Susan Graham News

Now in its third season, California School of the Arts a?" San Gabriel Valley (CSArts-SGV) continues to provide meaningful and often life-changing experiences for its 1,200 aspiring young artists through programs such as the 2019-2020 Master Artist Series. In addition to the school's 10 arts conservatories, this unique program provide students the opportunity to learn from real-world experts in a variety of industries. Acclaimed artists, esteemed educators and top industry leaders visit CSArts-SGV to impart their knowledge and provide students with exclusive advice through demonstrations, residencies, panel discussions, master classes and more.

Broadway vet John Treacy Egan and Metropolitan Opera regular Jason Simon have announced their collaboration of a new children's book, a?oeIngredients for a Witcha??. The book was released on September 5th, and can be purchased at ingredientsforawitch.com

Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) delivers on its mission to provide an unparalleled arts and academic education to a diverse student body passionate about the arts through its 2019-2020 Master Artist Series and Creators & Innovators Series. In addition to the school's 16 arts conservatories, these unique programs provide students the opportunity to learn from real-world experts in a variety of industries. Acclaimed artists, educators and industry leaders visit OCSA's campus in Santa Ana to share their expertise and provide students with exclusive advice through demonstrations, residencies, panel discussions, master classes and more. This season's Master Artist Series kicked off with a culinary arts master class with internationally celebrated chef, Jet Tila, who is a best-selling author and host on a?oeIron Chef America.a??

San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program wraps up its Summer Festival with the Merola Grand Finale, a concert at the War Memorial Opera House featuring the 29 young international artists selected from over 800 applicants in the 2019 Merola Opera Program, who will showcase a dazzling array of opera's most exciting arias and ensembles. Conducted by Maestro George Manahan, Music Director of the American Composers Orchestra and Portland Opera, and directed by 2019 Merola Apprentice Stage Director Greg Eldridge, this evening showcases the hard work and extraordinary talent of the Merola artists. The Merola Grand Finale will be performed at 7:30pm, Saturday, August 17 at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. For tickets or more information, visit www.merola.org or call (415) 864-3330.

San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, commences its 62nd season with a showcase of the program's rising stars in the Schwabacher Summer Concert. A jaded courtesan longing for true love, star-crossed lovers, a comic marriage, a deal with the devil, and brothers separated at birth all take the stage as Merola's talented young artists bring some of opera's most exciting moments to life by performing scenes from La rondine, Lucia di Lammermoor, Die schweigsame Frau, Faust, and Il trovatore.

Compagnia de' Colombari, an international collective of performing artists founded and directed by Karin Coonrod, presents More Or Less I Am: a music-theater piece drawn entirely from Walt Whitman's revolutionary free verse long poem, 'Song of Myself,'one of the original twelve pieces that comprise his 1855 collection Leaves of Grass. The next performance in this series, spanning multiple venues throughout the five boroughs, will take place on Sunday, May 26, 2019, 7:30 pm at Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn.  

Placido Domingo announced today that mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, one of the world's foremost opera stars, has renewed her contract to continue in her role as Artistic Advisor to LA Opera's Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program through the 2020/21 season.

Compagnia de' Colombari, an international collective of performing artists founded and directed by Karin Coonrod,celebrates the bicentennial of the birth of America's most influential poet, Walt Whitman, with a revival of their acclaimed production More Or Less I Am. Performances begin May 18, 2019 at multiple venues throughout the five boroughs, with most performances being free and open to the public. More information can be found at www.colombari.org.

After a months-long series of auditions involving more than 1,000 singers at the district, regional, and national levels, a panel of expert judges named five singers as the winners of the 65th annual Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Each winner receives a $15,000 cash prize.

Following yesterday's highly competitive semifinal competition, nine singers will advance to the final phase of the 65th annual Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, America's largest vocal competition. The winners will receive individual cash prizes of $15,000, while the remaining finalists will receive prizes of $7,500.

On Sunday, April 14 at 2:00 p.m., Harry Bicket conducts Handel's Semele at Carnegie Hall with acclaimed baroque orchestra The English Concert. In this concert presentation, soprano Brenda Rae performs the title role, joined by mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong (Juno/Ino), bass Soloman Howard, (Cadmus/Somnus), tenor Benjamin Hulett (Jupiter), countertenor Christopher Lowrey (Athamas), soprano Ailish Tynan (Iris), tenor Brian Giebler (Apollo), and bass-baritone Joseph Beutel (Priest), along with The Clarion Choir (Steven Fox, Artistic Director).

Twenty-one young opera singers who have won regional auditions around the United States will compete in the semifinal round of the country's leading vocal competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, on Sunday, March 24. The closed semifinal competition, held on the Met stage before a panel of judges, will determine the select group of finalists who will advance to the final round of the competition-the Grand Finals, which is open to the public and will be held on the Met stage on Sunday, March 31.

The Crypt Sessions, which take place in the stone chamber beneath the Church of the Intercession on West 155th Street in Manhattan, might conjure up visions of horror, though it bears no relation to HBO's long-running anthology, “Tales from the Crypt.” Add that the center of attraction for the recital of the powerfully expressive baritone, Lucas Meachem, was Mahler's KINDERTOTENLIEDER, which translates to the grisly sounding (but actually elegant) “Songs on the Death of Children,” and one might be forgiven for thinking so. The result, in fact, was about as far from that as possible.

San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, launches its 62nd season offering audiences a look at the opera stars of tomorrow. The 2019 Merola Summer Festival announces this year's 29 Merola artists, selected from more than 800 international applicants from as far away as Brazil, South Korea, New Zealand, and Colombia, as well as across the U.S. Along with the announced world premiere of If I Were You (August 1-6) by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, the singers will perform in the Schwabacher Summer Concert (July 11 & 13) and Merola Grand Finale (August 17). The 2019 Merola Summer Festival includes performances in San Francisco at various locations. Individual event tickets and information available at www.merola.org or 415-864-3330.

Texas native Susan Graham returns to the Houston Symphony to perform a song cycle that has become a signature work for the operatic superstar as part of the all-French program Debussy's La mer + Susan Graham at 8 p.m. March 8 & 9, and 2:30 p.m. March 10. Each concert will be followed by a free, after-hours performance of French chamber music masterpieces.

Boosey & Hawkes is sad to announce the death of leading opera and art song composer Dominick Argento, who passed away aged 91 on February 20, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Jane Moss, Lincoln Center's Ehrenkranz Artistic Director, has announced details of Lincoln Center's 54th Great Performers series. Since its inception, the series has showcased many of the world's most accomplished and inspirational musicians in the concert halls and performance spaces that span the Lincoln Center campus. The 2019/20 season features an array of the most prominent and beloved musicians of our time as well as up-and-coming artists bursting onto the scene: distinguished vocalists and illustrious instrumental soloists; acclaimed period-instrument orchestras, esteemed choral groups and renowned chamber ensembles; and virtuosic orchestras and their extraordinary conductors.

A season filled with unforgettable music, riveting stories, thrilling singers from around the world, and stirring productions goes on sale by subscription Friday, January 25, at 10am. Six new and new-to-Chicago productions including three Lyric premieres and three performances of the Ring cycle will engage and entertain audiences from late September 2019 through June 2020.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is pleased to announce programming for the 2019 Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family SOLUNA International Music & Arts Festival. Opening on April 4 and running through April 28, 2019, the festival will take place at venues in the Dallas Arts District and throughout the city. Tickets for SOLUNA events go on sale on January 18, 2019, at mydso.com/soluna.