Susanna Phillips News

Haydn's oratorio The Creation (Die Schopfung) depicts nothing less than the creation of the world, based on the Bible's Book of Genesis and Book of Psalms, and Milton's Paradise Lost. It is the work with which the Oratorio Society of New York (OSNY), New York's standard for grand choral performance, will open its 2014-15 season at Carnegie Hall on Monday, November 3, 2014, at 8:00 PM. OSNY Music Director Kent Tritle will conduct The Creation in its German language version, and the three soloists - representing the archangels Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael - are Susanna Phillips, soprano; Aaron Blake, tenor; and Sidney Outlaw, baritone.

The Metropolitan Opera's popular Summer HD Festival returns to Lincoln Center Plaza with screenings of ten acclaimed productions from the Met's Emmy Award-winning Live in HD series, including four new productions from the 2013-14 season.

Met Music Director James Levine conducts Mozart's barbed romance Cosi fan tutte, a comic masterpiece about the romantic complications that ensue when a pair of friends decide to test their fiancees' fidelity.

At a time when things seem challenging for opera, the Santa Fe Opera holds strong. Santa Fe is among the oldest opera festivals in America and is the largest and most important. It has made its reputation as a distinctive company with a flair for the unusual. This summer they presented operas such as “Dr. Sun Yat-Sen” by Huang Ruo, and Beethoven's “Fidelio.”

The 2014 Mostly Mozart Festival, Lincoln Center's acclaimed annual summer celebration of classical music, concludes with eight events in the final week spanning the musical timeline from Baroque to contemporary. Performances on August 19 and 20 kick off the concluding week with renowned violinist Joshua Bell, violist Lawrence Power (Mostly Mozart debut), and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra in Mozart's Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola at Avery Fisher Hall. David Zinman conducts the program, which also includes Boyce's Symphony No. 1 and Beethoven's iconic Symphony No. 3, 'Eroica.' Both performances offer pre-concert recitals by pianist Igor Kamenz.

This summer, Nicholas Phan returns to his roots, joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood to sing the title role in Bernstein's Candide, the work that first inspired him to pursue a career in opera (Aug 16). In his third consecutive residency at the Oregon Bach Festival (June 26–July 10), the tenor takes part in performances of Vespers by Monteverdi and Rachmaninoff; Mozart's Requiem, led by Festival Director Emeritus Helmuth Rilling; an evening of Strauss Lieder; and after proving himself “the standout among the vocal soloists” (New York Times) in Bach's St. Matthew Passion at Carnegie Hall last month, a reconstruction of the Baroque master's St. Mark Passion. Phan also makes his Seattle Chamber Music Festival debut with Vaughan Williams and Brahms (July 18 & 21), and returns to New York's Bard Music Festival, now celebrating its 25th anniversary season, to sing Schubert in recital and with members of the American Symphony Orchestra (Aug 8 & 10).

This summer, Nicholas Phan returns to his roots, joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood to sing the title role in Bernstein's Candide, the work that first inspired him to pursue a career in opera (Aug 16). In his third consecutive residency at the Oregon Bach Festival (June 26–July 10), the tenor takes part in performances of Vespers by Monteverdi and Rachmaninoff; Mozart's Requiem, led by Festival Director Emeritus Helmuth Rilling; an evening of Strauss Lieder; and after proving himself “the standout among the vocal soloists” (New York Times) in Bach's St. Matthew Passion at Carnegie Hall last month, a reconstruction of the Baroque master's St. Mark Passion. Phan also makes his Seattle Chamber Music Festival debut with Vaughan Williams and Brahms (July 18 & 21), and returns to New York's Bard Music Festival, now celebrating its 25th anniversary season, to sing Schubert in recital and with members of the American Symphony Orchestra (Aug 8 & 10).

American tenor Paul Appleby closes his 2013 -2014 with a strong finish. His latest recording is today's (April 28, 2014) Delos release of the world premiere recording of Dear Theo, a CD of three song cycles by celebrated American composer Ben Moore. In early May, he makes his company debut with the Washington National Opera singing the role of Tamino under the baton of conductor Philippe Augin in the company's spring production of Mozart's The Magic Flute.

When conductor James Levine returned to the Metropolitan Opera last fall after a serious illness, he chose to return with Mozart's sparkling comedy, Cosi Fan Tutti. By all accounts, his return performance was the highlight of this or any other Met season.

The Met: Live in HD Series continues today, April 26th at 1 pm in the Warner's Nancy Marine Studio Theatre with Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte.

