Today, at a press conference in Edinburgh, Director Jonathan Mills revealed the artists, companies and work from around the world which will fill the stages of Edinburgh's annual cultural celebration. Over 2,400 artists from 43 nations have been invited to Edinburgh to perform in the annual showcase of the world's great performing artists.
Internationally Acclaimed Tenor, James Valenti will be making his triumphant return tothe Metropolitan Opera located at 10 Lincoln Center Plaza in New York City as he takes on the role of Lt. Pinkerton inPuccini's “Madama Butterfly” on April 4, 9, 12 and 15. Valenti has been praised by critics for having a voice of Italianate lustre and is part of the long-standing tradition of great Italian tenors. The sought after 6'5 tenor has built a global reputation for his elegant musicianship, commanding stage presence, ardent vocal style and striking good looks.
The Scharoun Ensemble, a leading chamber music octet made up of members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, will play a program of Mozart, Dvorak and Beethoven on Thursday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Jorgensen. Glenn Stanley, a music historian in the UConn Music Department, will discuss musical points of interest at 6:45 p.m.
Ailyn Perez, winner of the Richard Tucker, Placido Domingo and Leonie Rysanek Awards, will make her Washington National Opera debut this March, stepping in for an indisposed colleague to star as Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. This career milestone follows on the heels of the soprano's recent success at London's Royal Opera House, where she proved herself 'a must-hear' (Guardian) in the title role of Manon.
Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov – whom the Metropolitan Opera just announced will star in the title role of a new production of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro for its 2014-15 season-opening gala – has earned a chorus of praise for his performance as the eponymous character in Dmitri Tcherniakov's new production of Prince Igor at the Met, which last staged Borodin's work nearly 100 years ago. In the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini enthused over Abdrazakov at length: “Solid and ruggedly handsome, Mr. Abdrazakov is a confident actor. Though his voice is firm and robust, he is not one of those formidable, gravelly Russian basses. He is a fine singer of Italian repertory, and his Igor has moments of Italianate lyrical refinement. He brings passion, even a touch of neediness, to his exchanges with his devoted wife, Yaroslavna. … Mr. Abdrazakov does his most burnished, powerful singing in the prince's despairing soliloquy [in Act II].” The New York Observer had a similar view: “Abdrazakov hurled his dark bass-baritone into Igor's soul-searching arias, the warm, lyrical tone suggesting the proud prince's underlying vulnerability.” WQXR likewise commended the bass's “sonorous” tone and Classical Review his “dramatic force.”
The Metropolitan Opera's 2014-15 season will feature 26 operas, three of them company premieres, in six new productions and 18 revivals showcasing the talents of the world's leading singers, conductors, and theater artists. The three operas that will have their first-ever Met performances, each staged by a director making his Met debut, are John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer, conducted by David Robertson and directed by Tom Morris, opening October 20; Rossini's La Donna del Lago, conducted by Michele Mariotti and directed by Paul Curran, opening February 16, 2015; and Tchaikovsky's one-act opera Iolanta, conducted by Valery Gergiev and directed by Mariusz Treli?ski. Iolanta will be presented in a double bill with a new staging of Bartok's one-act Duke Bluebeard's Castle, also conducted by Gergiev and directed by Treli?ski.
The 49th season of Lincoln Center's Great Performers series, which will run from November 2, 2014 through May 10, 2015, was announced today by Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director. Highlighting the season are the return of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, led by Riccardo Chailly and of Michael Tilson Thomasconducting the London Symphony Orchestra. The "Art of the Song" series returns in 2015 with recitals by four outstanding vocal artists. The 2014-2015 season also features a period-instrument chamber orchestra series, a recital series, and a film series, and includes pre- and post-concert discussions and lectures. A new series, "Complimentary Classical" will bring four compelling string quartets to the David Rubenstein Atrium in free concerts in 2015.
Richard Tucker Award-winner Ailyn Pérez – the “lyric soprano who truly seems to have it all” (Opera News) – takes on a trio of starring roles at London's Royal Opera House over the coming months. After launching the new year in the title role of Manon (Jan 31–Feb 4), she makes her role debut as Liù in Turandot (Feb 17–March 10), before giving her first scheduled Covent Garden performances in the title role of La traviata opposite her husband and fellow Tucker Award-winner, tenor Stephen Costello (May 6–20). Dubbed “America's fastest-rising husband-and-wife opera stars” (Associated Press), the couple brought down the house in London two years ago, when the soprano stepped in as a last-minute replacement to partner her husband in Verdi's masterpiece.
