Marilyn Horne News

 Two dozen wise and witty "songs of experience" with charming melodies and smartly crafted lyrics.International City Theatre opens its 2016 season with a recently updated version of Closer Than Ever, the Outer Critics Circle Award winner for Best off-Broadway Musical that also netted Drama Desk nominations for lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr. and composer David Shire. Directed and choreographed by Todd Nielsen, with musical direction by Gerald Sternbach, and starring ICT favorites Kevin Bailey (Abigail/1702),Valerie Perri (The Sweepers), Adam von Almen (The Heir Apparent) and newcomer Katheryne Penny, Closer Than Ever opens February 12at ICT's home in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Two low-priced previews take place on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11.

Acclaimed American soprano Renee Fleming performs in recital with pianist Olga Kern on Wednesday, March 9 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. The program includes Robert Schumann's Frauenliebe und -leben, Op. 42, Debussy's Ariettes oubliees, and a selection of songs by Rachmaninoff. Ms. Fleming and Ms. Kern close their program with five songs by jazz musician and composer Patricia Barber.

Carnegie Hall today unveiled its 2016-2017 season consisting of more than 170 concerts as well as wide-ranging education and community programs created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. The upcoming season includes performances by many of the world's greatest artists, including Tony winner Kelli O'Hara making her solo headlining debut at the renowned venue on Oct. 29, as well as ensembles representing classical, pop, jazz, and world music, with events presented on Carnegie Hall's three stages, in the Hall's Resnick Education Wing, and throughout New York City.

Two dozen wise and witty 'songs of experience' with charming melodies and smartly crafted lyrics. International City Theatre opens its 2016 season with a recently updated version of Closer Than Ever, the Outer Critics Circle Award winner for Best off-Broadway Musical that also netted Drama Desk nominations for lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr. and composer David Shire. Directed and choreographed by Todd Nielsen, with musical direction by Gerald Sternbach, and starring ICT favorites Kevin Bailey (Abigail/1702), Valerie Perri (The Sweepers), Adam von Almen (The Heir Apparent) and newcomer Katheryne Penny, Closer Than Ever opens February 12 at ICT's home in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Two low-priced previews take place on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11.

Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe returns to Carnegie Hall with pianist Alan Louis Smith to lead an audience sing-slong concert, Sing, America!, on Saturday, January 23 at 2:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage as part of Carnegie Hall's annual series The Song Continues. Audience members have the opportunity to join in and sing along to some of America's most popular songs from the early 1900s including "Oh, You Beautiful Doll," "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," "By the Beautiful Sea," and many more.

In the second year of a four-year partnership between Music Academy of the West and the New York Philharmonic, ten Academy musicians will travel to New York in January 2016 to participate in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program (Jan 2-12), developing their career skills through what President and CEO of the Music Academy of the West Scott Reed called "an extraordinary opportunity to gain valuable experience alongside the musicians of one of the world's greatest orchestras."

No more carping about out-of-tune singing (for the rest of 2015). No more bemoaning opera directors who don't seem to like the art of opera (for the next five minutes). No more worrying whether traditional opera will go the way of all flesh (for the next few days, at least). It's time to give up on my Scrooge tendencies and be thankful for the gifts that opera gave me, in and around New York this past year, alphabetically speaking.

On Sunday, January 17, Opera Index will present its 37th Distinguished Achievement Award to Dolora Zajick, a true dramatic mezzo-soprano, acclaimed by The New York Times as “a mezzo in a class by herself,” at a gala evening beginning at 6 p.m. at JW Marriott Essex House, 160 Central Park South.

  Following last season's acclaimed series of master classes, open to the public and reaching viewers around the world online at medici.tv, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato returns to Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing for three additional master classes focusing on opera arias on January 8-10, 2016. Four young professional singers-soprano Amalia Avilan Castillo, mezzo-soprano Miya Higashiyama, countertenor Daniel Moody, and bass Anthony Robin Schneider-have been selected to participate, along with pianists Justina Lee and Adam Nielsen. In addition to being open to the public (see ticket information below), the master classes will be available for free on medici.tv, where they will be streamed live and will remain available on-demand for one year following the classes. Additional private sessions on breathing, movement, and career development complete the program.

The New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera announces Lucy Arner has been named Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Verismo Opera Orchestra.