Met Music Director James Levine conducts the first Live in HD performance of Mozart's barbed romance Così fan tutte, a comic masterpiece about the romantic complications that ensue when a pair of friends decide to test their fiancée's fidelity. Lesley Koenig's sleek production features a cast filled with rising Met stars, including Susanna Phillips and Isabel Leonard as the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella; Matthew Polenzani and Rodion Pogossov as their fiancés, Ferrando and Guglielmo; and Danielle de Niese as their feisty maid Despina. Maurizio Muraro is the cynical Don Alfonso.

The Met: Live in HD Series continues on Saturday, April 26th at 1 pm in the Warner's Nancy Marine Studio Theatre with Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte.

When conductor James Levine returned to the Metropolitan Opera last fall after a serious illness, he chose to return with Mozart's sparkling comedy, Cosi Fan Tutti. By all accounts, his return performance was the highlight of this or any other Met season.

The spectacular operas that grace the stage of the Met in New York come to The Ridgefield Playhouse through the power of high-definition broadcasts with exciting advantages: Exclusive behind-the scenes interviews with the stars and close-ups that capture the emotions of the cast. On Saturday, April 26, at 12:55 p.m., Music Director James Levine makes his long-awaited return to the Met podium to conduct Mozart's beloved opera, Cosi Fan Tutte, about testing the ties of love. The cast is filled with youthful Met stars: Susanna Phillips, Isabel Leonard, Matthew Polenzani, Rodion Pogossov and Danielle de Niese. Rossini's La Cenerentola will be Live in HD on Saturday, May 10, at 12:55 p.m., starring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, singing her first Met performance of the Cinderella title role, and the high-flying tenor Juan Diego Florez, as her Prince Charming. A peerless pair of Rossini virtuosos, it's a vocal tour de force for mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and Juan Diego Florez. Alessandro Corbelli and Luca Pisaroni complete the cast, with Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leading the effervescent score.

Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director, today announced the 48th season of Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, New York's acclaimed annual summer celebration of classical music, which runs from July 25-August 23, 2014. This year's Festival will feature more than 35 events across several venues including concerts, opera, dance, pre-concert recitals and lectures, late-night performances, contemporary music, and premieres of two commissioned works. The Festival kicks off with two free events: the world premiere of a new work by John Luther Adams, performed July 25 and 26 for free on Hearst Plaza, in a joint presentation with Lincoln Center Out of Doors, and continuing an annual tradition, the free preview concert by the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall on July 26. Renee and Robert Belfer Music Director Louis Langree returns for his 12th season to conduct the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, which will perform a wide range of works anchored by the Festival's featured namesake. Mostly Mozart will also present world-renowned artists and returning Festival favorites, such as violinist Joshua Bell, Mark Morris Dance Group, Emerson String Quartet and Artists-in-Residence International Contemporary Ensemble, as well as 14 Festival debuts, including pianists Yuja Wang and Steven Osborne, and violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja.

Met Music Director James Levine conducts the first Live in HD performance of Mozart's barbed romance Così fan tutte, a comic masterpiece about the romantic complications that ensue when a pair of friends decide to test their fiancée's fidelity. Lesley Koenig's sleek production features a cast filled with rising Met stars, including Susanna Phillips and Isabel Leonard as the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella; Matthew Polenzani and Rodion Pogossov as their fiancés, Ferrando and Guglielmo; and Danielle de Niese as their feisty maid Despina. Maurizio Muraro is the cynical Don Alfonso.

Kristine Opolais will sing Mimi in today's matinee performance of Puccini's La Boheme, replacing Anita Hartig, who is ill.

An exciting young cast stars in Franco Zeffirelli's breathtaking production of La Bohème, the most-performed opera in Met history. Italian star tenor Vittorio Grigolo makes his Live in HDdebut as the passionate poet Rodolfo, and Romanian soprano Anita Hartig makes her highly anticipated Met debut as his fragile lover, Mimì. Susanna Phillips sings the flirtatious Musetta and Massimo Cavalletti is the painter Marcello in this performance, led by Italian conductorStefano Ranzani. Featuring a cast of hundreds, a glorious onstage snow scene, and a detailed reconstruction of the Latin Quarter in Paris, this broadcast marks 15 million viewers for the Live in HD series, which now reaches 66 countries worldwide.

In our age of 20-somethings suffering from arrested development, they say “25 is the new 15.” This certainly was not true at the Met auditions concert (formally, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert, a real mouthful!). At the opera house, Sunday afternoon, the concert showcased nine competitors, all between 24 and 29 but mature artists with poise, acting ability and, yes, voices definitely worth hearing again.

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.