Nina Stemme News

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.

One thing you should know about Richard Strauss's ELEKTRA: When it's done right, the audience works itself into a fever pitch and—after the orchestra has played the final notes—it stands and screams its head off. I've seen this before and it happened again the other night, with sopranos Christine Goerke in the title role and Gun-Brit Barkmin as her sister Chrysothemis, in an exhilarating performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under its music director Andris Nelsons.

Puccini's opera set in ancient China, TURANDOT, will return to the Metropolitan Opera for 16 performances beginning tonight, September 23.

Puccini's opera set in ancient China, TURANDOT, will return to the Metropolitan Opera for 16 performances beginning September 23.

The Capitol Center for the Arts is pleased to announce that it will present 11 productions in next season's Met: Live in HD series, beginning with Verdi's Il Trovatore on Saturday, October 3, at 12:55pm. Single tickets for this series are on sale now for $26 Adults; $22 Seniors/Met/CCA Members; and $15 Students. Season subscriptions are also available at $234 Adults; $198 Seniors/Met/CCA Members; and $135 students.

Carnegie Hall's 125th anniversary season is fast approaching, and we are looking forward to an exciting variety of new projects and exceptional programming! Listed below are classical music highlights at Carnegie Hall for the 2015-2016 season.

(WASHINGTON)—Washington National Opera (WNO), led by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, today announced its 60th anniversary season, one that highlights classic, contemporary, and American works. The 2015-2016 season includes a new-to-Washington staging of Bizet's Carmen, the world premiere of a newly revised version of Appomattox by composer Philip Glass and librettist Christopher Hampton, a revival of WNO's charming holiday production of Hansel and Gretel, the company premiere of Kurt Weill's Lost in the Stars in a gripping production from Cape Town Opera, and WNO's first complete staging of Wagner's extraordinary four-part Ring Cycle, with a world-class cast under the direction of Francesca Zambello and featuring the WNO Orchestra conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin. Highlights from the 2015-2016 season will be performed by the WNO Orchestra and special guests at a free preview concert on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 6 p.m. as part of the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.

On Wednesday 14 January 2015, at HUSH in Mayfair, the finalists of the International Opera Awards 2015 were announced. These were selected by the jury chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine and classical music critic with The Daily Telegraph.

OPERA NEWS Editor in Chief F. Paul Driscoll today announced the recipients of the 10th Annual Opera News Awards. This year's honorees—Piotr Beczala, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Sondra Radvanosky, Samuel Ramey and Teresa Stratas—will be feted at a black tie gala celebration on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Previous Opera News Award Winners Martina Arroyo,Gerald Finley and Susan Graham are among the presenters.

During the first week of November, the Mariinsky Theatre returns to the UK for an operatic showcase of Wagner's Ring in Birmingham at the historic Hippodrome and three operas originally written for the Mariinsky including the most recent Levsha (The Left-hander) by Rodion Shchedrin. With a 300-strong troop of musicians, soloists and chorus starting the tour in Cardiff with Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery, Valery Gergiev proceeds to London to present Russia's national epic Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov followed by the UK premiere of The Lefthander, both in concert versions at the Barbican.

Soprano Amanda Majeski is a 2009 George London Award winner who just made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the Met's season-opening presentation of Le nozze di Figaro, and bass-baritone Ryan McKinny is a 2011 George London Award winner who this past summer sang the roles of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire with the Los Angeles Opera and Billy Bigelow in Carousel at Glimmerglass Opera. Together, they will open the 2014-15 season of the George London Foundation for Singers with a joint recital at Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library and Museum on Sunday, November 9, 2014, at 4:30 PM, with pianist Ken Noda. The event is Mr. McKinny's New York recital debut.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced complete casting for its first full presentation of Richard Wagner's four-part Ring cycle. Three cycles will be presented from April 30 to May 22, 2016 and will be directed by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin. Contribution packages with priority seating for The Ring are on sale now. For more information, go to WNO's Ring website.