On his debut solo recording – Power Players: Russian Arias for Bass (DE 3456) – Ildar Abdrazakov returns to his Russian roots, celebrating the iconic bass roles that are the hallmark of his homeland's operatic heritage.
Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce will take a star turn together when they co-host the Ninth Annual Opera News Awards, set to take place on Sunday, April 13, 2014, in the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel in New York City. They will be joined by a distinguished line-up of presenters – Luca Pisaroni, Susan Graham, Renata Scotto, Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Francesca Zambello – who will pay tribute to five superb artists who have made an invaluable contribution to the art form: the late director Patrice Chéreau, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig,bass-baritone James Morris, and soprano Nina Stemme. First introduced in 2005, the Opera News Awards gala dinner, which features the hosts and presenters speaking about the awardees and introducing video performance clips, has become one of the most anticipated opera events of the season: an evening of celebration, appreciation, reuniting and celebrity-spotting that is without parallel in the industry.
Austin Lyric Opera (ALO) has announced that internationally acclaimed American tenor James Valenti will take on the title role of its season opener, 'Don Carlo'.
On November 20, Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja-Gramophone magazine's 2012 Artist of the Year-returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago to headline La traviata in an incisive new production from Princess Grace Award-winning director Arin Arbus (Nov 20-Dec 20). The tenor's most recent appearance at the venerable company was opposite Anna Netrebko in La boheme last season, when he "restored powerful and idiomatic singing to the character of Rodolfo" (Chicago Sun-Times), and justly "earned the torrent of applause he received" (Chicago Tribune). In October, Calleja released Amore, his latest album for Decca Classics. Drawing inspiration from legendary tenors-including Enrico Caruso, whom Calleja plays in James Gray's upcoming film The Immigrant, Amore includes such favorites as "Besame Mucho," "La Vie en Rose," "Time to Say Goodbye," and "You Raise Me Up."
The Metropolitan Opera and Le Poisson Rouge announced details for 'An Evening of Britten and Muhly,' two concerts at Le Poisson Rouge tonight, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Metropolitan Opera stars Patricia Racette, Kathleen Kim, and Iestyn Davies will perform at the event. Composer Nico Muhly will host and perform on piano.
The Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera) in Munich, Germany presents the 2013-14 season of STAATSOPER.TV - a free live-stream of select performances online at www.staatsoper.de/tv - including seven operas, six of which are new productions, and two ballets. The Bayerische Staatsoper, known for presenting provocative, experimental productions, is the first international opera house to present a full season of operas and ballets streamed live online at no cost, offering opera enthusiasts around the world the opportunity to see these artistically conceived and adventurous productions, many of which are sold out in the opera house, sung by today's most prominent artists.
The editors of Opera News are pleased to announce the honorees for the ninth annual Opera News Awards, paying tribute to five superb artists who have made invaluable contributions to the art form: director Patrice Chéreau, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig, bass-baritone James Morris and soprano Nina Stemme. The Opera News Awards ceremonywill take place on Sunday, April 13 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. All the winners - and a host of the city's cultural, civic, and social luminaries - will be present at the gala awards dinner, which will feature celebrity presenters speaking about the awardees and introducing video performance clips.
Austin Lyric Opera (ALO) has announced that internationally acclaimed American tenor James Valenti will take on the title role of its season opener, 'Don Carlo'.
Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov launches his 2013-14 in devilish style, opening the San Francisco Opera season by making his staged role debut as the title character of Boito's Mefistofele ( tonight, Sep 6-Oct 2).
The Metropolitan Opera and Le Poisson Rouge announced details for "An Evening of Britten and Muhly," two concerts at Le Poisson Rouge on Thursday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Metropolitan Opera stars Patricia Racette, Kathleen Kim, and Iestyn Davies will perform at the event. Composer Nico Muhly will host and perform on piano.
The Met's Summer HD Festival returns for its fifth year today, August 24, with ten free outdoor screenings of popular performances from the Met's award-winning Live in HD series.
Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov launches his 2013-14 in devilish style, opening the San Francisco Opera season by making his staged role debut as the title character of Boito's Mefistofele (Sep 6-Oct 2).
Videos
