Peter Volpe News

The Solti Foundation U.S. today announced details of an exciting new pilot residency project with the Grammy Award winning Florentine Opera Company to take place this 2014-15 season. The collaboration offers invaluable opera experience to two young conductors. Each three-week residency will provide private coaching and mentorship from Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Joseph Rescigno, and opportunities for conducting staging/orchestra rehearsals, banda and/or off-stage chorus. During their time in Milwaukee, the residents will also attend all music and staging rehearsals and the opening night performance, as well as other duties as assigned.

Stephen Costello looks forward to a number of important firsts in 2014-15. Besides creating the role of Michele in San Francisco Opera's world premiere production of Two Women, the Tucker Award-winning tenor returns to the Metropolitan Opera for a pair of house role debuts, reprising his star turn as Alfredo -- also seen this season at the Vienna State Opera -- in La traviata, and singing Camille in Susan Stroman's new staging of The Merry Widow. He makes his professional role debut as Ferrando in Così fan tutte at Houston Grand Opera, and house debuts at both Austin Lyric Opera, in the title role of a new Roméo et Juliette, and London's Wigmore Hall, where he launches the season with a solo recital in the prestigious Rosenblatt Series. Costello also joins his wife, soprano Ailyn Pérez, for romantic duets from their recent hit album, Love Duets, with the BBC Symphony at London's Barbican Hall, and on a U.S. duo recital tour to the opera houses of Washington, Dallas, San Diego, and Philadelphia.

The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera will be opening its 2014/15 Barnett & Company Masterworks Series with a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony on Thursday, September 11 at 7:30pm at the Tivoli Theatre. The CSO musicians, conducted by Music Director Kayoko Dan, will be joined by the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Chorus, under the direction of Darrin Hassevoort, the Lee University Chorale, under the direction of William Green, plus guest soloists Rosella Ewing, Pamela Hinchman, Daniel Weeks, and Peter Volpe. Arguably one of the most famous classical works, Beethoven's 9th, also known as the “Choral” Symphony, is best known for its famous melody to the poem “Ode to Joy.”

Reviving important but neglected operas is one of the ways the Bard SummerScape festival in New York's Annandale-on-Hudson has established itself, and this year's immersion in 'Schubert and His World' - culminating in the 25th-anniversary season of the Bard Music Festival - is no exception. To enrich its exploration of the roots of Austro-German Romanticism, Bard presents Euryanthe (1823) by Schubert's contemporary Carl Maria von Weber, marking the opera's first American revival in 100 years. Headlined by Ellie Dehn, Bard's original staging is by Kevin Newbury, creator of SummerScape's production of Richard Strauss's Die Liebe der Danae. Euryanthe's five performances (July 25, 27 & 30; August 1 & 3) feature the festival's resident American Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of music director Leon Botstein, who also leads semi-staged performances of Schubert's own seldom-heard opera Fierrabras starring Joseph Kaiser, best known for his leading role in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of The Magic Flute, on August 17, and of a double-bill of rarities - Schubert's one-act Singspiel Die Verschworenen and Franz von Suppe's operetta Franz Schubert - on August 10.

To enrich its immersion in "Schubert and His World," Bard SummerScape 2014 presents Euryanthe (1823) by Carl Maria von Weber, marking the opera's first American revival in 100 years. Headlined by Ellie Dehn, "a charismatic soprano with great stage presence" (Wall Street Journal), Bard's original staging is by Kevin Newbury, creator of SummerScape's "gold standard production" (WQXR) of Richard Strauss's Die Liebe der Danae. Euryanthe's five performances (July 25, 27 & 30; August 1 & 3) feature the festival's resident American Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of music director Leon Botstein, who also leads semi-staged performances of Schubert's own seldom-heard opera Fierrabras, starring Joseph Kaiser, on August 17, and of a double-bill of rarities - Schubert's one-act Singspiel Die Verschworenen and the first American presentation of Franz von Suppe's operetta Franz Schubert - on August 10. As the Financial Times concluded last season, "Some of the most important summer opera experiences in the U.S. are not at the better known festivals but at Bard SummerScape."

For the first time in 40 years Vancouver audiences will experience the magnificence of Verdi's spectacular masterpiece, Don Carlo, the emotionally gripping drama of a king's brutal power and a son's brash rebellion. With formidable orchestral forces, a massive chorus and a powerhouse international cast, VO's final – and biggest – production of 2013-2014promises to be this season's most explosive experience yet!

Reviving important but neglected operas is one of the ways the Bard SummerScape festival in New York's Annandale-on-Hudson has established itself, and this year's immersion in "Schubert and His World" - culminating in the 25th-anniversary season of the Bard Music Festival - is no exception. To enrich its exploration of the roots of Austro-German Romanticism, Bard presents Euryanthe (1823) by Schubert's contemporary Carl Maria von Weber, marking the opera's first American revival in 100 years. Headlined by Ellie Dehn, Bard's original staging is by Kevin Newbury, creator of SummerScape's production of Richard Strauss's Die Liebe der Danae. Euryanthe's five performances (July 25, 27 & 30; August 1 & 3) feature the festival's resident American Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of music director Leon Botstein, who also leads semi-staged performances of Schubert's own seldom-heard opera Fierrabras starring Joseph Kaiser, best known for his leading role in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of The Magic Flute, on August 17, and of a double-bill of rarities - Schubert's one-act Singspiel Die Verschworenen and Franz von Suppe's operetta Franz Schubert - on August 10.

