Susan Graham News

The Australian Chamber Orchestra will present 'A French Celebration with Susan Graham' running 11-22 July 2015.

San Francisco Opera's Summer 2015 Season opens June 7 with the long-awaited return of one of the most significant pieces in the operatic repertoire-The Trojans (Les Troyens).

Starting Sunday, Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham - praised as 'singing beautifully' by Huffington Post for her recent star turn in the Metropolitan Opera's Merry Widow - returns to San Francisco Opera to reprise her signature role of Dido in Berlioz's epic Les Troyens (June 7-July 1). The Associated Press has declared Graham's 'the ideal voice for Berlioz - a mezzo with a dark richness that blossoms into lush soprano-like tones.' The singer will be starring in San Francisco Opera's premiere presentation of the David McVicar production, hailed at its Covent Garden debut as 'a major event' by The Guardian. Graham will perform alongside Bryan Hymel as Aeneas, with Donald Runnicles conducting. Two seasons ago, when the Met broadcast a starry revival of Les Troyens to cinema audiences worldwide in the company's hit Live in HD series, Graham was widely acknowledged as its standout star. The New York Times said: 'The big news is mezzo-soprano Susan Graham ... whose portrayal is sumptuous, regal and impassioned.'

The New Amsterdam Singers (NAS), led by Music Director Clara Longstreth, will present its final concert of the season, titled Poems, Letters, and Premieres, tonight, May 28, 2015 at 8:00 P.M. at Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church, 554 West End Avenue (at 87th Street).

DALLAS, MAY 21, 2015 – The Dallas Opera is pleased to announce the winner of the 2015 “Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year” Award: incandescent Russian soprano Ekaterina Scherbachenko.

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) raised $800,000 at its 40th Anniversary Gift of Music gala, held at The Plaza Hotel on April 20th. Funds raised at the gala benefit OSL's artistic and Community & Education programs, as well as The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York City's first and only space dedicated to classical music rehearsal, recording, and education.

American mezzo-soprano Michaela Martens will make her San Francisco Opera debut as the prophetess Cassandra in the Company's upcoming production of Hector Berlioz's grand-scale opera Les Troyens (The Trojans) on Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 20. San Francisco Opera today announced that Martens replaces mezzo-soprano Daveda Karanas, who has withdrawn from the physically demanding role due to pregnancy.

The Collegiate Chorale announces that Ron Rifkin will join the cast of the US Premiere of Kurt Weill's The Road of Promise tonight, May 6, 2015 at 8pm and May 7, 2015 at 7pm at Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019.

From 1 to 5 July 2015, the Accompanists' Guild of SA will welcome back Malcolm Martineau to Adelaide.

Soprano Talya Lieberman and baritone Edward Nelson, joined on piano by former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow Allen Perriello end the 32nd season of the Schwabacher Debut Recitals on Sunday, May 3 at Temple Emanu-El's Martin Meyer Sanctuary. The Merola Opera Program alumni will present an eclectic program showcasing works by Nico Muhly, Francis Poulenc, Henry Purcell, Franz Schubert and Kurt Weill. Also on the program, will be works of popular German lieder as well as poems by noted American female poets set to music by American composers.

The Merola Opera Program, the affiliated training program of the San Francisco Opera, invites rising junior and senior high school and college students to apply for the Merola Student ConneXion Program, where they could receive a complimentary membership to attend Merola summer performances and events.

?The Celebrity Series of Boston announced its 2015-2016 season today, marking 77 years of bringing the world's greatest performing artists to Boston. The season opens on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 with author and speaker David Sedaris. In total, the 2015-2016 season will include 48 music, dance and entertainment engagements. The 2015-16 season is sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger.

The Dallas Opera is proud to announce the appointment of Brian Zeger as Chair of the Judges Panel for the 2015 Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. This season's competition will take place today, April 18, 2015 and Sunday, April 19, 2015 in the elegant setting of the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild has announced that soprano Ailyn Pérez has joined the organization's Artists' Council. Comprised of a distinguished group of Met artists from both past and present, all of whom share the Guild's mission to support the Metropolitan Opera and enhance the public's appreciation of the art form, the Artists' Council serves in an advisory capacity to the Guild board and staff, and, when possible, works actively on its programs.

The New Amsterdam Singers (NAS), led by Music Director Clara Longstreth, will present its final concert of the season, titled Poems, Letters, and Premieres,Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 8:00 P.M. at Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church, 554 West End Avenue (at 87th Street).

Tucker Award-winning tenor Stephen Costello returns to New York's Metropolitan Opera on April 24, to make his house role debut in the first of four performances as Camille in The Merry Widow. In a new production from five-time Tony Award-winner Susan Stroman, also making her company debut, Lehár's beloved operetta stars Susan Graham in the title role, with Rod Gilfry as Danilo, Alan Opie as Baron Zeta, Andriana Chuchman as Valencienne, and Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leading from the pit (April 24-May 7).

Weill Hall and the Green Music Center (GMC) at Sonoma State University (SSU) announced its 2015–16 season today, with concerts in Weill Hall, Schroeder Hall, and through the summer at Weill Hall + Lawn. The season comprises the MasterCard Performance Series — 39 concerts on the stage of the 1,400-seat Weill Hall, featuring a roster of internationally renowned stars from the genres of classical music, 2 world music, jazz and pop — leading off with a Gala Opening Night performance by piano superstar Lang Lang; the Summer 2015 MasterCard Performance Series, which takes place with seating both indoors in Weill Hall and on the spacious Weill Lawn featuring an array of contemporary music; and 24 concerts in 240- seat Schroeder Hall, including the popular Sundays At Schroeder series plus three new offerings — a fiveday, nine-concert GMC ChamberFest 2015, led by Jeffrey Kahane, a new Saturday Cabaret four-concert series, and four performances with Musicians from Valley of the Moon Music Festival, featuring early music performed on period instruments by leading Bay Area musicians.

The Met's first new production in 45 years of the enduringly popular verismo double bill, Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, will open April 14.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Paulus, announces the casting of the world premiere of Crossing, an opera by Matthew Aucoin, directed by Diane Paulus, featuring the chamber orchestra A Far Cry, produced in association with Music-Theatre Group.

The Collegiate Chorale announces that Ron Rifkin will join the cast of the US Premiere of Kurt Weill's The Road of Promise on May 6, 2015 at 8pm and May 7, 2015 at 7pm at Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019.