Michael Fabiano News

Seattle Opera continues its 2012/13 season next month with 10 performances of one of the most popular operas ever composed. At turns joyful and heartbreaking, Puccini's La Boheme tells an unforgettable story of impoverished young people who are rich in friendship, love, and passion. La Boheme returns to Seattle Opera on February 23, running for 10 performances through March 10.

Verdi's Shakespearean tragedy OTELLO starring Johan Botha in the title role and Renee Fleming as Otello's innocent wife, Desdemona, airs on GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET Sunday, February 24 at 12 noon on PBS (check local listings).

The Opera Orchestra of New York presents an opera-in-concert performance of Umberto Giordano's verismo opera, Andrea Chénier conducted by Music Director Alberto Veronesi at Avery Fisher Hall today, January 6, 2013 at 4:00 pm. Tenor Roberto Alagna sings the title role of Andrea Chénier, one of opera's most dramatic lyric-tenor roles, for the first time, with soprano Kristin Lewis as Maddalena di Coigny, baritone George Petean as Carlo Gérard, with a special appearance by mezzo soprano Rosalind Elias as Madelon.

The Opera Orchestra of New York presents an opera-in-concert performance of Umberto Giordano's verismo opera, Andrea Chénier conducted by Music Director Alberto Veronesi at Avery Fisher Hall on Sunday, January 6, 2013 at 4:00 pm. Tenor Roberto Alagna sings the title role of Andrea Chénier, one of opera's most dramatic lyric-tenor roles, for the first time, with soprano Kristin Lewis as Maddalena di Coigny, baritone George Petean as Carlo Gérard, with a special appearance by mezzo soprano Rosalind Elias as Madelon.

On Saturday, October 27 at 1pm, the Warner Theatre will present a live simulcast of Verdi's Otello as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Renée Fleming sings as the innocent Desdemona in Verdi's towering tragedy Otello. South African tenor Johan Botha sings the title role, one of the most demanding parts in the operatic repertory, with German baritone Falk Struckmann as the treacherous villain Iago.

Avgust Amonov will sing the title role in tomorrow afternoon's performance of Verdi's Otello, replacing Johan Botha, who is ill.

Avgust Amonov will sing the title role in this evening's performance of Verdi's Otello, replacing Johan Botha, who is ill.

Avgust Amonov will make his Met debut in the title role of tomorrow evening's performance of Verdi's Otello, replacing Johan Botha, who is ill.

NBC Publishing today released its newest enhanced eBook, LIBERATING KOSOVO: COERCIVE DIPLOMACY AND US INTERVENTION by David L. Phillips. LIBERATING KOSOVO is a contemporary history of statecraft, negotiation and U.S. diplomacy, chronicling Slobodan Milosevic's rise to power and the events which led to the fall of Yugoslavia.

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones comes MICK AND KEITH: NEVER STOP, a video-enhanced eBook featuring exclusive interviews with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards conducted by rock journalist and former TODAY show music correspondent, Rona Elliot. The enhanced eBook is available today through Apple's iBookstore.

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones comes MICK AND KEITH: NEVER STOP, a video-enhanced eBook featuring exclusive interviews with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards conducted by rock journalist and former TODAY show music correspondent, Rona Elliot. The enhanced eBook is available today through Apple's iBookstore.

Less than five years after making her professional operatic debut, substituting for an ill colleague as Elvira in Verdi's Ernani at the Metropolitan Opera, Angela Meade is fast becoming one of the world's top-billed interpreters of Verdi and Bellini. The soprano-winner of the 2011 Richard Tucker Award and the 2012 Beverly Sills Award from the Metropolitan Opera-has a number of notable "firsts" during the 2012-13 season, including a house debut at the Vienna Staatsoper as Elena in I vespri siciliani (Sept 9-18), Leonora in her first staged Il trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera (Jan 16), and her first staged Norma-the role that catapulted her to prominence at the 2010 Caramoor Festival-at Washington National Opera in a new production directed by Anne Bogart (March 9-24). More Bellini is in the offing for Meade at Carnegie Hall this season: a concert performance of Beatrice di Tenda with the Collegiate Chorale (Dec 5). The soprano also sings Mozart's Donna Anna in Don Giovanni for her debuts at Los Angeles Opera (Oct 11-14) and Cincinnati Opera (June 13-15). Noteworthy concert engagements in 2012-13 include Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs with the Ontario Philharmonic in Toronto (Jan 29), Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Pittsburgh Symphony under Manfred Honeck (April 26-28), and her recital debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (Nov 10).

The 2012 NFL preseason is officially in the books and it's time to kick off the regular season. With comprehensive news shows such as NFL Total Access, NFL AM and Around the League Live, extensive 'GameDay' coverage starting at 7:00 AM ET every Sunday, and the expanded 13-game Thursday Night Football schedule, NFL Network remains the ultimate destination for football fans across the country.

In an innovative collaboration, NBC Publishing and NBC Entertainment will launch 'GRIMM: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE' today. This free eBook is an interactive companion to the hit television series kicking off its second season on Monday, August 13 at 10/9c on NBC.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2012 Beverly Sills Artist Angela Meade starred in the company's recent production of Ernani. In May, the soprano tackles another Verdi heroine, making her Deutsche Oper Berlin debut as Lucrezia in two concert performances of I due Foscari. More high-profile firsts follow in August when Meade makes a trio of major U.S. music festival debuts, headlining "A Night at the Opera" with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Festival; "Italian Opera Night" with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nezet-Seguin at Saratoga, and Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand" with Robert Spano in Aspen. In June - as a preview of next season's debut with Washington National Opera - she portrays the title role of Bellini's Norma in concert at Oregon's Astoria Music Festival, and in July she sings Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore at the Festival Castell de Peralada in Spain.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic and Classical KUSC in partnership with WFMT Radio Network, have confirmed 150 markets nationwide will carry the annual radio broadcast concert series (a number that will grow throughout the coming year). The 2011 series was broadcast in 193 markets and reached over 2.6 million listeners.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic and Classical KUSC continue their annual radio broadcast partnership, which now reaches close to one million listeners. The 14 concerts, recorded during the LA Phil's 2011/12 season, feature the orchestra with an impressive roster of guest artists and conductors. The first broadcast presents Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 3, "Scottish" featuring LA Phil Music Director Gustavo Dudamel and violinist Janine Jansen, and airs locally on KUSC-FM 91.5 Los Angeles, Sunday, April 1, 2012, at 4 PM.