Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce will take a star turn together when they co-host the Ninth Annual Opera News Awards, set to take place on Sunday, April 13, 2014, in the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel in New York City. They will be joined by a distinguished line-up of presenters – Luca Pisaroni, Susan Graham, Renata Scotto, Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Francesca Zambello – who will pay tribute to five superb artists who have made an invaluable contribution to the art form: the late director Patrice Chéreau, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig,bass-baritone James Morris, and soprano Nina Stemme. First introduced in 2005, the Opera News Awards gala dinner, which features the hosts and presenters speaking about the awardees and introducing video performance clips, has become one of the most anticipated opera events of the season: an evening of celebration, appreciation, reuniting and celebrity-spotting that is without parallel in the industry.
Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute presents The Song Continues, an annual series led by renowned mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, designed to explore the song repertoire through workshops and concerts with the goal of encouraging, supporting, and preserving the art of the vocal recital. This year also marks Ms. Horne's 80th birthday and in celebration, The Song Continues series concludes with a recital honoring Ms. Horne and featuring an all-star line-up of special guest artists on Thursday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall. The evening's concert, hosted by Samuel Ramey and Frederica von Stade, will feature appearances by vocalist Barbara Cook; soprano Renee Fleming; mezzo-sopranos Jamie Barton and Isabel Leonard; countertenor David Daniels; tenor Piotr Becza?a; and many more. See below for complete program information.
The Music Academy of the West will honor legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, the director of the Academy's renowned Voice Program who celebrates her 80th birthday on January 16, 2014, with special programming during its 2014 Summer Festival. The centerpiece of the Horne tribute programming will be a new production of Georges Bizet's immensely popular opera Carmen, one of the iconic mezzo's signature roles. Related programming next summer will include a screening of the 1954 musical film Carmen Jones, which features Horne's dubbed singing for actress Dorothy Dandridge. Additional events will be announced in the coming months.
As BroadwayWorld previously announced, Carnegie Hall will stage a one-night-only concert performance of Frank Loesser's beloved Broadway musical Guys and Dolls on Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. According to the New York Times, the special event will star Nathan Lane as 'Nathan Detroit,' Megan Mullally as 'Miss Adelaide,' Patrick Wilson as 'Sky Masterson,' and Sierra Boggess as 'Sarah Brown.' Additional casting has not yet been announced.
NORMA opened at the Metropolitan Opera starring Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role. Angela Meade also stars, along with mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich (Adalgisa) and tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko (Pollione). Riccardo Frizza conducts. The production runs though November 1, 2013. For tickets or more information, visit: http://www.metoperafamily.org/opera/norma-bellini-tickets.aspx
On Monday, November 11, the Metropolitan Opera Guild's 79th Annual Luncheon presents "Welcome Home, Jimmy!" to salute music directorJames Levine on his triumphant return to the Met podium. A perennial highlight of the opera season, the luncheon will bring together a host of artists who have collaborated with the preeminent conductor over the course of his long and celebrated Met tenure, as well as opera fans and an array of New York's society, business, and civic leaders. "Welcome Home, Jimmy!" will feature musical tributes by Dolora Zajick, "a mezzo in a class by herself" (New York Times); Thomas Hampson, "America's foremost baritone" (International Herald Tribune); and Grammy Award-winning bass-baritone Eric Owens, all accompanied by the Met's Director of Music Administration, Craig Rutenberg. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Guild's education programs in New York City and throughout the country.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the San Francisco debut of world-renowned powerhouse tenor Mario Frangoulis, has been rescheduled from Friday, November 8, 2013 to Friday, April 4, 2014 at Nourse Theatre (275 Hayes Street, San Francisco). Frangoulis has rescheduled his entire North American visit, including two other one-night-only performances in Chicago and New York.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra opens the 2013.14 Pops season with Ella, Louis, and All That Jazz tonight, October 11-13, 2013 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Guest conductor Jeff Tyzik leads the orchestra, featuring Byron Stripling, trumpet; Marva Hicks, vocalist; and Robert Breithaupt, drums. In tribute to Ella, Satchmo, and Fats Waller, the concerts include favorites such as S'Wonderful, It Don't Mean a Thing, What a Wonderful World, and selections from Gershwin's Porgy & Bess.
On January 18, 2014, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) presents the American premiere of The Passenger (1968), a powerful Holocaust opera by exiled Polish-Jewish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg.
