Sonya Yoncheva News

​​​​ Opera stories thrive on the tension of good versus evil, of light versus darkness, and although the outcomes are not always happy, there's always an interesting tale to be told.

Carl Tanner will sing the title role in the December 28 performance of VerdisOtello, replacing Stuart Skelton, who is ill.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: the star-studded cast is announced for an upcoming reading of Parade, watch the full Kennedy Center Honors, and more!

Well, it's that time of the year again--time for a look-back on what was worth making note of during the calendar year that's about to come to an end. It's from a totally personal, subjective point of view, of course, but frankly that's the way opera-lovers always seem to like it, n'est-ce pas? The productions worth noting come from places big, small and in-between, from composers old as the hills to freshly minted or somewhere in between (likewise the performers), from traditional or boldly modern to simply stand up and sing.

The Metropolitan Opera presents a double bill of two rarely performed one-act operas, Tchaikovsky's romantic fairy tale Iolanta and Bartók's harrowing Bluebeard's Castle, with six performances January 24 to February 14, 2019. Iolanta stars Sonya Yoncheva in the title role of a blind princess and Matthew Polenzani as Vaudémont, the knight who loves her. Bluebeard's Castle stars Angela Denoke as Judith, an innocent young bride who discovers the terrifying truth about her new husband, the menacing Bluebeard, sung by Gerald Finley. Henrik Nánási makes his Met debut conducting both operas, which are presented in a production by acclaimed director Mariusz Trelinski.

Talk about baptism by fire! That's what Gustavo Dudamel--that wunderkind of the classical conducting world--faced as he reached the podium of the Met for the first time Friday night. Not only was he conducting Verdi's great opera, OTELLO, but he was doing so with a last-minute substitute in the title role. The result: All went well with the Met's production of the masterwork.

Carl Tanner will sing the title role in Verdi's Otello in tonight's season premiere performance, replacing Stuart Skelton, who is ill.

To commemorate the start of Yannick Nézet-Séguin's new position as the Jeanette Lerman Neubauer Music Director, the Met is releasing an audio compilation of performance highlights on iTunes, as well as a series

The Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera presents the North American premiere of its heralded Voices of the Mountains program at Carnegie Hall in New York in a one-night-only performance on November 14, 2018. Voices of the Mountains is a multimedia concert inspired by the music of the Polish Highlands and featuring projections based on photos taken by Polish composer Mieczys?aw Kar?owicz. Conceived by Waldemar D?browski, General Director of Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera, Voices of the Mountains takes the audience on a musical journey of the Polish Highlands through chamber and vocal music by some of Poland's most revered composers, including Wojciech Kilar, Karol Szymanowski, Henryk Miko?aj Gorecki, and Frederic Chopin, in arrangements by the young Polish composer Jan Smoczy?ski, as well as traditional Highland melodies performed by Polish folk musicians.

The Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera presents the North American premiere of its heralded Voices of the Mountains program at Carnegie Hall in New York in a one-night-only performance on November 14, 2018. Voices of the Mountains is an interactive, multimedia concert featuring projections and inspired by the music of the Polish Highlands. The evening includes works by esteemed Polish composers Wojciech Kilar, Karol Szymanowski, Henryk Miko?aj Górecki, and Mieczys?aw Kar?owicz, in modern arrangements by the young Polish composer Jan Smoczy?ski.

The Metropolitan Opera presents Verdi's towering Shakespearean masterpiece Otello, with performances December 14, 2018, to January 10, 2019. Otello marks the Met debut of conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who over the last decade has transformed the Los Angeles Philharmonic into one of the most closely watched classical ensembles in the world. Starring in the title role of Shakespeare's doomed Moor is Stuart Skelton, with Sonya Yoncheva as the devoted Desdemona and Željko Lu?i? as the treacherous Iago. The cast also features Jennifer Johnson Cano as Emilia, Alexey Dolgov as Cassio, and Met stalwart James Morris as Lodovico. Julianna DiGiacomo sings the role of Desdemona on December 28.

The Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera presents the North American premiere of its heralded Voices of the Mountains program at Carnegie Hall in New York in a one-night-only performance on November 14, 2018. Voices of the Mountains is a multimedia concert inspired by the music of the Polish Highlands and featuring projections based on photos taken by Polish composer Mieczys?aw Kar?owicz. Conceived by Waldemar D?browski, General Director of Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera, Voices of the Mountains takes the audience on a musical journey of the Polish Highlands through chamber and vocal music by some of Poland's most revered composers, including Wojciech Kilar, Karol Szymanowski, Henryk Miko?aj Gorecki, and Frederic Chopin, in arrangements by the young Polish composer Jan Smoczy?ski, as well as traditional Highland melodies performed by Polish folk musicians.

The Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera presents the North American premiere of its heralded Voices of the Mountains program at Carnegie Hall in New York in a one-night-only performance on November 14, 2018. Voices of the Mountains is an interactive, multimedia concert featuring projections and inspired by the music of the Polish Highlands. The evening includes works by esteemed Polish composers Wojciech Kilar, Karol Szymanowski, Henryk Miko?aj Górecki, and Mieczys?aw Kar?owicz, in modern arrangements by the young Polish composer Jan Smoczy?ski.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage's 2018-19 Celebrity Opera Series opens with one of the most acclaimed sopranos in the world, Sonya Yoncheva, with Domingo Hindoyan, conductor, on Wednesday, November 7 at 7:30pm.  Zachary Woolfe said in The New York Times, "Yoncheva is a performer that I'd seek out, no matter what she does."  Tickets for members are now on sale.  Tickets for the general public will go on sale on Wednesday, September 12.

Mezzo-Soprano Emily D'Angelo from Canada/Italy and Tenor Pavel Petrov from Belarus, have just been announced as the First Prize Winners of Operalia's 26th edition. D'Angelo also claimed the Birgit Nilsson Prize, the Pepita Embil Prize for Zarzuela and the Prize of the Audience for a first-time-ever clean sweep of all top honors in Operalia's 26 years history. 

BroadwayWorld has a first look at OTELLO, on stage at The Met December 14th through January 10th 2019. Check out the first look below!

Season 12 of Great Performances at the Met continues Sunday, August 12 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) with Verdi's classic Luisa Miller, starring Sonya Yoncheva in the title role and Piotr Becza?a as Rodolfo, with Placido Domingo as Luisa's father, Miller.

The Grand, in Ellsworth is holding a week long celebration for its 80th birthday!

Tickets go on sale today for the Met's Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning Live in HD series' 2017-18 season, which begins on October 7 with the company's new production of Bellini's Norma.