Richard Wagner News

Renowned soprano Renee Fleming completes her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series with two concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, tonight, April 26 and May 4.

The first of three complete Ring Cycles concluded on Tuesday night at the Metropolitan Opera as our hero, Siegfried, his true love, Brunnhilde, as well as the entirety of Valhalla went up in a burst of video projected and staged lit flames behind the massive 45-ton set of 24 rotating planks come to be known by some as Robert Lepage's Ring machine. Luckily for everyone involved- audience, performers and technicians alike, this cycle ran quite smoothly in comparison to previous seasons. One mishap happened in Das Rheingold as we descended into Nibelheim and the last five or six planks got stuck in the air and one black clad arm was seen pulling each back into place. Barring this one blip in an otherwise 19 hour breathtaking production is rather impressive given the scale and scope of this production which includes hydraulics, harnesses, flying, dying, fighting, love making, and a host of technical demands all enhancing the complex masterpiece which is Richard Wagner's music and libretto.

Accomplished high school musicians get the chance to perform side-by-side with members of the Utah Symphony in the annual All-Star Evening performance.

He was a passionate art dealer. Countless interesting encounters and events coined a life during which he compiled a very exquisite art collection. Now this unusual collection of the Munich art dealer Harry Beyer, who passed away last fall, will be sold at Ketterer Kunst.

Art & Culture Highlights in Dusseldorf

The 2012-2013 season at Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has been filled with stunning performances of astounding operatic talent; however, their current production of Richard Wagner's TRISTAN AND ISOLDE may be the sparkling gem of this fascinating season. Every aspect of the production gels with perfection, making this production remarkable and truly unforgettable.

Carnegie Hall presents conductor Christian Thielemann leading the venerable Staatskapelle Dresden in two concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage this April. Tonight, April 17 at 8:00 p.m., Maestro Thielemann conducts an all-Brahms program, featuring the composer's Symphony No. 4, Academic Festival Overture, and the Violin Concerto with acclaimed violinist Lisa Batiashvili. Earlier this year, the Deutsche Grammophon label released a new recording featuring Ms. Batiashvili's performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto with MR. Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden.

Indianapolis Opera is set to present Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, on May 10 & 12, 2013 at Clowes Memorial Hall in Indianapolis. The Flying Dutchman, a three-act opera, captures legends of a ghostly ship and a cursed sea captain in search of true love. See director/designer Joachim Schamberger's stunning vision come to life through the use of cutting edge projection technology and world-class singing. Tickets are reduced in price this season, starting at just $25 for The Flying Dutchman.

Indianapolis Opera is set to present Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, on May 10 & 12, 2013 at Clowes Memorial Hall in Indianapolis. The Flying Dutchman, a three-act opera, captures legends of a ghostly ship and a cursed sea captain in search of true love. See director/designer Joachim Schamberger's stunning vision come to life through the use of cutting edge projection technology and world-class singing. Tickets are reduced in price this season, starting at just $25 for The Flying Dutchman.

Seattle Opera's 2012/13 season concludes in May with a double bill of compelling twentieth-century operas, both new to the company: La Voix Humaine, by Francis Poulenc, and Giacomo Puccini's Suor Angelica. Both these one-act operas follow fascinating women who must grapple with despair as they meet their fate; but the two works, like the composers who created them, are extremely different. In Poulenc's sensual monodrama, a woman stumbles through a minefield of emotions as she attempts to stay connected to her ex-lover over the telephone. Puccini's mystical tragedy tells the story of a young nun who learns of the death of the son she was forced to abandon. She kills herself yet miraculously passes into a state of grace. Performances begin on May 4 and run through May 18.

The MET Orchestra concludes its 2012-2013 season at Carnegie Hall with the much anticipated return of Music Director James Levine leading the orchestra on Sunday, May 19 at 3:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. Maestro Levine is set to conduct the prelude to Act I of Wagner's Lohengrin; Schubert's Symphony No. 9, 'Great'; and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58, with pianist Evgeny Kissin. Maestro Levine last performed at Carnegie Hall with the MET Orchestra on Sunday, April 10, 2011 with Mr. Kissin.

The Metropolitan Opera will commemorate the 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner's birth with three complete performances of his epic four-opera masterwork, Der Ring des Nibelungen. The Ring cycles will begin April 6 at 1 p.m. with Das Rheingold and continue through the last day of the Met season, May 11, with an 11 a.m. matinee of Gotterdammerung.

Renowned soprano Renee Fleming completes her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series with two concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, April 26 and May 4. Appearing on Friday, April 26 at 8:00 p.m. with the New York Philharmonic and Music Director Alan Gilbert, Ms. Fleming performs the world premiere of a song cycle The Strand Settings by Swedish composer Anders Hillborg, commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic.

Marin Alsop leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a special Off the Cuff performance of the world premiere of Didi Balle's symphonic play A Composer Fit For A King: Wagner & Ludwig II on Friday, April 19 at 8:15 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore and Saturday, April 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The symphonic play will feature selections from Wagner's The Ring Cycle illuminated through performances by actors Richard Poe, Pomme Koch and Tony Tsendeas. Please see below for complete program details.

I absolutely love springtime in New York City. After months and months of bitter cold and grey skies, those first warm days revive the spirit and warm the heart with the promise of Spring. It was during those early warm days last year that I first began auditioning for "Pippin." I remember traveling to Brooklyn on Easter Sunday for my "circus audition." I had to perform cerceau (aerial hoop) and aerial fabric. I still remember vividly the hope and the nervous excitement I felt that day. I had never wanted to be in a particular show more in my entire life. I knew I was perfect for this show and desperately hoped the creative team would feel the same way. Now almost exactly one year later, I got to walk onto the stage at the beautiful Music Box Theatre and make my Broadway debut with that very show - truly a dream come true.

I've always been a sucker for a good vampire story--and Heinrich Marscher's opera DER VAMPYR fits the bill, though I don't expect it to turn up at the Metropolitan Opera any time soon. The American Symphony Orchestra under Leon Botstein, at Carnegie Hall this past Sunday, provided an exhilarating introduction to this 1827 singspiel, sung in German with dialogue in English.

Sarasota Opera Announces its 2013-14 Season

Carnegie Hall presents conductor Christian Thielemann leading the venerable Staatskapelle Dresden in two concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage this April. On Wednesday, April 17 at 8:00 p.m., Maestro Thielemann conducts an all-Brahms program, featuring the composer's Symphony No. 4, Academic Festival Overture, and the Violin Concerto with acclaimed violinist Lisa Batiashvili. Earlier this year, the Deutsche Grammophon label released a new recording featuring Ms. Batiashvili's performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto with Mr. Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden.