Peter Maxwell Davies News

San Francisco -- As part of its unique annual Hands-on-Opera education and youth performance program, Opera Parallèle (OP) will present the world premiere of Amazing Grace, by OP composer-in-residence Christopher Pratorius. Based on the children's book of the same name by Mary Hoffman and with a libretto by Opera Parallèle's Brian Staufenbiel and Roma Olvera, three free performances will be presented this weekend, November 12 & 14, at the African American Art & Culture Complex in San Francisco.

Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) premieres its Opera Annex production of Philip Glass'sdark, thought-provoking In the Penal Colony at the Cyclorama at Boston Center for the Arts, directed by BLO Emerging Artist alumnus R. B. Schlather and running tonight, November 11-15, 2015.

Boston, MA — October 15, 2015 – Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) premieres its Opera Annex production of Philip Glass'sdark, thought-provoking In the Penal Colony at the Cyclorama at Boston Center for the Arts, directed by BLO Emerging Artist alumnus R. B. Schlather and running November 11-15, 2015.  The one-act, three-character chamber opera (which Glass dubbed a “pocket opera” for its small cast and musical ensemble, and its 90-minute running time), is based on the 1914 Franz Kafka short story: a pitch-black fable about crime and a very unusual punishment.

Boston, MA — October 15, 2015 – Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) premieres its Opera Annex production of Philip Glass's dark, thought-provoking In the Penal Colony at the Cyclorama at Boston Center for the Arts, directed by BLO Emerging Artist alumnus R. B. Schlather and running November 11-15, 2015.  The one-act, three-character chamber opera (which Glass dubbed a “pocket opera” for its small cast and musical ensemble, and its 90-minute running time), is based on the 1914 Franz Kafka short story: a pitch-black fable about crime and a very unusual punishment.

San Francisco, August 31, 2015 – Acclaimed Opera Parallèle will present its annual gala benefit Today, October 3, at 6:30 pm, at Marines' Memorial Club in San Francisco featuring an original “Jukebox Opera” entitled Heroes, created by the Company's artistic team and performed by baritone Michael Mayes, who performed the role of Joe DeRocher in OP's 2015 production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. The performance will showcase another side of this charismatic artist together with Opera Parallèle's Founder and Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel, who will trace the journey of a hero in arias by Heggie, Bernstein, Adamo, and others. The evening will also include cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, dinner, performance, and auction presented in The Commandant's Ballroom & Lounge at the classic 1920's Beaux-Arts hotel, Marines' Memorial Club. Tickets are priced from $350, with tables and sponsorships available for $3,500-$10,000 and all proceeds benefit Opera Parallèle and its cutting-edge productions including this season's premiere at SFJAZZ of Terence Blanchard's Champion February 19-28 and Peter Maxwell Davies' The Lighthouse April 29-May 1 at ZSpace in San Francisco. For tickets and information, visit www.operaparallele.orgor call Roma Olvera at 415.626.6279.

San Francisco, August 31, 2015 – Acclaimed Opera Parallèle will present its annual gala benefit Saturday, October 3, at 6:30 pm, at Marines' Memorial Club in San Francisco featuring an original “Jukebox Opera” entitled Heroes, created by the Company's artistic team and performed by baritone Michael Mayes, who performed the role of Joe DeRocher in OP's 2015 production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. The performance will showcase another side of this charismatic artist together with Opera Parallèle's Founder and Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel, who will trace the journey of a hero in arias by Heggie, Bernstein, Adamo, and others. The evening will also include cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, dinner, performance, and auction presented in The Commandant's Ballroom & Lounge at the classic 1920's Beaux-Arts hotel, Marines' Memorial Club. Tickets are priced from $350, with tables and sponsorships available for $3,500-$10,000 and all proceeds benefit Opera Parallèle and its cutting-edge productions including this season's premiere at SFJAZZ of Terence Blanchard's Champion February 19-28 and Peter Maxwell Davies' The Lighthouse April 29-May 1 at ZSpace in San Francisco. For tickets and information, visit www.operaparallele.orgor call Roma Olvera at 415.626.6279.

San Francisco, CA, August 28, 2015 – As part of its unique annual Hands-on-Opera education and youth performance program, Opera Parallèle (OP) will present the world premiere of Amazing Grace, by OP composer-in-residence Christopher Pratorius. Based on the children's book of the same name by Mary Hoffman and with a libretto by Opera Parallèle's Brian Staufenbiel and Roma Olvera, three free performances will be presented November 12 & 14at the African American Art & Culture Complex in San Francisco. The fully staged and costumed production will be developed during an innovative eight-week residency with fourth and fifth grade students at Saint Martin de Porres Catholic School in Oakland, assisted by the Opera Parallèle creative team and professional singers. The production will be directed by Krista Wigle, and conducted by David Gordon. Performances will be given Thursday, November 12, at 6 pm and Saturday, November 14, at 11 am and 1 pm at the African American Art & Culture Complex, 762 Fulton Street (at Webster) in San Francisco. Admission is free; past Hands-on-Opera performances have filled up quickly, so audience members are encouraged to arrive early. For more information, visit www.operaparallele.org .

