San Francisco Opera presents George Frideric Handel's Orlando in a bold production by director Harry Fehr that updates the setting to World War II London during the Blitz. English conductor Christopher Moulds makes his Company debut leading the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and a cast of five leading Handelian artists, each of whom is singing their roles for the first time. Handel's rarely performed work of love and madness will be presented June 9 27 at the War Memorial Opera House.
In 2016, critically acclaimed cabaret performer Dawn Derow revisited her operatic roots and took home a Bistro Award as "Outstanding Vocalist" for LEGIT: A Classical Cabaret. Then in 2017 and 2018, Dawn explored the hit music of the "Greatest Generation" period with her MAC Award-winning ("Best Female Vocalist") MY SHIP: SONGS FROM 1941 (she was also nominated for BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Awards for "Best Show" and "Best Vocalist"). Now Dawn is ready to prove that you can go home again-musically, that is.
Isabel Leonard is one of, if not the, most in-demand opera singer in the world today. For the last decade her star has been on the rise all around the world both on the opera and concert stages. This season at The Met alone she's performing in three different production, singing three roles that could not be more starkly dissimilar: the title role of Nico Muhly's Marnie, Claude Debussy's Melisande and the upcoming Blanche de la Force in Poulenc's 'Dialogues of the Carmelites'. Given the rigor of her schedule, we are thrilled that she found a few minutes to chat with us about her upcoming performances in Dialogues... as well as answering some burning questions that the entire opera world is dying to find out. For example:
Soprano Patricia Westley will replace Mary Evelyn Hangley in the final recital of the 2019 Schwabacher Recital Series, presented by the Merola Opera Program and San Francisco Opera Center. Soprano and first-year Adler Fellow Mary Evelyn Hangley has withdrawn from the April 24 recital for personal reasons.
Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) and the Brooklyn Art Song Society (BASS) present collaborative pianist Martin Katz in a three-event series, entitled Hugo Wolf: The Complete Mörike-Lieder, featuring two presentations and a free masterclass (open to the public) on the following dates:
Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) and the Brooklyn Art Song Society (BASS) present collaborative pianist Martin Katz in a three-event series, entitled Hugo Wolf: The Complete Morike-Lieder, featuring two presentations and a free masterclass (open to the public)
The Schwabacher Recital Series, presented by San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program, continues in April with the final two recitals of its 36th season. Showcasing the exemplary young artists who have participated in the prestigious training programs of San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program, the series offers music lovers an opportunity to hear opera's next generation of stars in the intimate and state-of-the-art Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco.
After an international search, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is proud to announce the three new singers and one new pianists for the 2019 20 HGO Studio. One of the most respected and highly competitive young artist programs in the world, the HGO Studio provides comprehensive career development to young singers, pianist/coaches, and conductors who have demonstrated potential to make major contributions to the field of opera. Seven up-and-coming opera stars remain active in the HGO Studio as well for the 2019 20 season.
Schimmel Center at Pace University concludes its 2018-19 Cabaret Series with an evening of standards and musical theater selections composed by women titled Baby, Dream Your Dream: The Great Women Songwriters today, March 9, 2019 at 7:30pm. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at SchimmelCenter.org, by phone at 212-346-1715, or by visiting the Schimmel Center Box Office at 3 Spruce Street, Manhattan. Box office hours are Tuesday-Today, Noon-5pm, and then beginning three hours prior to each performance, through intermission.
The famous mezzo soprano Fredericka von Stade is in San Diego this week rehearsing Three Decembers, one of several works written with her in mind by her close friend Jake Heggie. The chamber opera for three singers and 11 musicians will be performed three times next weekend at the 500-seat Patrick Henry PHAME Theatre.
Von Stade recognized Heggie's talent long before he wrote his first opera and has been an influential champion ever since. Their friendship and collaboration have benefitted both. In my interview with her in a San Diego Opera rehearsal room she said, 'He's given me a second career with parts in Dead Man Walking and Great Scott, and a lot of song cycles. He's my guy.'
Schimmel Center at Pace University concludes its 2018-19 Cabaret Series with an evening of standards and musical theater selections composed by women titled Baby, Dream Your Dream: The Great Women Songwriters on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 7:30pm. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at SchimmelCenter.org, by phone at 212-346-1715, or by visiting the Schimmel Center Box Office at 3 Spruce Street, Manhattan. Box office hours are Tuesday-Saturday, Noon-5pm, and then beginning three hours prior to each performance, through intermission.
Schimmel Center at Pace University concludes its 2018-19 Cabaret Series with an evening of standards and musical theater selections composed by women titled Baby, Dream Your Dream: The Great Women Songwriters on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 7:30pm.
Michael Mayer's 2013 production of Verdi's Rigoletto, set in a 1960s Las Vegas casino, returns to the Met on February 12, with conductor Nicola Luisotti leading an all-star cast. Initial performances star Nadine Sierra as Gilda, Vittorio Grigolo as the Duke, Roberto Frontali as Rigoletto, Štefan Kocán as Sparafucile, and Ramona Zaharia in her Met debut as Maddalena. In later performances, Rosa Feola makes her Met debut as Gilda, Bryan Hymel sings the Duke for the first time at the Met, George Gagnidze returns as Rigoletto, and Dimitry Ivashchenko reprises his portrayal of Sparafucile.
Opera Atelier is delighted to present The Angel Speaks, a groundbreaking one-hour concert that effortlessly blends masterpieces of the baroque repertoire with the Canadian premiere of Annunciation, a new commission by Toronto-based composer and violinist Edwin Huizinga for period instruments. This singular performance takes place in the Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery at the historic Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), February 21, 2019, at 8pm. Soprano Mireille Asselin and Baritone Jesse Blumberg will be joined by members of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra under the direction of David Fallis, alongside Artists of Atelier Ballet.
San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program present the 36th season of the Schwabacher Recital Series, opening on February 13 and continuing through April 24. 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.
The Metropolitan Opera announced today that Thomas Lausmann, currently the Head of Music at the Vienna State Opera, will become the Met's Director of Music Administration at the start of the 2019 20 season. Lausmann will replace Assistant General Manager John Fisher, who is stepping down after many years at the Met to resume his freelance musical career. Fisher will continue to coach many of the world's top singers on a freelance basis, including on occasion at the Met.
El maestro Jorge Medina Leal, considerado uno de los más destacados directores de coro en el país, falleció este miércoles a la edad de 90 años, dejando un importante legado en la educación, promoción y creación de instituciones corales.
From January 21-26, 2019, renowned soprano Renee Fleming will mentor 10 aspiring young singers and 10 collaborative pianists from around the world in the inaugural year of SongStudio, an innovative new program exploring the future of the vocal recital. Building on Marilyn Horne's remarkable work with The Song Continues, the intensive workshop will bring emerging vocalists and pianists together with leading artists and composers for a week of instruction and performance at Carnegie Hall.
The Atlanta Opera opens the 2018-19 mainstage season with a production of Leonard Bernstein's classic Broadway musical, West Side Story. Francesca Zambello, General & Artistic Director of The Glimmerglass Festival and Artistic Director of Washington National Opera, who created this new production with Houston Grand Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, and Lyric Opera of Chicago, will direct.