Richard Tucker News

Houston Grand Opera, with Music Director Patrick Summers and Managing Director Perryn Leech, announces its 2012-13 season, headlined by four new productions. The first of these is Puccini's La boheme, which launches the new season with a new staging by award-winning British director John Caird. To honor 2013's joint bicentennials of Wagner and Verdi, the coming season juxtaposes Tristan und Isolde - starring Ben Heppner and Nina Stemme in a new contemporary staging by Christof Loy - with a revival of Steven Lawless's unforgettable take on Il trovatore. British conductor Trevor Pinnock leads a strong international cast in Mozart's ensemble masterpiece Don Giovanni, while Francesca Zambello's new production of Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat brings together stars of Broadway and the opera house in a celebration of America's own contribution to the art. For a more intimate experience, Daniela Barcellona and Lawrence Brownlee star in Rossini's dramma giocoso, The Italian Girl in Algiers.

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation holds its 37th annual gala, one of the most highly anticipated events of the opera season, on Sunday, November 11 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York's Lincoln Center. Soprano Ailyn Perez, winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award and the first Latina singer to be so honored, joins a dazzling array of special guests - including baritones Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Gerald Finley; mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina; tenor Marcello Giordani; bass Ildar Abdrazakov; bass-baritone Erwin Schrott; and many more - in a program of favorite arias and ensembles, including selections by Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti, Massenet, Mascagni, Handel, and Wagner. Maestro Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director of Houston Grand Opera, leads the lineup of luminaries, supported by members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the New York Choral Society.

The Collegiate Chorale announces its upcoming performance with the American Symphony Orchestra, Beatrice di Tenda by Vincenzo Bellini on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at 6pm at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, NYC. Tickets start at $12.50 and are available at www.carnegiehall.org.

Lincoln Square Business Improvement District (BID) hosts the 13th annual Winter's Eve at Lincoln Square, New York City's largest outdoor holiday festival on Monday, November 26th from 5:00PM - 9:00PM.

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents American soprano Angela Meade in recital on Saturday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Accompanied by Bradley Moore on piano, Ms. Meade will perform a diverse selection of opera arias and lieder. In a special preview of her spring 2013 performances at WNO, the program will include Norma's famous aria "Casta Diva." This one-time-only performance is sold out.

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) announces the release of the seventh album on its record label St. Luke's Collection: a live recording of Schoenberg and Riehn's masterful chamber arrangement of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. The work was performed to great acclaim in September 2011 by St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble with conductor George Manahan, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano and tenor Paul Groves at Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC).

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) has just announced the release of the seventh album on its record label St. Luke's Collection: a live recording of Schoenberg and Riehn's masterful chamber arrangement of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. The work was performed to great acclaim in September 2011 by St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble with conductor George Manahan, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano and tenor Paul Groves at Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC).

Lincoln Square Business Improvement District (BID) hosts the 13th annual Winter's Eve at Lincoln Square, New York City's largest outdoor holiday festival on Monday, November 26th from 5:00PM - 9:00PM.

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).

Music Director David Hayes has announced the New York Choral Society's (NYCS) 54th concert season. The season opens September 11 with a performance at St. Patrick's Cathedral, under the auspices of the September Concert Foundation, in commemoration of those affected by the 9/11 tragedy. The NYCS will perform the Gloria in Excelsis from Vivaldi's Gloria, excerpts from Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna, and the American Spiritual, Do Lord Remember Me, arranged by Andre J. Thomas.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has declared Tuesday, August 28, 2012 "Richard Tucker Day" in New York City, marking what would have been the legendary Brooklyn-born tenor's 99th birthday.

Florida Grand Opera will celebrate the start of the 72nd opera season with its annual gala - "An Evening at the Cafe Momus". Held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, this glamorous themed evening will follow the opening night performance of Puccini's La boheme on November 17, 2012, featuring opera stars Ailyn Perez and Arturo Chacon-Cruz.