For the first time in 40 years Vancouver audiences will experience the magnificence of Verdi's spectacular masterpiece, Don Carlo, the emotionally gripping drama of a king's brutal power and a son's brash rebellion. With formidable orchestral forces, a massive chorus and a powerhouse international cast, VO's final – and biggest – production of 2013-2014promises to be this season's most explosive experience yet!

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Jacques Lacombe present Verdi's mammoth Requiem today, April 3-6 in Newark, New Brunswick and Morristown with soprano Marianne Fiset, mezzo-soprano Janara Kellerman, tenor Russell Thomas, bass Peter Volpe and the Montclair State University Chorale. Thomas returns to NJSO stages after his performance of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the Orchestra in January. The April 5 performance at the State Theatre in New Brunswick is the NJSO's third College Night event of the season.

Washington National Opera (WNO), led by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, today announced its 2014-2015 season. It includes the company premiere of Daniel Catán's Spanish-language Florencia in the Amazon, a brand-new production of Puccini's classic La bohème, the company premiere of Rachel Portman's family opera The Little Prince, an English-language production of Poulenc's 20th-century drama Dialogues of the Carmelites, a revival of Wagner's epic The Flying Dutchman, and an acclaimed new-to- Washington staging of Rossini's Cinderella. A third season of the American Opera Initiative, including the world premiere of Penny by two alumni of the program, continues WNO's efforts to commission new works and expand the American repertory. Highlights from the 2014-2015 season will be performed by the WNO Orchestra and special guests at a free preview concert on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 6 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Opera House.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Jacques Lacombe present Verdi's mammoth Requiem April 3-6 in Newark, New Brunswick and Morristown with soprano Marianne Fiset, mezzo-soprano Janara Kellerman, tenor Russell Thomas, bass Peter Volpe and the Montclair State University Chorale. Thomas returns to NJSO stages after his performance of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the Orchestra in January. The April 5 performance at the State Theatre in New Brunswick is the NJSO's third College Night event of the season.

When it comes to operas by Giuseppe Verdi, Don Carlo has to be the most challenging one to produce. Which version do you use? The French version? The Italian translation? Given the over four hour running time of the full version, where do you make cuts, and why? And once you answer those questions, there's the content to deal with. How do you pack in the opera's themes of love, war, betrayal, politics, and the Spanish Inquisition? The later question is one that Austin Lyric Opera's current production fails to answer. While Don Carlo is 3 hours and 30 minutes of aural bliss, the story is handled in a clumsy and sometimes unfortunate way.

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 2013-2014 season with a new production honoring the 200th birthday of Giuseppe Verdi, one of opera's most legendary composers: The Force of Destiny, tonight, October 12-26 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Verdi's epic romantic and political drama, which hasn't been seen in Washington in nearly 25 years, will be presented in a daring and visually striking new production directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. Conductor Xian Zhang, in her WNO debut, leads the WNO Orchestra in interpreting some of Verdi's most beautiful melodies.

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 2013-2014 season with a new production honoring the 200th birthday of Giuseppe Verdi, one of opera's most legendary composers: The Force of Destiny, October 12-26 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Verdi's epic romantic and political drama, which hasn't been seen in Washington in nearly 25 years, will be presented in a daring and visually striking new production directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. Conductor Xian Zhang, in her WNO debut, leads the WNO Orchestra in interpreting some of Verdi's most beautiful melodies.

The Glimmerglass Festival kicked off its 2013 season on July 6 with a new production of Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The Glimmerglass Festival, the Central New York summer opera company, will celebrate its Young Artists and Summer Internship programs at GL!MMERATA, its 2013 Spring Gala, tonight, April 10 at The Metropolitan Club in Manhattan. The 2013 season marks the 25th anniversary of the company's Young Artists Program, the acclaimed apprenticeship for emerging singers.

The Glimmerglass Festival, the Central New York summer opera company, will celebrate its Young Artists and Summer Internship programs at GL!MMERATA, its 2013 Spring Gala, April 10 at The Metropolitan Club in Manhattan. The 2013 season marks the 25th anniversary of the company's Young Artists Program, the acclaimed apprenticeship for emerging singers.

The Glimmerglass Festival, the Central New York summer opera company, will celebrate its Young Artists and Summer Internship programs at GL!MMERATA, its 2013 Spring Gala, April 10 at The Metropolitan Club in Manhattan. The 2013 season marks the 25th anniversary of the company's Young Artists Program, the acclaimed apprenticeship for emerging singers.

The Glimmerglass Festival, the Central New York summer opera and musical theater company, has announced its 2013 season and its partnership in The Festival of American Romantics in Cooperstown, New York.

Offenbach's reputation was firmly established by his hugely successful comic operas, but with The Tales of Hoffmann, the composer of the famous 'Can-Can' from Orpheus in the Underworld was determined to achieve recognition as a composer of serious opera as well. Based on several short stories by the writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, The Tales of Hoffmann would soon become a favorite vehicle for many of the world's leading opera singers who relished the opportunity to exploit its limitless dramatic opportunities. Canadian tenor David Pomeroy, who made his 2009 Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of its new production of The Tales of Hoffmann, will make his FGO debut in the same role.