Shirley Verrett News

Following the success of its fall productions of Puccini's beloved La Fanciulla del West and the New York premiere of Tobias Picker's Dolores Claiborne, New York City Opera continues the 2017/2018 season in January 2018 with the New York premiere of Jos 'Pepe' Mart nez and Leonard Foglia's Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, the world's first mariachi opera.

Juilliard Opera's season opens with W.A. Mozart's romantic comedy La finta giardiniera on November 15, 17, and 19, 2017, led by distinguished Metropolitan Opera conductor Joseph Colaneri, who makes his Juilliard Orchestra debut, and directed by faculty member Mary Birnbaum.

New York City Opera will honor the 90th birthday of Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Dominick Argento with a concert featuring two of his one-act operas on November 9, 2017 at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. Soprano Heather Buck will perform Miss Havisham's Wedding Night and baritone Aaron Engebreth will sing A Water Bird Talk with Gil Rose conducting the New York City Opera Orchestra.

Juilliard Opera's season opens with W.A. Mozart's romantic comedy La finta giardiniera on November 15, 17, and 19, 2017, led by distinguished Metropolitan Opera conductor Joseph Colaneri, who makes his Juilliard Orchestra debut, and directed by faculty member Mary Birnbaum.

New York City Opera will honor the 90th birthday of Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Dominick Argento with a concert featuring two of his one-act operas on November 9, 2017 at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. Soprano Heather Buck will perform Miss Havisham's Wedding Night and baritone Aaron Engebreth will sing A Water Bird Talk with Gil Rose conducting the New York City Opera Orchestra.

New York City Opera opened New York's cultural season with a new production of Puccini's beloved La fanciulla del West, which WQXR called one of the resurrected City Opera's strongest productions yet. This October City Opera follows the success of La fanciulla del West with the world premiere of a new chamber adaptation of Tobias Picker's 2013 opera Dolores Claiborne, based on the novel by Stephen King. The adaptation has been prepared for City Opera by Picker, who is also City Opera's Composer-in-Residence.

The Metropolitan Opera will open its 133rd season on Monday, September 25 with a new production of Bellini's bel canto tragedy Norma. Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky returns to the Met as one of the world's leading interpreters of Norma, singing her first season opening performances.

Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Zeger, announces its 2017-18 season of opera and vocal arts performances.

New York City Opera's 2017/2018 season will offer four new mainstage productions at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater, including a Spanish-language opera as part of its Ópera en Español series. City Opera will also offer two New York City Opera Concerts in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall and a chamber opera series at locations to be announced. New York City Opera Orchestra will be featured in every opera.

Opera at Caramoor (photo: Gabe Palacio) This summer marks not only the 20th anniversary, but also the final season of 'Bel Canto at Caramoor,' the program founded by Director of Opera Will Crutchfield to champion neglected bel canto operas and re-interpret familiar ones. To honor the program's legacy, Caramoor launches the summer season with a gala selection of bel canto's greatest hits in 'A Night of Italian Opera' (June 17) and presents a semi-staged account of Bellini's first bel canto masterpiece, Il pirata (July 8). Mounted in the superb acoustics of the outdoor Venetian Theater on Caramoor's idyllic Westchester estate, both events feature the resident Orchestra of St. Luke's and showcase the exceptional artistry of 2017 Artist-in-Residence Angela Meade - 'the most talked-about soprano of her generation' (Opera News) - who first catapulted to national attention in the title role of Bellini's Norma at Caramoor seven years ago. For full details of this summer's operatic offerings at Caramoor, click here.

In its 2016 - 2017 season, New York City Opera presented the New York staged premiere of Rachmaninoff's Aleko, the New York premiere of Tobin Stokes's Fallujah, 10 sold-out performances of Bernstein's Candide, the modern-day revival of Respighi's La Campana Sommersa, and the American premiere of Antonio Literes's Baroque rarity Los Elementos. This June, New York City Opera concludes the season with the eagerly anticipated New York premiere of Peter Eotvos's Angels in America, based on the play by Tony Kushner.

The Dallas Opera is thrilled to present—for the first time on our stage—Vincenzo Bellini's suspense-filled masterpiece of the bel canto repertoire, NORMA, starring the phenomenal South African-born soprano Elza van den Heever in the title role of a Druid priestess wronged by the man she loves.

On this day in 1994, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's Carousel opened at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre.

Since opening the 2016 - 2017 season last September, New York City Opera has reestablished itself as a vital part of New York City's cultural landscape, delivering new productions, New York premieres and sold-out performances. The season opened with a critically acclaimed double bill of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and Rachmaninoff's Aleko bringing the latter to the New York stage for the first time. In November, City Opera presented the New York premiere of Tobin Stokes' Iraq War opera, Fallujah. Last month City Opera's new production of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, directed by Broadway legend Harold Prince became a highlight of the New York season, with a run that was extended from six to ten sold-out performances.

The Juilliard Opera season continues with a concert version and a fully staged production of G.F. Handel's Agrippina, presented by Juilliard as part of Carnegie Hall's La Serenissima: Music and Arts From the Venetian Republic festival.

The Juilliard Opera season continues with a concert version and a fully staged production of G.F. Handel's Agrippina, presented by Juilliard as part of Carnegie Hall's La Serenissima: Music and Arts From the Venetian Republic festival.

Following the successful, sold-out run of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, New York City Opera continues its 2016 - 2017 Concert Series with Oh, Happy Us, a romantic evening of song that reunites Candide stars Jay Armstrong Johnson (Candide), Meghan Picerno (Cunegonde), and Jessica Tyler Wright (Paquette). Legendary choreographer of stage and film, Patricia Birch directs this concert of selections from classic and contemporary musical theater that explores continuity in love and life. This one-night-only performance will take place on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2017, at 7:00 p.m., at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Appel Room.

The Juilliard Opera season continues with a concert version and a fully staged production of G.F. Handel's Agrippina, presented by Juilliard as part of Carnegie Hall's La Serenissima: Music and Arts From the Venetian Republic festival.

New York City Opera continues its 2016 - 17 season on November 17, 18, 19 and 20, 2016 with the New York premiere of Tobin Stokes and Heather Raffo's Fallujah, the first opera written about the Iraq War experience.

New York City Opera continues its 2016 - 17 season on November 17, 18, 19 and 20, 2016 with the New York premiere of Tobin Stokes and Heather Raffo's Fallujah, the first opera written about the Iraq War experience.