Martina Arroyo News

I'd call it “love at first sight” (or, more properly, “first hearing”), but this wasn't the first time I'd heard mezzo Jamie Barton. And I certainly hope it won't be the last. Her performances at opening of this year's Summer Recital Series from the Metropolitan Opera at Central Park's SummerStage in New York, on June 23, were sensational. She grabbed the audience by the lapels and refused to let go.

Johnny Carson knew and featured great singers, including one he called 'Super Singer' - - The multi-talented Marvelous Marilyn Maye. Ms. Maye appeared on The Tonight Show a record 76 times, more than any singer. Cabaret legend Marilyn Maye continues her latest 54 Below show, A Tribute to Johnny Carson, on May 9, 10 & 13, 2014.

After a months-long series of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, a panel of judges has named five young singers the winners of the 2014 National Council Auditions, the nation's most prestigious vocal competition. Each winner, who performed two arias onstage at the Metropolitan Opera this afternoon with conductor Marco Armiliatoand the Met's orchestra, will receive a $15,000 cash prize and the prestige and exposure that come with winning a competition that has launched the careers of many of opera's biggest stars.

The Riverside Opera Company, under the direction of Maestro Alan Aurelia announces a performance of 'PoPera' a mix of Opera and Broadway favorites featuring long time Riverside Opera piano accompanist Ming Kwong and sopranos Jessica Sandidge and Manna Knjoi who are winners of open public auditions, held in New York City by the Riverside Opera Company. They will sing selections of their choosing. The performance is free and open to the public as part Music @NYPL on Saturday, April 19, 2 p.m. at the RichmondTown branch of the New York Public Library located at 200 Clarke Avenue, Staten Island. For information contact: riversideoperacompany@gmail or call Riverside Opera Company at 212-729-4792.

Star of stage and screen Shirley MacLaine, opera singer Martina Arroyo, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer Herbie Hancock, pianist, singer and songwriter Billy Joel and musician and songwriter Carlos Santana were honored at the 36th Annual KENNEDY CENTER HONORS

Broadway vets Sutton Foster, Patina Miller and Karen Olivo along with 'Pitch Perfect' star Anna Kendrick paid tribute to legendary star of stage and screen Shirley MacLaine on last night's 36TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, December 29, 2013 - Sunday, December 29, 2013.

Opera singer Martina Arroyo, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer Herbie Hancock, pianist, singer and songwriter Billy Joel, actress Shirley MacLaine and musician and songwriter Carlos Santana received honors at THE 36TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS, to be broadcast tonight, Dec. 29 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Below, check out performances by Broadway vets Patina Miller, Sutton Foster and more as they pay tribute to this year's honorees!

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Davenport's serves up the holidays, Theo Ubique's January Cabaret Series, Kevin Cole on the Marvin Hamlisch PBS special, the Muellers make the 'Post,' BET announced rep, and a listing of Chicago shows to catch this week, plus the BroadwayWorld Chicago Awards and more!

Watch Garth Brooks, Snoop Dogg and more pay tribute to the honorees at the annual event to be broadcast Sunday, Dec. 29 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

In recognition of her outstanding lifetime contribution to American culture, Martina Arroyo was saluted as one of five recipients of this year's Kennedy Center Honors in a star-studded gala celebration held on December 8 that will be broadcast nationwide as a two-hour prime time special on CBS-TV this Sunday, December 29 at 9pm, ET/PT. Seated with President and Mrs. Obama at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as with her fellow honorees (actress Shirley MacLaine and musicians Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel and Carlos Santana), the pre-eminent American soprano was introduced in a speech by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who also narrated a short video about Arroyo. She was then saluted by a musical tribute celebrating her legendary portrayal of the title role in Verdi's Aida. First, Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja performed Radames's aria 'Celeste Aida,' and soprano Sondra Radvanovsky sang Aida's aria 'O patria mia.' Then the two star singers were joined by graduates of the Martina Arroyo Foundation's programs-Ryan Speedo Green, Chantelle Grant, Robert Kerr, and Yuriy Yurchuk-as well as the Army Herald Trumpets and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club, to perform the opera's Act II finale.

On Sunday, January 12, 2014, Opera Index will presents its 35th Distinguished Achievement Award to mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias, described as one of the finest singing actresses of our time, at its Winter Gala in the Grand Salon of the JW Marriott Essex House, 160 Central Park South, beginning at 6 p.m. with a reception in the Petit Salon. The three-time Grammy and two-time Emmy Award-winning artist made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1954 and over her half-century-long career, has sung more than 50 roles. Ken Benson, renowned artists manager and longtime Opera Index supporter, will present the award to Ms. Elias.

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.

Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja gave a very special surprise performance at last night's presentation of the 2013 Kennedy Center Honors.

Below are the official remarks by President Obama at the 2013 KENNEDY CENTER HONORS reception, held Sunday, December 8th from the East Room of The White House

The Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO) under the direction of Jeff Lindberg is excited and honored to have been chosen to perform at the 36th Annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala tonight, December 8, 2013 in Washington, D.C. This performance marks the 25th consecutive year that the CJO has been chosen for this singular honor.

In recognition of her outstanding lifetime contribution to American culture, Martina Arroyo will be one of five recipients of this year's Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday, December 8 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Seated with President and Mrs. Obama, as well as with her fellow Honorees (actress Shirley MacLaine and musicians Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel, and Carlos Santana), the pre-eminent American soprano will be saluted with performances and tributes during the star-studded gala celebration that will be broadcast nationwide as a two-hour prime time special on CBS-TV (Dec 29 at 9pm, EST). The honor is a fitting one, for Arroyo has devoted herself to opera over the course of a decades-long career. Since retiring from the stage, where her voice was heralded by the New York Times as "among the most glorious in the world," the Harlem-born soprano has continued to serve the art form through the Martina Arroyo Foundation, the non-profit cultural organization she established ten years ago to provide new generations of talented young singers with the tools to pursue careers in opera and prepare them for the stage.

CBS's holiday programming, which kicks-off with RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, will also include music specials, perennial holiday favorites and holiday-themed episodes of NCIS, CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION, THE BIG BANG THEORY, TWO AND A HALF MEN, THE MILLERS and HAWAII FIVE-0.

The Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO) under the direction of Jeff Lindberg is excited and honored to have been chosen to perform at the 36th Annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala on December 8, 2013 in Washington, D.C. This performance marks the 25th consecutive year that the CJO has been chosen for this singular honor.

The University Musical Society (UMS) presents two incredible events this December, starting with the beloved community tradition of Handel's Messiah (Saturday-Sunday, December 7-8). December also ushers in the first-ever high definition delayed cinema broadcast from the Royal Shakespeare Company in the Michigan Theater; the company performs Richard II, starring David Tennant and directed by Gregory Doran (Sunday, December 8 and Wednesday, December 11).