Margaret Lattimore News

The 27th annual Bard Music Festival - an exploration of 'Puccini and His World' - opens this Friday, August 5 with Weekend One: Puccini and Italian Musical Culture.

Brooklyn Art Song Society (BASS) is proud to announce its seventh season, beginning in October of 2017.

“Bride's side or groom's? I'm Count Almaviva,” said the elegant actor as we entered what, we are told, is the Count's summer palace. “Bride's side or groom's?” says the seductive brunette in a bath towel, stepping out of the tub. She introduces herself as the Countess, Rosina. Upstairs, downstairs, in my lady's chamber (and the atrium), we are cordially invited to the world of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO--the name of the event as well as the opera--joining the Jack of all trades and the lovely Susanna, compliments of the ever-creative On Site Opera.

On Site Opera (OSO) announces today that soprano Jeni Houser has been added to the cast of the North American premiere of Marcos Portugal's The Marriage of Figaro (1799).

Just four years into its existence, On Site Opera (OSO) has established itself as one of New York City's most imaginative, nimble opera companies by doing more than simply staging musically and dramatically rich works outside of the opera house.

SDG Music Foundation's 2016 Chicago Bach Project concert will feature J. S. Bach's monumental 'Mass in B Minor,' BWV 232, with Grammy Award-winner John Nelson conducting an all-new cast of soloists and the Chicago Bach Choir and Orchestra.

Just four years into its existence, On Site Opera (OSO) has established itself as one of New York City's most imaginative, nimble opera companies by doing more than simply staging musically and dramatically rich works outside of the opera house. OSO's team of General & Artistic Director, Eric Einhorn, Music Director, Geoffrey McDonald, and Executive Director & Producer, Jessica Kiger have pushed the boundaries of operatic storytelling, producing operas in locations that allow singers and audiences alike to immerse themselves in the narrative. Reviewing the first chapter of The Figaro Project, in which OSO is staging lesser-known operatic adaptations of French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais' (1732-1799) famed trilogy of Figaro plays, Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times wrote, 'This visionary company could be on to something big.' He noted that the 'space proved ideal for the intrigues of the opera.' On Site Opera continues this ambitious three-year undertaking June 14-17, when it presents the North American premiere of Marcos Portugal's The Marriage of Figaro (1799). The production, presented in partnership with The New School's Mannes School of Music and The Portuguese Consulate in New York, will take place at 632 on Hudson, a stunning triplex in the West Village that will serve as Count Almaviva's summer palace. The Figaro Project will conclude with the U.S. premiere of Darius Milhaud's The Guilty Mother (1966) in the summer of 2017.

SDG Music Foundation's 2016 Chicago Bach Project concert will feature J. S. Bach's monumental 'Mass in B Minor,' BWV 232, with Grammy Award-winner John Nelson conducting an all-new cast of soloists and the Chicago Bach Choir and Orchestra.

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation's leading champion for American opera, announces the details for the New Opera Showcase, taking place on Monday, January 18 at 8:00 p.m. at historic Trinity Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. The Showcase offers artists, producers and audiences a unique opportunity to hear some of the most exciting operas being composed today.

Tonight, May 6 at 7 pm, Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) principal bassoonist Brad Balliett will give a presentation on reed making for wind instruments, giving patrons a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at one of the facets of the lives of double-reed wind players. The free event is offered by the PSO in partnership with the Princeton Public Library, and will be held in the library's community room.

On Sunday, May 17, at 4 pm at Richardson Auditorium, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presents Viva Verdi!, an opera extravaganza featuring excerpts from Giuseppe Verdi's most popular works and spotlighting gifted young opera stars Michelle Johnson, soprano; Margaret Lattimore, mezzo; Zach Borichevsky, tenor; and Hugh Russell, baritone. Conducted by PSO Music Director Rossen Milanov, the afternoon's selections from Il Trovatore's complicated story of war, revenge and love, La Traviata's portrayal of a soul-searching courtesan, and Aida's tale of impossible love in an exotic setting will serve as a fitting encore to last season's bicentennial celebration of Verdi's birth.

On Wednesday, May 6 at 7 pm, Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) principal bassoonist Brad Balliett will give a presentation on reed making for wind instruments, giving patrons a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at one of the facets of the lives of double-reed wind players. The free event is offered by the PSO in partnership with the Princeton Public Library, and will be held in the library's community room.

