Any of the wonderful mezzos who appear on the NY Festival of Song’s “How About Those Mezzos!” gala could easily be called “a girl singer” --as in “the females who used to sing with the Big Bands in the ‘40s”--as well under their usual hats as opera singers. The proof: There wasn’t an aria to be heard on the program (which will be available on demand through the end of the month), co-hosted by NYFOS chief Steven Blier and mezzo Rebecca Jo Loeb, an up and comer to watch. (Blier also supplied the piano accompaniment on a half dozen entries.)
They sang everything from Edith Piaf, Reynaldo Hahn and Alberto Ginastera to Antonio Carlos Jobim and Irving Berlin, all in styles that sounded little like anything you might hear at the Met, Covent Garden or the Wiener Staatsoper. There were songs in French, English, Brazilian and Spanish, with the singers at home in everything they sang
Whether he’s writing about soldiers in World War I (SILENT NIGHT with Kevin Puts) or immigrants landing on Ellis Island (A NATION OF OTHERS with Paul Moravec), setting a ‘penny dreadful’-inspired story (ELIZABETH CREE with Puts) or looking inside a mad genius of technology [THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS with Mason Bates], Mark Campbell brings his unique vision of the world to whatever he does. He gave us an inkling of the depth and breadth of his skills in the concert for the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS)—heard first the other night on YouTube and available through May 15.
A new first. In its decade-long history, New York Festival of Song's NYFOS Next series has never devoted an entire program to the work of one lyricist. On April 14, 2021 at 7:00 PM EDT, NYFOS will break that tradition in a virtual concert celebrating the work of renowned Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning lyricist/librettist Mark Campbell.
On the Los Angeles Opera website this week, soprano Sarah Vautour, together with pianists Steven Blier and Jeremy Frank, offer a recital of cabaret classics for her a?oeLiving Room Recital.a?? San Francisco opera notes that one of their Merola Opera Programa??s illustrious alumni, baritone Lucas Meachem (2003), opens Merolaa??s Virtual Recital Series on Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. PDT, with a?oeI Left My Aria in San Francisco.
While LA Opera awaits its cue to return to live performances onstage, the company has turned to creating an array of online content through the LA Opera At Home initiative, which will soon expand to include a series of exciting new Digital Shorts commissions.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts today announced its 2020 Mostly Mozart Festival, running from July 14 through August 8. Maintaining Mozart's innovative spirit as its inspiration, the festival magnifies its impact through groundbreaking immersive works, commissions, premieres, international multidisciplinary productions, and more.
THE NEW YORKER NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG presents a new show that sheds light on Harlem's gay underground: Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do: Songs from Gay Harlem
Steven Blier, Artistic Director a?? Michael Barrett, Associate Artistic Director presents Marc Blitzstein's No For An Answer and Kurt Weill's Der Silbersee (Silverlake). Two powerful, neglected works by two masters of political theater. Each speaks passionately to the issues of our times.
This concert is a co-presentation with Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center From NYFOS artistic director/co-founder/pianist/host Steven Blier: 'Lyrics by Shakespeare has a double significance for me: it was the first concert we ever did at NYFOS in 1988, and it also marked our debut at Mostly Mozart last summer (with the present cast, in a magical evening). Naomi O'Connell and Matt Boehler are eloquent singing actors, and they formed a deep bond with Kathleen Chalfant, a gentle giant of the American theater. The enduring power of Shakespeare's poetry has taken us all to the heights—singers, pianist, actress, as well as our international roster of composers. We knew we had to get the team back together to share it with our Merkin Hall audience, and are reconvening with great joy (and a few new songs too).'
Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, under the leadership of artistic director Brian Zeger, announces its 2019-20 season of opera and vocal arts performances. Highlights of the upcoming season include three mainstage operas: Mozart's Così fan tutte, conducted by alumnus Nimrod David Pfeffer and directed by faculty member David Paul, on November 13, 15, and 17, 2019, in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater; Virgil Thomson's The Mother of Us All, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's MetLiveArts and the New York Philharmonic with Juilliard singers, conducted by Daniela Candillari and directed by Louisa Proske, on February 8, 11, 12, and 14, 2020, in the Charles Engelhard Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Puccini's La bohème, conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson and directed by Stephen Wadsworth, on April 22, 24, and 26, 2020, in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater.
A Pulitzer Prize finalist, Guggenheim fellow, and Radcliffe alum, Kate Soper's music has been described as 'exquisitely quirky' (The New York Times) and 'epic' (WQXR). As a performer, she has been praised as a 'dazzling vocalist' (The New Yorker) and likened to 'Lucille Ball reinterpreted by Linda Blair' (Pitchfork).
The winners of the American Vocal Arts 2019 International Collegiate Singing ChampionshipTM have been announced! The winners have been chosen from all over the world. The competition, sponsored by American Vocal Arts, emphasizes competitive collegiate singing that spans across borders. The goal of the competition is to award the best singers from around the world who are currently enrolled or have recently graduated from an undergraduate or graduate program in music. The winners were selected based on talent, potential, and overall presentation.
From January 21-26, 2019, renowned soprano Renee Fleming will mentor 10 aspiring young singers and 10 collaborative pianists from around the world in the inaugural year of SongStudio, an innovative new program exploring the future of the vocal recital. Building on Marilyn Horne's remarkable work with The Song Continues, the intensive workshop will bring emerging vocalists and pianists together with leading artists and composers for a week of instruction and performance at Carnegie Hall.
Juilliard's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts and New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) present "Kurt Weill's Berlin" on Thursday, January 17, 2019, at 7:30pm in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Pianist and arranger Steven Blier, a Vocal Arts faculty member and the artistic director of NYFOS, performs with singers from Juilliard's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts.
NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG opens its 2018-2019 season with W. C. Handy and The Birth of the Blues. NYFOS celebrates W. C. Handy, often referred to as the "Father of the Blues," and his vast influence as a prominent African-American composer and publisher in the early 20th century.
Following immense backlash on social media over whitewashing of the role of Maria, meant to be Puerto Rican, Boggess took to Facebook to announce that she was withdrawing from the production.
Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Zeger, announces its 2018-19 season of opera and vocal arts performances. Highlights of the upcoming season include three mainstage operas: Britten's The Turn of the Screw featuring Juilliard singers and the Juilliard Orchestra, conducted by Steven Osgood and directed by John Giampietro, on November 14, 16, and 18 in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater; Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, featuring Juilliard singers and period-instrument ensemble Juilliard415, conducted by Avi Stein and directed by Mary Birnbaum, on February 20, 22, and 24 in Juilliard's Willson Theater; and Mozart's Don Giovanni, featuring Juilliard singers and the Juilliard Orchestra, conducted by Joseph Colaneri and directed by Emma Griffin, on April 24, 26, and 28 in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater.