In the second year of a four-year partnership between Music Academy of the West and the New York Philharmonic, ten Academy musicians will travel to New York in January 2016 to participate in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program (Jan 2-12), developing their career skills through what President and CEO of the Music Academy of the West Scott Reed called "an extraordinary opportunity to gain valuable experience alongside the musicians of one of the world's greatest orchestras."

JCC Manhattan presents the fall season finale of PREformances with Allison Charney on Monday, December 14th at 12:30pm. In this unique concert series, you will hear celebrated classical musicians just before their performances on the world's most prestigious stages removing traditional barriers between performer and audience.

New York, NY (December 10, 2015) – OPERA NEWS Editor in Chief F. Paul Driscoll today announced the recipients of the 11th Annual OPERA NEWS Awards. This year's honorees — Joseph Calleja, El?na Garan?a, Waltraud Meier, Anna Netrebko, and José van Dam — will be feted at a black tie gala celebration on April 10th at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. 

From January 19 to 23, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) presents The Song Continues, an annual series led by renowned mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, exploring song repertoire through master classes and concerts with the goal of encouraging, supporting, and preserving the art of the vocal recital. The series concludes with the Marilyn Horne Song Celebration, a recital featuring special guest artist soprano Nina Stemme on Saturday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall. The evening's concert also features performances by soprano Julia Bullock, mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, tenor Andrew Haji, bass-baritone Evan Hughes, and pianists John Arida, Keun-A Lee, Ken Noda, and Jennifer Szeto. Complete program information is listed below.

I had the opportunity to chat with international singing star Mario Frangoulis the other day, and it was a simply delightful experience. He'll be performing in St. Louis at the Peabody Opera House on December 6, 2015 along with the legendary Smokey Robinson in a concert that will benefit the Voices For Veterans Organization. This is a group that seeks to end homelessness, especially for those forgotten and neglected soldiers who have bravely served our country. It's a great cause, and it should be a fabulous event. Mario spoke with me about his career, and in particular, his latest release, a holiday album titled TALES OF CHRISTMAS.

MasterVoices, formerly The Collegiate Chorale, was honored at the Martina Arroyo Foundation's11th Annual Gala.MasterVoices was recognized along with American couture designer Joanna Mastroianni and The Michel Maurel award-winner Ernst Rieser. Brian Kellow and Terrance McKnight hosted the gala, with performances by the young artists of Prelude to Performance, Jennifer Rowley, Michele Angelini and Cecilia Violetta Lopez (both featured in the October issue of Opera News), as well as other special guests.

Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) celebrates A Charlie Brown Christmas with a Family Holiday Concert this December featuring The New York Pops, marking the 50th anniversary of the iconic television special created by Charles M. Schulz. Recommended for ages 5-10, the performance will include a sing-along and other festive surprises.

Grammy Award-nominated concert pianist Lang Lang makes his first of three appearances at Carnegie Hall this season with a solo recital today, October 23 at 8:30 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. The concert features Bach's Italian Concerto, BWV 971-a complex and pioneering work inspired by Vivaldi-along with Tchaikovsky's The Seasons, Op. 37b and Chopin's four scherzos. By the time he was 22 years old, the acclaimed pianist had already performed twice at Carnegie Hall -with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yuri Temirkanov in 2001 and with the New York String Orchestra under Jaime Laredo in 2002-before making his sold-out solo recital debut in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on November 7, 2003, which was recorded live by Deutsche Grammophon.

Verdi's Rigoletto returns to the Met October 20 for fifteen performances. Michael Mayer's 2013 production, set in a 1960s Las Vegas casino, will star George Gagnidze in the title role opposite two singers in company role debuts: Olga Peretyatko as Gilda and Stephen Costello as the Duke. Spanish maestro Pablo Heras-Casado will lead the initial performances of the opera, which also feature Štefan Kocán as Sparafucile and Swedish mezzo-soprano Katarina Leoson, in her Met debut, as Maddalena. Later performances this season will star Željko Lu?i? in the title role and Piotr Beczala as the Duke, roles both sang in the new production premiere of Mayer's staging, opposite 2009 National Council Auditions winner Nadine Sierra in her Met debut as Gilda. Roberto Abbado conducts a cast that also features Russian bass Dimitry Ivashchenko in his Met debut as Sparafucile and Nancy Fabiola Herrera as Maddalena.