The Art Song Preservation Society (ASPS) will present French Mezzo-Soprano, Virginie Verrez in recital with accomplished piano collaborator, Thomas Muraco. Ms. Verrez, the first place winner of the 2014 Mary Trueman Vocal Art Song Competition sponsored by the Art Song Preservation Society, will present works by Brahms, Monteverdi, Poulenc, Duparc, Canteloube among others.

The Art Song Preservation Society (ASPS) will present French Mezzo-Soprano, Virginie Verrez in recital with accomplished piano collaborator, Thomas Muraco. Ms. Verrez, the first place winner of the 2014 Mary Trueman Vocal Art Song Competition sponsored by the Art Song Preservation Society, will present works by Brahms, Monteverdi, Poulenc, Duparc, Canteloube among others. The recital is on March 21 at 2pm at the National Opera Center (330 7th Avenue) in New York City. Tickets are $25 at the door. You can purchase tickets by visiting the Art Song Preservation Society website at www.artsongpreservationsocietyny.org

The Art Song Preservation Society (ASPS) will present French Mezzo-Soprano, Virginie Verrez in recital with accomplished piano collaborator, Thomas Muraco. Ms. Verrez, the first place winner of the 2014 Mary Trueman Vocal Art Song Competition sponsored by the Art Song Preservation Society, will present works by Brahms, Monteverdi, Poulenc, Duparc, Canteloube among others.

A little slapstick here, a little mysticism there, some knockout arias, a love story, parental conflict--put them all together and you have Mozart's DIE ZAUBERFLOTE--better known in these parts as THE MAGIC FLUTE. Add a good cast and a spectacular production with wonderful effects, flying boys, Bunraku-style bears, serpents and other animals and you should have a wonderful evening at the Met. The key word is 'should,' because this week's FLUTE was somehow less than the sum of its parts.

Beginning March 24, three Met stars will sing their first company performances of the leading roles in Andrea Chénier, Giordano's tragic love story set during the French Revolution. Gianandrea Noseda conducts his first company performances of the opera, which will star Marcelo Álvarez in the title role of the real-life poet executed by revolutionary forces; Patricia Racette as the aristocrat Maddalena, whose privileged life is overturned by the revolution; and Željko Lu?i? as Carlo Gérard, a servant who becomes a leader of the insurrection. The cast also includes Jennifer Johnson Cano as La Bersi, Russian mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova in her Met debut as Madelon, Tony Stevenson as Incredibile, Dwayne Croft as Roucher, Robert Pomakov as Mathieu, and Margaret Lattimore as the Countess.

General and Artistic Director Michael Egel and the Board of Directors have announced casting for the operas of the 42nd Summer Festival Season. The three, full-scale grand operas will be presented in 15 performances between June 27 and July 20, 2014 at the Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola Iowa. A fourth production will run for 3 performances on July 10 and 19 at the newly renovated Des Moines Social Club in Des Moines as part of the company's newly-minted 2nd Stages Series. The Summer Festival Season repertory includes the return of a timeless operatic classic paired with two operas which will be company premieres - the first is a modern masterpiece and the second is a sparkling farce by opera's greatest comedic composer, Rossini. It's truly a season for everyone from first-time opera-goers to lifelong devotees highlighted by Des Moines Metro Opera's exceptional attention to details, including casting some of the most remarkable vocal talent in America today.

The Metropolitan Opera and The Juilliard School announce casting for 'A Concert of Comic Operas' featuring varied excerpts and scenes from operas by Berlioz, Donizetti, and Mozart, and Stravinsky's rarely-performed Mavra, conducted by James Levine. The program includes Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Act 1); Stravinsky's Mavra; Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini (Act 1, Scene 1); and Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore (Act 1, Part 2). Performances take place on Tuesday, February 11 and Friday, February 14, 2014 at 8 PM; and Sunday, February 16, 2014 at 2 PM in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Met Opera Music Director James Levine conducts the Juilliard Orchestra and singers from the Met Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, as well as singers from the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at Juilliard. Director Edward Berkeley will direct the program in a semi-staged concert version.

Over three days of preliminary auditions today, February 25 through the 27th, 2013, approximately 90 of the best young American and Canadian opera singers will compete to reach the final round of the 42nd annual George London Foundation Awards Competition.