The highly-anticipated Free Summer Concert Series is back on the Upper West Side, heating up Lincoln Square this July and August with outdoor concerts at Richard Tucker Park. Music lovers are invited to bring lunch, join friends and enjoy performances by a diverse mix of New York City's most talented and eclectic musicians and singers. Plus, in addition to great music, YogaWorks will be holding free restorative stretch sessions in between music sets for people looking for a lunch time cool down.

The highly-anticipated Free Summer Concert Series is back on the Upper West Side, heating up Lincoln Square this July and August with outdoor concerts at Richard Tucker Park.

Fresh from a triumphant spring crowned by her 2012 Richard Tucker Award win, Ailyn Perez will spend her summer in the spotlight, headlining major productions with leading companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Her tour begins in Moscow, where she sings the role of Suzel in Mascagni's L'amico Fritz at the Moscow State Philharmonic Society (June 25). A brief stop in New York is highlighted by a special performance at the Greene Space (June 27) celebrating her Tucker Award win. From there, she heads to Ohio to sing Violetta in Verdi's La traviata at Cincinnati Opera (July 25-29), followed by performances as Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflote with the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia (Aug 16-18). The summer comes to a peak at the Salzburg Festival (Aug 23), when the lyric soprano reprises her star turn as Mimi in Puccini's La boheme.

The highly-anticipated Free Summer Concert Series is back on the Upper West Side, heating up Lincoln Square this July and August with outdoor concerts at Richard Tucker Park. Music lovers are invited to bring lunch, join friends and enjoy performances by a diverse mix of New York City's most talented and eclectic musicians and singers. Plus, in addition to great music, YogaWorks will be holding free restorative stretch sessions in between music sets for people looking for a lunch time cool down.

Fresh from a triumphant spring crowned by her 2012 Richard Tucker Award win, Ailyn Perez will spend her summer in the spotlight, headlining major productions with leading companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Her tour begins in Moscow, where she sings the role of Suzel in Mascagni's L'amico Fritz at the Moscow State Philharmonic Society (June 25). A brief stop in New York is highlighted by a special performance at the Greene Space (June 27) celebrating her Tucker Award win. From there, she heads to Ohio to sing Violetta in Verdi's La traviata at Cincinnati Opera (July 25-29), followed by performances as Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflote with the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia (Aug 16-18). The summer comes to a peak at the Salzburg Festival (Aug 23), when the lyric soprano reprises her star turn as Mimi in Puccini's La boheme.

Today, May 18, legendary American opera soprano Lauren Flanigan, known for creating memorable contemporary opera roles, stars in 'Lauren Flanigan's 4th Annual 50th Birthday Bash,' presented by American Opera Projects and Music and Mentoring House. The evening is a marathon concert of fifty-four (54) rarely-heard songs performed by Flanigan and friends. Harlem's historic Italian bistro Ristorante Settepani, 196 Lenox Ave. at 120th St., will serve a special menu of Lauren's favorite appetizers and entrees. Tickets are $54 ($39 tax-deductible) and must be purchased in advance at http://flaniganis50again.eventbrite.com or at www.operaprojects.org. Proceeds go towards American Opera Projects' Composers & the Voice program that commissions, develops, and presents contemporary opera.

On Friday, May 18, legendary American opera soprano Lauren Flanigan, known for creating memorable contemporary opera roles, stars in 'Lauren Flanigan's 4th Annual 50th Birthday Bash,' presented by American Opera Projects and Music and Mentoring House. The evening is a marathon concert of fifty-four (54) rarely-heard songs performed by Flanigan and friends. Harlem's historic Italian bistro Ristorante Settepani, 196 Lenox Ave. at 120th St., will serve a special menu of Lauren's favorite appetizers and entrees. Tickets are $54 ($39 tax-deductible) and must be purchased in advance at http://flaniganis50again.eventbrite.com or at www.operaprojects.org. Proceeds go towards American Opera Projects' Composers & the Voice program that commissions, develops, and presents contemporary opera.

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.