Richard Tucker News

a?oeI have known for three generations how difficult the career of an opera singer remains,a?? said George London Foundation President Nora London at the announcement of the 2020 George London Award winners. a?oeThis all started because George wanted to help a?" and now we have been giving these awards for almost 50 years.a??

Soprano Angela Meade will perform the role of Queen Elizabeth I in LA Opera's production of Roberto Devereux. Ms. Meade replaces Davinia Rodríguez, previously announced for the role, who has withdrawn from the production due to illness.

Two years ago, when I first saw photos of the projected new COSI FAN TUTTE,which was a production that originated at English National Opera and was slated to come to the Met, I was circumspect. I had grown up on three previous incarnations of COSI, the first dating from the 1950's a very traditional production which starred Richard Tucker and Eleanor Steber, the subsequent one dating from the 1980's, which had featured Kiri TeKanawa, and the last from 1996, which starred Carol Vaness and Suzanne Mentzer as the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella. All were very much 'period' pieces which made no effort to update or change the locale from the original setting of eighteenth century Naples.

Washington National Opera's (WNO) 2020-2021 season offers an ambitious mix of sweeping political epics and intimate stories of interpersonal relationships, centered on human pursuits of justice, power, and love. Led by General Director Timothy O'Leary and Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, WNO announces the six mainstage titles in the 2020-2021 season: Fidelio, Nixon in China, Boris Godunov, Rigoletto, Così fan tutte, and La bohème.

San Francisco Opera's 2020 Summer SeasonSan Francisco Opera presents a trio of masterworks spanning the 18th century to the present for its 2020 Summer Season at the War Memorial Opera House June 7a?"July 3. In an update announced today, Caroline H. Hume Music Director Designate Eun Sun Kim will conduct Giuseppe Verdi's Ernani replacing James Gaffigan who has withdrawn from the production due to family reasons. The summer season will also include George Frideric Handel's Partenope in Christopher Alden's popular production and the Bay Area premiere of composer Mason Bates' kaleidoscopic exploration of life, love and creativity, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

Berkshire Opera Festival (BOF) has announced its Fifth Anniversary Season production of Mozart's iconic opera Don Giovanni, to be presented at the historic Colonial Theatre (Pittsfield, MA) August 22, 25, and 28, 2020. The opera, based on the legend of Don Juan, is one of Mozart's supreme achievements - and considered by many to be one of the greatest operas ever composed.

I admit this is an absolutely personal, totally one-sided view of what gave one man opera thrills last year and what I will look back on with delight. Some are old works, some are new, some are individual performers, some are ensembles, some are complete productions, some are merely the highlight of an evening, most are domestic, a few are foreign. In any case, as the new decade begins, I recall that these are the vocal highlights that made my heart beat a little faster and made me look forward to the year ahead.

San Diego Opera has announced addition to its 2019-2020 season with the Bel Canto Trio for one-night-only on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 7:30 PM at The Conrad Preby Performing Arts Center in the Baker-Baum Concert Hall (7600 Fay Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037). In 1947 Columbia Artist Management created The Bel Canto Trio, featuring tenor Mario Lanza, soprano Frances Yeend, and bass-baritone George London.

Be mere feet away from some of the world's most innovative classical music artists when the 2020 edition of the Hamlen-Palm Series welcomes three acclaimed performances in one intimate space: JACK Quartet, soprano Lisette Oropesa and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. The house concerts are produced by and benefit Classical Action, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

One of the cabaret community's newer artists, Deborah Stone, comes of age in her new show HERE I AM! After a run downtown at Pangea, she debuts at The Beach Cafe. In this interview with Stephen Mosher, Stone talks about the journey that got her where she is.

Verdi's timeless Aida returns to the Wortham stage in an awe-inspiring new production directed by Phelim McDermott. This stunning new design is enhanced by the incorporation of visionary artists Basil Twist's silk choreography. Set in ancient Egypt during the pinnacle of war, the captive princess Aida falls in love with a conquering general and must choose between true love and loyalty to her country. Verdi's powerful music heightens the unforgettable story of betrayal and sacrifice.