San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley and San Francisco Opera Association President Keith Geeslin today announced that Gockley will retire in July 2016, concluding a ten-year, seven-month tenure with the Company and capping an internationally acclaimed and award-winning career spanning 44 years as one of America's most prominent opera impresarios. Gockley, who will be 73 at the end of the 2015–16 season, became the Company's sixth general director when he joined San Francisco Opera in January 2006. Today's announcement was made at a War Memorial Opera House press conference.

During the first week of November, the Mariinsky Theatre returns to the UK for an operatic showcase of Wagner's Ring in Birmingham at the historic Hippodrome and three operas originally written for the Mariinsky including the most recent Levsha (The Left-hander) by Rodion Shchedrin. With a 300-strong troop of musicians, soloists and chorus starting the tour in Cardiff with Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery, Valery Gergiev proceeds to London to present Russia's national epic Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov followed by the UK premiere of The Lefthander, both in concert versions at the Barbican.

Last night, after a week of competition that brought 40 young singers from 17 nations to Los Angeles, Placido Domingo announced that Rachel Willis-Sorensen, an American soprano, and Mario Chang, a Guatemalan tenor, took the top prizes tonight in the 22nd edition of Operalia, the World Opera Competition. Hosted by LA Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the weeklong contest culminated tonight in a Gala Finals Concert-featuring the LA Opera Orchestra conducted by Mr. Domingo at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion-which was streamed live on Medici TV.

Representing 17 nations, 40 young singers have been selected to compete in the 22nd edition of Placido Domingo's Operalia, the World Opera Competition, hosted by LA Opera this summer. The contest will be held from August 25 through 30, 2014. Tickets to the competition's final round-a Gala Finals Concert featuring the LA Opera Orchestra conducted by Mr. Domingo at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at 7:00pm on Saturday, August 30-are now on sale.

Representing 17 nations, 40 young singers have been selected to compete in the 22nd edition of Plácido Domingo's Operalia, the World Opera Competition, hosted by LA Opera this summer. The contest will be held from August 25 through 30, 2014. Tickets to the competition's final round—a Gala Finals Concert featuring the LA Opera Orchestra conducted by Mr. Domingo at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at 7:00pm on Saturday, August 30—are now on sale.

Das Rheingold am Freitag, 30. Mai 2014 bildet den Auftakt zu zwei Zyklen von Richard Wagners Der Ring des Nibelungen an der Wiener Staatsoper. Erstmals dirigiert Jeffrey Tate die Tetralogie (Inszenierung: Sven-Eric Bechtolf) im Haus am Ring. Jochen Schmeckenbecher gibt seine Alberich-Hausdebuts, KS Nina Stemme ist erneut in allen drei Brunnhilde-Partien (Die Walkure, Siegfried, Gotterdammerung) zu erleben, Tomasz Konieczny als Wotan bzw. Wanderer (Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried), Stephen Gould als Siegfried (Siegfried, Gotterdammerung), Elisabeth Kulman als Fricka (Das Rheingold, Die Walkure) und KS Peter Seiffert als Siegmund (Die Walkure - Rollendebut am Haus).

Das Rheingold am Freitag, 30. Mai 2014 bildet den Auftakt zu zwei Zyklen von Richard Wagners Der Ring des Nibelungen an der Wiener Staatsoper. Erstmals dirigiert Jeffrey Tate die Tetralogie (Inszenierung: Sven-Eric Bechtolf) im Haus am Ring. Jochen Schmeckenbecher gibt seine Alberich-Hausdebuts, KS Nina Stemme ist erneut in allen drei Brunnhilde-Partien (Die Walkure, Siegfried, Gotterdammerung) zu erleben, Tomasz Konieczny als Wotan bzw. Wanderer (Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried), Stephen Gould als Siegfried (Siegfried, Gotterdammerung), Elisabeth Kulman als Fricka (Das Rheingold, Die Walkure) und KS Peter Seiffert als Siegmund (Die Walkure - Rollendebut am Haus).

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced principal casting and performance dates for its first complete presentation of Richard Wagner's four-part Ring cycle. Three full cycles will be presented from April 30 to May 22, 2016 and will be directed by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin.