Richard Tucker News

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.

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation today announced that lyric soprano Ailyn Pérez is the winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award.

In the first of three collaborations together this spring, Ailyn Perez and Stephen Costello reprise headline the Los Angeles Opera's signature production of Puccini's masterpiece. Marking Costello's house debut, the revival opens for six performances on May 12.

The Dallas Opera presents the third main stage production of the 2011-2012 "Tragic Obsessions" Season: Giuseppe Verdi's tender and bittersweet romance, LA TRAVIATA, opening Friday, April 13, 2012 at 7:30 PM in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Downtown Dallas. This will be the first time Verdi's "Fallen Woman" has appeared on the Winspear stage.

The Dallas Opera presents the third main stage production of the 2011-2012 "Tragic Obsessions" Season: Giuseppe Verdi's tender and bittersweet romance, LA TRAVIATA, opening Friday, April 13, 2012 at 7:30 PM in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Downtown Dallas. This will be the first time Verdi's "Fallen Woman" has appeared on the Winspear stage.

Soprano Angela Meade, the 2011 Richard Tucker Award winner, returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Elvira in Verdi's Ernani, February 2-25, singing the role with which she made an unscheduled "star is born" professional debut at the Met in 2008 substituting for an ill colleague.

On March 11, Pace University's inaugural Pace Presents season at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts in Lower Manhattan continues with a cabaret performance by world-renowned soprano Patricia Racette. Racette, a Richard Tucker Award winner and regular presence at major opera houses internationally for over 20 years, has received considerable acclaim for her performances, which the New York Times has described as "deeply affecting and impassioned," with her voice possessing "uncommon richness, expressivity and honesty."