Inside Intelligence is proud to conclude its 20th anniversary season at the Arcola, as part of the Grimeborn Festival, with an exciting double bill: the European premiere of The Wanton Sublime by twice Grammy-nominated composer Tarik O'Regan (Heart of Darkness) and Peter Maxwell Davies' The Medium.

Music Director and Principal Conductor Christopher Confessore has announced concerts and events for the 2015-2016 season.   Maestro Confessore will lead the Orchestra for 23 performances including six subscription concerts and three free concerts.

(Boston, MA) – Odyssey Opera, a Boston-­based opera company dedicated to exploring the full spectrum of adventurous repertoire, today announced THE BRITISH INVASION, a month-­??long opera festival of fully-­staged productions of works by English composers. From May 17-­June 20, Boston opera lovers will have the unique opportunity to choose from four evening-­length programs encompassing nine diverse operatic works, including the Boston premiere of Vaughan Williams's Sir John in Love, a double bill of Walton's The Bear and Sullivan's The Zoo, five compelling monodramas, and Adès's masterpiece of modern cultural commentary, Powder Her Face. (See below for complete program details.)

Odyssey Opera, a Boston-­??based opera company dedicated to exploring the full spectrum of adventurous repertoire, today announced THE BRITISH INVASION, a month-­??long opera festival of fully-­??staged productions of works by English composers. From May 17-­??June 20, Boston opera lovers will have the unique opportunity to choose from four evening-­??length programs encompassing nine diverse operatic works, including the Boston premiere of Vaughan Williams's Sir John in Love, a double bill of Walton's The Bear and Sullivan's The Zoo, five compelling monodramas, and Ade?s's masterpiece of modern cultural commentary, Powder Her Face. (See below for complete program details.)

San Francisco, CA, April 9, 2015 – Opera Parallèle has announced its 2015--2016 season, which will feature its first collaboration with SFJAZZ, a new production of Peter Maxwell Davies' riveting and mysterious The Lighthouse, and the world premiere of a new children's opera by Chris Pratorius. Opera Parallèle and SFJAZZ will present their first collaboration: a new, fully staged production of Champion: An Opera in Jazz by Terence Blanchard, SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director, with eight performances to be given February 19-28, 2016 at SFJAZZ Center. Based on the life of African-American boxing champion Emile Griffith (1938-2013), the production marks both Opera Parallèle's first foray into an operatic jazz idiom and SFJAZZ's first opera. The complete schedule of performances will be announced and tickets go on sale to the general public mid-July, 2015. For more information, visit www.operaparallele.org and www.sfjazz.org. Peter Maxwell Davies' three-character opera, The Lighthouse, based on the mysterious and unsolved disappearance of three people off the Scottish coast in 1900 will be given a new production April 29-May 1, 2016 at Z Space in San Francisco. The season will open with the world premiere of a new children's opera by Chris Pratorius entitled Amazing Grace, featuring San Francisco fourth graders and soloists, November 12-14, 2015, at a venue to be announced. For more information about the Opera Parallèle season, visit www.operaparallele.org .

The Oratorio Society of New York is in its 142nd season as the city's standard for grand choral performance, and its tenth with its current music director, Kent Tritle. Celebrating the culmination of their landmark season together and, as it happens, emergence from a frigid and stormy winter, Tritle and the OSNY will present two life-affirming works for their spring concert: the ardent, hopeful Chichester Psalms of Leonard Bernstein, which will be conducted by the OSNY's associate conductor, David Rosenmeyer (also marking his tenth season with the group), and Carl Orff's spirited, bawdy Carmina Burana. Soloists Jennifer Zetlan, soprano; Peter Tantsits, tenor; Takaoki Onishi, baritone, and the Choristers of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine join the OSNY on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at 8:00 pm, at Carnegie Hall.

Odyssey Opera, a Boston-­??based opera company dedicated to exploring the full spectrum of adventurous repertoire, today announced THE BRITISH INVASION, a month-­??long opera festival of fully-­??staged productions of works by English composers. From May 17-­??June 20, Boston opera lovers will have the unique opportunity to choose from four evening-­??length programs encompassing nine diverse operatic works, including the Boston premiere of Vaughan Williams's Sir John in Love, a double bill of Walton's The Bear and Sullivan's The Zoo, five compelling monodramas, and Ade?s's masterpiece of modern cultural commentary, Powder Her Face. (See below for complete program details.)

DALLAS, FEBRUARY 9, 2015 – Working to address a long-standing career issue in the opera world, The Dallas Opera is delighted to announce the launch of a unique, new residential program designed to provide training and career support for distinctively talented women conductors. Female conductors age forty and younger, as well as accomplished women singers, opera coaches and accompanists, and instrumentalists with established careers seeking a new career at the podium, are encouraged to apply.

The Dallas Opera is extremely proud to present the third production in its 2014-2015 'Heights of Passion' Season, an unusual double bill: the eagerly anticipated world premiere of EVEREST -- the first opera by renowned British composer Joby Talbot with a superb libretto by Gene Scheer (Moby-Dick) -- preceded by the climactic final act of an 1892 opera rarity: Alfredo Catalani's LA WALLY (Act IV) set in the Tyrolean Alps. Opening night will take place tonight, January 30, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

The Dallas Opera presents a new production of Alfredo Catalani's LA WALLY (Act IV).