Stephanie Blythe News

Lyric Opera general director Anthony Freud today announced that Jane Lynch, the Emmy-winning actress acclaimed for portraying coach Sue Sylvester on the hit television series Glee, will serve as master of ceremonies for Lyric Opera of Chicago's 60th Anniversary Concert, November 1, 2014, at 6:30 pm at the Civic Opera House.

One of the world's most innovative and respected architects, Jeanne Gang, and her firm Studio Gang Architects (studiogang.net), are designing a new concert shell for Lyric Opera of Chicago. The shell will be used for the first time at Lyric's 60th Anniversary Concert, which takes place at the Civic Opera House on November 1, 2014, at 6:30 pm.

Seven productions tempt opera-lovers in a bright summer season.

Seven productions tempt opera-lovers in a bright summer season.

The Collegiate Chorale announces the New York premiere of battle hymns tonight, May 15, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Pier 86, 12th Ave. & 46th Street in New York, NY.

The Collegiate Chorale announces its 2014-15 season: the New York City Premiere of Eric Idle and John DuPrez's Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) at Carnegie Hall, followed by George F. Handel's Susanna at Town Hall, and the US Premiere of Kurt Weill and Franz Werfel's The Road of Promise at Carnegie Hall.

Minnesota Opera is pleased to announce it will present Cold Mountain, a new opera by the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner in music, Jennifer Higdon. This co-commission and co-produced opera with The Santa Fe Opera and Opera Philadelphia is based on the eponymous bestselling novel by Charles Frazier. Cold Mountain is the powerful account of one soldier, W. P. Inman, who deserts the Confederate Army as the war is coming to an end and makes his way back to his home on Cold Mountain. The novel won the 1997 National Book Award and was made into a film in 2003, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards. The Santa Fe Opera will present the world premiere in the summer of 2015, which marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War.

The Collegiate Chorale announces the New York premiere of battle hymns on May 15, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Pier 86, 12th Ave. & 46th Street in New York, NY.

The internationally-acclaimed Pacific Chorale in Orange County, CA will be presenting a new work created by American opera composer Jake Heggie, and the versatile librettist Gene Scheer entitled 'THE RADIO HOUR'. The choral opera will be conducted by Pacific Chorale's Artistic Director, John Alexander, and stage-directed by James R. Taulli. The premiere work will be performed by the organization's chamber choir, The John Alexander Singers, accompanied by an 8-member ensemble of musicians who are members of Pacific Symphony. The performance is on Sunday, May 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, CA. Scroll down to see an interview with composer Jake Heggie and conductor John Alexander!

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) President and CEO Stanley E. Romanstein, Ph.D., Music Director Robert Spano, and Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles today announced the ASO's 2014–15 season — the Orchestra's 70th season and Mr. Spano's and Mr. Runnicles's 14th as artistic partners. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is one of America's leading orchestras. It performs great music, presents leading artists, nurtures young talent, and engages music lovers. The 24-week subscription season will feature world-class music of past centuries while paving the way for great music of the future with performances by today's leading composers, soloists, and conductors.

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation has announced that Michael Fabiano - 'the tenor that we have all been waiting for' (San Francisco Classical Voice) - is the winner of the 2014 Richard Tucker Award.

The Collegiate Chorale announces the New York premiere of battle hymns on May 15, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Pier 86, 12th Ave. & 46th Street in New York, NY.

New programs for Lincoln Center Local HD, a pilot program running April through June in branch libraries in Brooklyn and Queens, were announced today by Russell Granet, Executive Director of Lincoln Center Education. These events, which launched in January, are part of the two-year pilot program that will feature digital streams of programs from Lincoln Center's growing digital content collection, including programs from the Emmy Award-winning series Live From Lincoln Center. The Lincoln Center Local HD pilot program is part of Lincoln Center Education's (LCE) expanded mission to bring Lincoln Center's high-quality resources to new and underserved audiences and communities.

After a months-long series of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, a panel of judges has named five young singers the winners of the 2014 National Council Auditions, the nation's most prestigious vocal competition. Each winner, who performed two arias onstage at the Metropolitan Opera this afternoon with conductor Marco Armiliatoand the Met's orchestra, will receive a $15,000 cash prize and the prestige and exposure that come with winning a competition that has launched the careers of many of opera's biggest stars.

New programs for Lincoln Center Local HD, a pilot program running April through June in branch libraries in Brooklyn and Queens, were announced today by Russell Granet, Executive Director of Lincoln Center Education. These events, which launched in January, are part of the two-year pilot program that will feature digital streams of programs from Lincoln Center's growing digital content collection, including programs from the Emmy Award-winning series Live From Lincoln Center. The Lincoln Center Local HD pilot program is part of Lincoln Center Education's (LCE) expanded mission to bring Lincoln Center's high-quality resources to new and underserved audiences and communities.

Following this afternoon's highly competitive semi-final competition, nine young singers will advance to the final phase of the Metropolitan Opera's 2014 National Council Auditions, America's most prestigious vocal competition. The selected finalists, chosen by a panel of experts from the classical music industry, will compete on the Met stage on Sunday, March 30at the Grand Finals Concert, with winners receiving individual cash prizes of $15,000 and the prestigious-and potentially career-launching-title of National Council Auditions Winner. The Grand Finals Concert begins at 3 p.m. and will feature Marco Armiliatoconducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as each finalist performs two arias in contrasting styles. The concert will be hosted by tenorLawrence Brownlee, a former National Council winner currently at the Met rehearsing for Bellini's I Puritani. While the judges deliberate, another former winner, Susanna Phillips, who stars in three operas at the Met this season, will perform an aria from Mozart'sLe Nozze di Figaro. Tickets for the Grand Finals Concert may be purchased at the Met Box Office, by phone at 212-362-6000, or online at www.metopera.org.

Otello. Aida. Don Carlo. The comparisons are irresistible.

Overheard at the opening night intermission of SD Opera's glittering production of Verdi's 'A Masked Ball': 'The music is really good.' Love and death, jealousy and revenge, assassination and intrigue, culminating in a dazzle of song, dance, and a shower of sparkling gold...