the way for future composers to deal with such important but delicate subject matter.”

THE MET: LIVE IN HD SUMMER ENCORES presents THE ENCHANTED ISLAND, a new baroque fantasy inspired by the pastiches of the 18th Century. Stars Joyce Didonato, David Daniels and Placido Domingo.

Spend a summer's eve experiencing the grandeur of opera close to home at The Ridgefield Playhouse Handel's The Enchanted Island is broadcast Live in HD from the Met tonight, July 16, at 6 p.m. Fans of Baroque opera have the world's best singers, glorious music of the Baroque masters, and a story drawn from Shakespeare in The Enchanted Island, which showcases the talents of William Christie, David Daniels, Joyce DiDonato and Pacido Domingo. Behind-the-scenes tours and interviews make this event even more memorable.

Two spectacular operas from the Met are coming to The Ridgefield Playhouse as encore productions this month. Verdi's Shakespearean masterpiece Otello stars Johan Botha in the title role opposite acclaimed soprano Renee Fleming as Desdemona today, July 9. On Wednesday, July 16, Handel's The Enchanted Island showcases the talents of William Christie, David Daniels, Joyce DiDonato and Pacido Domingo. These performances start at 6 p.m. Advantages of the HD broadcasts are the interesting camera angles, behind-the-scenes tours and interviews.

Spend a summer's eve experiencing the grandeur of opera close to home at The Ridgefield Playhouse Handel's The Enchanted Island is broadcast Live in HD from the Met on Wednesday, July 16, at 6 p.m. Fans of Baroque opera have the world's best singers, glorious music of the Baroque masters, and a story drawn from Shakespeare in The Enchanted Island, which showcases the talents of William Christie, David Daniels, Joyce DiDonato and Pacido Domingo. Behind-the-scenes tours and interviews make this event even more memorable. For tickets ($25 adults, $20 seniors/members, $15 students, $18 each for all in the series), call the box office at (203) 438-5795, or order online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. -- Photos courtesy of the Met

THE MET: LIVE IN HD SUMMER ENCORES presents THE ENCHANTED ISLAND, a new baroque fantasy inspired by the pastiches of the 18th Century. Stars Joyce Didonato, David Daniels and Placido Domingo.

Two spectacular operas from the Met are coming to The Ridgefield Playhouse as encore productions this month. Verdi's Shakespearean masterpiece Otello stars Johan Botha in the title role opposite acclaimed soprano Renee Fleming as Desdemona on Wednesday, July 9. On Wednesday, July 16, Handel's The Enchanted Island showcases the talents of William Christie, David Daniels, Joyce DiDonato and Pacido Domingo. These performances start at 6 p.m. Advantages of the HD broadcasts are the interesting camera angles, behind-the-scenes tours and interviews.

THE MET: LIVE IN HD's 'Summer Encores' series presents Puccini's bittersweet romance LA RONDINE. The production returns with opera stars Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna tonight, June 25 at 7 p.m.* (*check local theaters for dates and times). Scroll down for a sneak peek at the production!

THE MET: LIVE IN HD's 'Summer Encores' series presents Puccini's bittersweet romance LA RONDINE. The production returns with opera stars Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna on Wednesday, June 25 at 7 p.m.* (*check local theaters for dates and times). Scroll down for a sneak peek at the production!