Stephanie Blythe News

Now in its 38th year, the Schwabacher Recital Series, presented by San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program, returns Tuesday, March 15.  The series of four recitals (March 15, April 6, April 27 and July 28) at San Francisco's Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater and San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall presents emerging artists from around the globe in the intimacy of a recital setting,

New York Festival of Song today releases From Rags to Riches: 100 Years of American Song on its new in-house label, NYFOS Records.

On Site Opera, New York's pioneering opera company rooted in site-specific storytelling and the immersive experience, revisits the perils, hilarity, and teachable lessons of 2020 with Lesson Plan, a live and interactive digital production based on Georg Phillip Telemann's Der Schulmeister with additional music and new English libretto by Rachel J. Peters, Friday, January 21- Saturday, January 29, 2022. 

Continuing a treasured holiday tradition, the Met presents a new installment in its series of abridged opera adaptations for family audiences. Laurent Pelly's storybook staging of Massenet's Cendrillon, a hit of the 2017-18 season, is presented with an all-new English translation in an abridged 90 minutes, with mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as its rags-to-riches princess.

The Met will present a new installment in its series of abridged, English-language opera adaptations for family audiences with Massenet’s enchanting Cinderella. Eight performances run December 17, 2021–January 3, 2022, of Laurent Pelly’s whimsical storybook staging of the beloved fairytale, which first premiered at the Met in the 2017–18 season.

Massenet's Cinderella runs at the Metropolitan Opera beginning December 17. Get a first look at the cast in rehearsals!

Massenet’s Cinderella runs at the Metropolitan Opera beginning December 17. A new video was posted to the company's YouTube, featuring Renee Fleming interviewing two of the production's stars. In addition, get a sneak peek at rehearsals for the upcoming performance.

On Site Opera, New York's pioneer opera company rooted in site-specific storytelling and the immersive experience, announced today the appointment of Emily Barber as the company's new Production Manager ahead of the start of their tenth anniversary season beginning next month. Barber will replace former Director of Production and Artistic Administration, Christopher Staub, who was recently named Operations Manager at Houston Grand Opera.

 On Site Opera, New York’s pioneering opera company rooted in site-specific storytelling and the immersive experience, revisits the perils, hilarity, and teachable lessons of 2020 with Lesson Plan, a live and interactive digital production based on Georg Phillip Telemann’s Der Schulmeister with additional music and new English libretto by Rachel J. Peters, Friday, January 21- Saturday, January 29, 2022.

On Friday, January 28, 2022, New York Festival of Song releases From Rags to Riches: 100 Years of American Song on its new in-house label, NYFOS Records.

The label's debut album features the acclaimed voices of mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and tenor William Burden, together with Steven Blier, Artistic Director of the NYFOS who accompanies Blythe and Burden, on piano in works spanning art song, musical theater, jazz, and opera.

San Diego Opera's safe return to indoor performances began last week with the first of three intimate concerts showcasing some of today's most exciting singers with a varied and diverse repertoire of opera, show tunes, spirituals, and zarzuela. The first concert, featuring mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe exploring the songs of Johnny Mercer, occurred this past Saturday to popular and critical acclaim.

The imposing mezzo soprano Stephanie Blythe is known for her roles in Wagner, Verdi and Stravinsky. Why would she begin a Balboa Theatre recital for the San Diego Opera with Johnny Mercer’s 'Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive?” Here’s what she said in a recent interview, “I’ve been a great fan of Johnny Mercer’s and I’ve been singing the music of his Great American Songbook for a very long time.” Rather than a concert-hall recital, Blythe was doing cabaret, and doing it far better than most of the opera singers who try to crossover. Her main problem had to be choosing which songs to include in her tribute to Johnny Mercer. He wrote 1500 of them, most often sticking to lyrics in collaboration with the A-list melodic composers of his era. At one point in the 40s he had five of the top ten on the popular radio show “Your Hit Parade.” (If you remember Snooky Lanson and Dorothy Collins, I wouldn’t mention it in your dating app bio.) Mercer’s honors include nineteen Oscar nominations with four wins. That got him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Opera fans across Australia will soon be able to enjoy performances from the Metropolitan Opera, with six new productions set to premiere in Australian cinemas nationally beginning on October 30.

One of the crowning glories of the 2021 Bard SummerScape season, the festival's lauded production of Ernest Chausson's only opera, King Arthur (“Le roi Arthus”), will be available for on-demand viewing from October 25 to November 1 on the Fisher Center's streaming service, UPSTREAMING.

The Mabel Mercer Foundation, led by KT Sullivan shows resilience as it evolves with the changing times and pandemic needs, presenting streaming and live performances for the 2021 Cabaret Convention.

On Site Opera, New York's pioneering opera company rooted in site-specific storytelling and the immersive experience, announces its celebratory tenth anniversary season.

Fathom Events is partnering with the Metropolitan Opera to bring The Met: Live in HD, the Met's award-winning series of high-definition live cinema transmissions, to movie theaters nationwide for its 15th season.

San Diego Opera's safe return to indoor performances begins with three intimate concerts showcasing some of today's most exciting singers with a varied and diverse repertoire of opera, show tunes, spirituals, and zarzuela, as well as a number of surprises.

David Bennett is now six years into his job as general director of the San Diego Opera Association. When hired, he faced shaky finances, a loss of major donors, and huge turnover in the membership of the board of directors. The new board hired him with the understanding that downsizing and reinvention of the organization were his priorities. Then, after getting off to a surprisingly good start, Bennett had the forced restrictions of COVID-19 to contend with. Perhaps a biblical plague of locusts is next?