On January 18, 2014, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) presents the American premiere of The Passenger (1968), a powerful Holocaust opera by exiled Polish-Jewish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Based on a novel by Auschwitz survivor Zofia Posmysz, The Passenger was recognized as "a perfect masterpiece" by Shostakovich but was censored by the Soviet establishment and never performed in Weinberg's lifetime. It premiered at the 2010 Bregenz Festival, and its subsequent UK premiere at the English National Opera took place only thanks to award-winning British director David Pountney, whose staging inspired the Telegraph to write: "Risky though it may be to label a first production 'definitive,' it is hard to imagine it ever being done better." Now HGO brings the same production across the Atlantic, complete with mezzo-soprano Michelle Breedt, who "excelled" (New York Times) in the leading role at two European premieres. All five of The Passenger's first American performances (Jan 18-Feb 2) will be led byPatrick Summers, HGO's artistic and music director.
Tonight, October 4 and October 5 & 6, Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski alongside superstar guest vocalists Capathia Jenkins and Darius de Haas will join the Houston Symphony for an evening of smooth grooves, easy rhythms and timeless top 40 hits.
Soprano Tracy Cox and pianist Maureen Zoltek, winners of the 2012 Music Academy of the West Marilyn Horne Song Competition, will perform a program of works by Verdi, Strauss, Mark Carlson, Poulenc, and Gabriel Kahane at Opera America's new National Opera Center in New York City tonight, September 25. The recital, which begins at 8 pm, will inaugurate Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series, a showcase for finalists and prizewinners from the nation's most prestigious young artist programs and competitions. Tickets cost $20. The National Opera Center is located at 330 Seventh Avenue in New York City.
On October 4, 5 and 6, Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski alongside superstar guest vocalists Capathia Jenkins and Darius de Haas will join the Houston Symphony for an evening of smooth grooves, easy rhythms and timeless top 40 hits. Audiences will hear music from the kings and queens of classic soul, including Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, James Brown, Roberta Flack, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. With songs like 'Natural Woman,' 'You are Everything,' 'Respect,' 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours' and 'I Heard it Through the Grapevine,' Jones Hall is sure to be full of rhythm from this iconic musical era. Showcasing local talent, Houston-based vocalists Kam Franklin, Lisa Harris and Lucas Gorham will perform as back-up singers on many of the evening's hit songs.
Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) kicks off the 2013-2014 season with live performances at community venues throughout the five boroughs of New York City with its free Neighborhood Concerts. For almost four decades, Carnegie Hall has presented an outstanding series of concerts featuring top notch artists across multiple genres including jazz, world music, classical, and more. In addition, WMI presents a number of free family-friendly programs throughout New York City as part of the Carnegie Kids series.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra opens the 2013.14 Pops season with Ella, Louis, and All That Jazz on October 11-13, 2013 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Guest conductor Jeff Tyzik leads the orchestra, featuring Byron Stripling, trumpet; Marva Hicks, vocalist; and Robert Breithaupt, drums. In tribute to Ella, Satchmo, and Fats Waller, the concerts include favorites such as S'Wonderful, It Don't Mean a Thing, What a Wonderful World, and selections from Gershwin's Porgy & Bess.
The editors of Opera News are pleased to announce the honorees for the ninth annual Opera News Awards, paying tribute to five superb artists who have made invaluable contributions to the art form: director Patrice Chéreau, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig, bass-baritone James Morris and soprano Nina Stemme. The Opera News Awards ceremonywill take place on Sunday, April 13 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. All the winners - and a host of the city's cultural, civic, and social luminaries - will be present at the gala awards dinner, which will feature celebrity presenters speaking about the awardees and introducing video performance clips.
3-D Theatriclas presents Funny Girl Sept 6 - Sept 22, 2013 at the Plummer Auditorium, and Sept 27 - Sept 29, 2013 at Redondo Beach. Funny Girl is a musical with a book by Isobel Lennart, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of Broadway, film star and comedienne Fanny Briceand her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nick Arnstein. Its original title was My Man.
Soprano Tracy Cox and pianist Maureen Zoltek, winners of the 2012 Music Academy of the West Marilyn Horne Song Competition, will perform a program of works by Verdi, Strauss, Mark Carlson, Poulenc, and Gabriel Kahane at Opera America's new National Opera Center in New York City on Wednesday, September 25. The recital, which begins at 8 pm, will inaugurate Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series, a showcase for finalists and prizewinners from the nation's most prestigious young artist programs and competitions. Tickets cost $20. The National Opera Center is located at 330 Seventh Avenue in New York City.
Soprano Tracy Cox and pianist Maureen Zoltek, winners of the 2012 Music Academy of the West Marilyn Horne Song Competition, will perform a program of works by Verdi, Strauss, Mark Carlson, Poulenc, and Gabriel Kahane at Opera America's new National Opera Center in New York City on Wednesday, September 25. The recital, which begins at 8 pm, will inaugurate Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series, a showcase for finalists and prizewinners from the nation's most prestigious young artist programs and competitions. Tickets cost $20. The National Opera Center is located at 330 Seventh Avenue in New York City.