Marilyn Horne News

Carnegie Hall today announced that soprano Jessye Norman is unable to participate in Carnegie Hall's 125th gala concert on Thursday, May 5 at 7:00 p.m.

Fort Lee, New Jersey - The New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera announces Cuban born Lucy Arner will debut as Principal Conductor in the company's performance of Amilcare Ponchielli's magnificent work, LA GIOCONDA.

Carnegie Hall's season-long 125th anniversary celebration reaches its pinnacle on Thursday, May 5 at 7:00 p.m.- exactly 125 years to the day that the Hall first opened its doors in 1891-when many of the world's most beloved musicians take to the Hall's legendary stage for an all-star gala benefit concert.

?After a months-long series of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, a panel of expert judges named five young singers as the winners of the nation's most prestigious vocal competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Each winner receives a $15,000 cash prize and the prestige and exposure that come with winning the competition that launched the careers of many of opera's biggest stars.

?The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in collaboration with the Manhattan School of Music and Oratorio Society of New York, presents the world premiere of a transcription for organ, vocal soloists, and choruses, of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, on Thursday, April 7th, at 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street), Manhattan. This event follows the two performances of the symphony in its original orchestration at the Cathedral on February 24th and 25th.

After an international search, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has chosen three new singers and one new pianist/coach for the 2016-17 HGO Studio. The artists are Yelena Dyachek, soprano, the Ana Maria Martinez Encouragement Award recipient at Concert of Arias 2016;  Zoie Reams, mezzo-soprano, the second-place prize winner at Concert of Arias 2016;  Sol Jin, baritone, the Audience Choice Award winner at Concert of Arias 2016; and Peter Walsh, pianist/coach. 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. The HGO Studio received applications from 475 artists; of those, about 275 were heard in auditions in Houston, New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Los Angeles. For singers, the audition process culminates in HGO's annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, held this year on February 4.

10 On Tuesday with Doug Peck

Following yesterday's highly competitive semi-final competition, nine young singers will advance to the final phase of the Metropolitan Opera's 2016 National Council Auditions, America's most prestigious vocal competition. The selected finalists, chosen by a panel of experts from the classical music industry, will compete on the Met stage on Sunday, March 13 at 3 p.m. The winners will receive individual cash prizes of $15,000 and the prestigious-and potentially career-launching-title of National Council Auditions Winner. The Grand Finals Concert will feature Antony Walker conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as each finalist performs two arias.

Four up-and-coming opera singers will showcase their talents as The Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars Concert Series comes to  Mayo Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 8 PM. Tickets are $29 - $59.

  Grammy Award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax returns to Carnegie Hall for four performances this spring, first joining celebrated violinist Pamela Frank for a program of Mozart violin sonatas on Tuesday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall.

 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.