Soloman Howard News

Verdi's Macbeth opened at The Glimmerglass Festival July 11 in the company's first-ever production of the Shakespearean drama.

Verdi's Macbeth opened at The Glimmerglass Festival July 11 in the company's first-ever production of the Shakespearean drama. Check out a first look below!

The Glimmerglass Festival opened its season July 10 with a new production of Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Cal Performances at UC Berkeley today announced the public programs, academic endeavors, and University collaborations of the inaugural project of Berkeley RADICAL. The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem 2015 Orchestra Residency features Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela (SBSOV), September 22-26, 2015.

Last night North Carolina Opera's Artistic Director & Principal Conductor Timothy Myers revealed our new season at CAM Raleigh to fans and friends of the organization. Thank you to all who came out to support us as we head into a very exciting new season of opera performances!

(WASHINGTON)—Washington National Opera (WNO), led by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, today announced its 60th anniversary season, one that highlights classic, contemporary, and American works. The 2015-2016 season includes a new-to-Washington staging of Bizet's Carmen, the world premiere of a newly revised version of Appomattox by composer Philip Glass and librettist Christopher Hampton, a revival of WNO's charming holiday production of Hansel and Gretel, the company premiere of Kurt Weill's Lost in the Stars in a gripping production from Cape Town Opera, and WNO's first complete staging of Wagner's extraordinary four-part Ring Cycle, with a world-class cast under the direction of Francesca Zambello and featuring the WNO Orchestra conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin. Highlights from the 2015-2016 season will be performed by the WNO Orchestra and special guests at a free preview concert on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 6 p.m. as part of the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.

North Carolina Opera is thrilled to bring a cutting-edge opera experience to Triangle patrons this January with Approaching Ali, a 50-minute contemporary chamber opera. In his operatic debut, Richmond-based composer D.J. Sparr's Approaching Ali stunned and delighted Kennedy Center audiences last year in a performance that the Washington Times called “intensely emotional.”

North Carolina Opera is thrilled to bring a cutting-edge opera experience to Triangle patrons this January with Approaching Ali, a 50-minute contemporary chamber opera. In his operatic debut, Richmond-based composer D.J. Sparr's Approaching Ali stunned and delighted Kennedy Center audiences last year in a performance that the Washington Times called “intensely emotional.”

?North Carolina Opera will bring a cutting-edge opera experience to Triangle patrons this January with Approaching Ali, a 50-minute contemporary chamber opera. In his operatic debut, Richmond-based composer D.J. Sparr's Approaching Ali stunned and delighted Kennedy Center audiences last year in a performance that the Washington Times called 'intensely emotional.'

Verdi's Egyptian tragedy Aida, returned to the Met stage October 30 for a 16-performance revival with rotating casts of acclaimed artists and rising stars. The initial performances will star Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska, who made a notable Met debut in the role in 2012, as Aida; Olga Borodina in one of her best-known portrayals as the jealous princess Amneris; Marcello Giordani as the war hero Radamès, a role he first sang at the Met in 2012; Željko Lu?i? in his first-ever Met performances as Amonasro, Aida's father; Ukrainian bass Dmitri Belosselskiy in his Met role debut as the high priest Ramfis; and American bass Soloman Howard in his Met debut as the King. Italian tenor Antonello Palombi will make his Met debut as Radamès on November 22.

Verdi's Egyptian tragedy Aida, one of the most-performed operas in company history, will return to the Met stage October 30 for a 16-performance revival with rotating casts of acclaimed artists and rising stars. The initial performances will star Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska, who made a notable Met debut in the role in 2012, as Aida; Olga Borodina in one of her best-known portrayals as the jealous princess Amneris; Marcello Giordani as the war hero Radamès, a role he first sang at the Met in 2012; Željko Lu?i? in his first-ever Met performances as Amonasro, Aida's father; Ukrainian bass Dmitri Belosselskiy in his Met role debut as the high priest Ramfis; and American bass Soloman Howard in his Met debut as the King. Italian tenor Antonello Palombi will make his Met debut as Radamès on November 22.

George Gagnidze will sing the role of Amonasro in five performances of Verdi's Aida this season, replacing the originally announced Andrzej Dobber, who has withdrawn from the performances. Gagnidze will sing Amonasro on December 26 and 29 and January 2, 5, and 10 matinee.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced complete casting for its first full presentation of Richard Wagner's four-part Ring cycle. Three cycles will be presented from April 30 to May 22, 2016 and will be directed by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin. Contribution packages with priority seating for The Ring are on sale now. For more information, go to WNO's Ring website.

The Glimmerglass Festival has announced its 2015 Festival, which will celebrate the company's 40th anniversary. The 2015 Festival will feature Mozart's The Magic Flute, Verdi's Macbeth, Vivaldi's Cato in Utica and Bernstein's Candide. The productions will run in repertory in the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake in Cooperstown July 10 through August 23. These mainstage offerings will be complemented by lectures, concerts and other special events.

I love theater that challenges me as an audience member and An American Soldier does just that.

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents the world premiere of An American Soldier, June 13-14, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. An American Soldier features music by composer Huang Ruo and a libretto by David Henry Hwang. This new work, to be performed in English, is the second hourlong opera created under the auspices of the American Opera Initiative, WNO's commissioning program for contemporary American opera. An American Soldier is directed by David Paul and a chamber orchestra is conducted by Steven Jarvi; both are alumni of WNO's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

General Director Plácido Domingo will return to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage to open LA Opera's 2014/15 season, singing the role of Giorgio Germont in Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata, which also will star soprano Nino Machaidze in her role debut as Violetta.

General Director Plácido Domingowill return to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage to open LA Opera's 2014/15 season, singing the role of Giorgio Germont in Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata, which also will star soprano Nino Machaidze in her role debut as Violetta.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has announced the winners of its seventh annual 'O, Say Can You Sing?' competition held Monday, May 12: Matthew Moore, 16, and Dije Coxson, 16, both from Baltimore, Md. The teens competed against more than 50 other local vocalists to win the chance to sing the National Anthem at the BSO's Star-Spangled Spectacular concerts on Thursday, July 3 and Friday, July 4 at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, Md. (Baltimore County). See below for complete program details.

THE MAGIC FLUTE (Die Zauberflote), Mozart's last great work, is sometimes viewed as the precursor to musical theater. Mozart's friend, actor-producer Emanuel Schikaneder, wrote the original libretto in the German vernacular (as opposed to the more upper crust Italian) as a 'singspiel,' a play with music. In fact, THE MAGIC FLUTE has significantly more spoken dialogue than The Phantom of the Opera and certainly far more than Les Miserables.