Sir Andrew Davis News

Join the fearless young Siegfried on his adventure-filled journey to manhood (and discovery of love) over the course of this playful, musically magnificent opera. This is the third part of Richard Wagner's epic four-part Ring of the Nibelung cycle, of which each opera is a feast on its own. No prior Ring experience is necessary.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) held its Annual General Meeting today, announcing that the TSO ended the 2018 fiscal year with a surplus of $2.3 million. Board Chair Catherine Beck and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Loden outlined a series of initiatives over the past year that have focused the institution's forward momentum, bringing new financial stability and artistic vitality to the TSO. With the recent appointment of Gustavo Gimeno as its new Music Director starting in the 2020/21 season, and with today's announcement of the revenue surplus, the TSO has strengthened its position and is on track to complete multi-year strategic initiatives and continue delivering dynamic musical programs across Toronto.

It was previously reported that the Lyric Opera of Chicago had reached deals with four unions following ongoing negotiations with many of the opera's stakeholders. The opera had reached agreements with Stagehands Local 2, Wardrobe Local 769, Hair and Make-Up Local 476 and Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Local 750, according to Lyric Opera and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

Monday evening, November 12, 2018, 8 p.m., The New York Choral Society and Orchestra (NYCHORAL) will present its first program of the season, MY SHADOW AND MY LIGHT, under the baton of Music Director David Hayes at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. In honor of Veterans Day and in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War and the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Maestro Hayes has chosen a program that explores how three early 20th-century composers, two British and one American, created works expressing their deeply personal reactions to these profound moments in human history.

It was reported yesterday that the Lyric Opera of Chicago had reached deals with four unions following ongoing negotiations with many of the opera's stakeholders. The opera had reached agreements with Stagehands Local 2, Wardrobe Local 769, Hair and Make-Up Local 476 and Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Local 750, according to Lyric Opera and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

It was reported yesterday that the Lyric Opera of Chicago had reached deals with four unions following ongoing negotiations with many of the opera's stakeholders. The opera had reached agreements with Stagehands Local 2, Wardrobe Local 769, Hair and Make-Up Local 476 and Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Local 750, according to Lyric Opera and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

Lyric Opera of Chicago and representatives of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) announced today that Stagehands Local 2, Wardrobe Local 769, Hair and Make-Up Local 476 and Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Local 750 entered into multi-year labor agreements. Each of these agreements was unanimously ratified by the membership of each IATSE local.

The launch of a new season at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is always cause for celebration. Adding to the joy of returning to Roy Thomson Hall for the inaugural concert of the 2018/19 season on September 20, Interim Artistic Director Sir Andrew Davis and the Orchestra extend a warm welcome to Eric Abramovitz (Associate Principal Clarinet), Darren Hicks (Associate Principal Bassoon), Dasol Jeong (violin), Joseph Kelly (Assistant Timpani/Section Percussion), Hugo Lee (oboe), and Ashley Vandiver (viola), who are joining the TSO family.

Dan Novak, director of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, the professional artist development program at Lyric Opera of Chicago, is pleased to announce that soprano Mathilda Edge, mezzo-soprano Kathleen Felty, and bass Anthony Reed, have been accepted into this prestigious program for its 2019/20 Ensemble.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra Board Chair Catherine Beck and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Loden today announced that Spanish conductor Gustavo Gimeno will become the Orchestra's 11th Music Director beginning in 2020/21, the Orchestra's 99th season.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO), led by Sir Andrew Davis-Interim Artistic Director-embarks on its 97th season on Thursday, September 20 at Roy Thomson Hall. The opening concert highlights the Orchestra through the music of Berlioz: the epic Symphonie Fantastique, and the lesser-known Fantasy on Shakespeare's The Tempest, featuring the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Both works will be recorded live by Chandos Records for future release. The program, which is repeated on September 21 and 22, also includes Variations concertantes by Canadian composer Jacques Hetu-a remarkable work that was commissioned and premiered by the TSO in 2006.

As of today, individual tickets for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's 2018/19 performance season are available for purchase online at TSO.CA, by phone (416.593.1285), and in person at the TSO Patron Services Centre or the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) and Interim Artistic Director Sir Andrew Davis proudly announce that Canadian composer Emilie LeBelhas been selected as the TSO's new Affiliate Composer. Described as having a "deft compositional hand, unwilling to hurry ideas," and a style that is "impressively subtle and sensuous," Emilie LeBel specializes in concert-music composition focusing on textural landscapes, resonance, and variances in colour.

The Dallas Opera is proud to announce the names of the twelve distinguished professionals (six conductors, two administrators, and four observers) selected to participate in the fourth annual residency of the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera taking place Oct. 28 - Nov. 10, 2018 in Dallas, Texas:

A star-studded array of vocal talent with deep ties to Chicago gathers on stage at Lyric Opera to pay tribute to the city's wide-reaching influence across blues, jazz, rock, folk, hip-hop, gospel, opera and classical music in Great Performances: Chicago Voices, premiering nationwide Friday, August 10 at 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) and streaming the following day on pbs.org/gperf and PBS apps. Hosted by four-time Grammy-winning soprano Renée Fleming, the multi-genre concert special features performances by Fleming, Tony-winner Jessie Mueller (Waitress, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco, three-time Grammy-winning folk legend John Prine, Grammy-winning pop and gospel singer Michelle Williams (Destiny's Child), Grammy-winning jazz singer Kurt Elling and many more in a celebration of Chicago's rich and diverse vocal music legacy.

Comedian Josie Lawrence and emerging young star, Paapa Essiedu are today announced as actors for this year's BBC Ten Pieces Prom.

Last night during the regularly scheduled meeting, The Board of The Solti Foundation U.S. acknowledged the dedication and hard work of Artistic and Awards Committee Chair Elizabeth Buccheri by naming the Foundation's Opera Residency Programin her honor.The program, an expansion of the organization's work to help award recipients further develop their talent and careers, is the brainchild of Ms. Buccheri. Introduced in the 2014-15 season, the program places former Foundation award recipients with a distinguished U.S. opera house for one-on-one mentoring and coaching of an opera during the company's professional season. Conductors cannot apply to the program but are instead selected by the Artistic and Awards Committee.

Rock legend Robbie Robertson, internationally celebrated soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, and visionary philanthropists Tim and Frances Price have been named Honorary Fellows of The Royal Conservatory. These four extraordinary Canadians received this designation - the highest conferred by The Royal Conservatory - at The Royal Occasion, the organization's signature fundraising event, presented by TELUS.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is pleased to announce Simon Rivard as the TSO Resident Conductor & Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO) as of the 2018/19 season. Rivard was chosen in a nationwide search that culminated in a live audition with both the TSO and TSYO earlier this spring.

The North American premiere of Timothy Sheader's explosive Olivier Award-winning production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar opens at Lyric tonight, April 27, with performances through May 20 (press opening April 28). Lyric is the only place to experience the grand scale of this acclaimed production in its first staging outside London.