As a reviewer you hear lots of advance hype about a particular show or performer before having your own experience. Much of the time the hype doesn't live up to the end product. Selling over 90 million recordings opera singer Andrea Bocelli was definitely one of those performers who I had heard a lot about before seeing him perform live at Capital One Arena. I of course was familiar with some of his recordings but nothing prepared me for what I was about to witness. Here is a case where the hype not only lived up to the end product it exceeded it at least twenty fold. Bocelli stepped out onstage and flat out held around 20,000 concertgoers spellbound with his ringing tenor in a concert that included some of the most beautiful arias ever written.

The Utah Symphony Masterworks series' first performances of 2020 kick off on January 3-4 with Utah Symphony Associate Conductor Conner Gray Covington returning to the podium following his acclaimed early debut in November and the first of many celebrations of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. On January 9-11 one of the greatest living mezzo-sopranos, Isabel Leonard along with conductor Bernard Labadie will join Utah Symphony for an evening of highlights from Mozart's operatic and concert catalogue. Highlights for the performances include Beethoven's 'Leonore' Overture No. 3 and Debussy's 'La mer' on January 3-4, and three pieces from Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro' on January 9-11. Tickets are priced from $10-$92 and can be purchased at utahsymphony.org or by calling (801) 533-6683.

a?oeSecret love bound by silence.a?? Once the most performed opera of its time, Donizetti's bel canto drama, La favorite, features some of the most challenging arias ever written. Woven into this nowa?"rarely performed opera is a classic love triangle among a noblewoman, king and warrior. Set in early 14th century Spain, this triangle involves the King of Castile Alphonse XI, the beautiful Léonor and a novice monk, Fernand. In the background, the Moors have invaded Spain, and a power struggle has begun between church and state. Opera powerhouse and HGO Studio alumna Jamie Barton and international star Lawrence Brownlee return to Houston for this HGO premiere. World-renowned opera, film, theater and event director Kevin Newbury directs La favorite.

General Director Ken McConnell and Artistic Director Tobias Picker today announced Tulsa Opera's 73rd season comprising Verdi's Rigoletto; Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice in a new production with dance; and Mr. Picker and librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman's new opera Awakenings, based on the book by Oliver Sacks and directed by Tulsa native James Robinson. 

American Symphony Orchestra comes to Alice Tully Hall for the holiday season with a concert titled Sons of Bach on Thursday, December 19 at 8 PM. The program will offer rarely-performed works by four of J.S. Bach's sons, showcasing the compositional mastery the young men learned from their father, and also revealing how each was able to develop his own unique style.

San Diego Opera's 2019-2020 season continues with a special one-night-only event on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 7:30 PM when soprano Ailyn Pérez and tenor Joshua Guerrero perform in concert at the Balboa Theatre. They will be accompanied by pianist Abdiel Vázquez. Ailyn Pérez is no stranger to San Diego Opera, having made her Company debut as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in 2010, returning to sing Marguerite in Faust in 2011, and in recital in 2014. In demand at all the major opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, and Opéra National de Paris, Ms. Pérez is the winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award, the 15th annual Plácido Domingo Award, and the 14th annual Opera News Award. 

It's hard to imagine the logistics in putting together a complex program like the one that the audience at Carnegie Hall was treated to on Sunday evening for the 2019 RICHARD TUCKER GALA. But New York-born conductor James Gaffigan pulled it off wonderfully with the help of members of the Met Orchestra and the New York Choral Society--and a gaggle of amazing singers, beginning with this year's winner of the Tucker Award, Lisette Oropesa.

Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, an operatic fable about the power of music, returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time since 2011 for seven performances beginning October 20, 2019.

Cincinnati Opera proudly presents world-renowned tenor Stephen Costello in a special concert event this fall.