Talise Trevigne News

Acclaimed contemporary opera company Opera Parallèle will open its 2015 season with the premiere of a new production of Jake Heggie's landmark work Dead Man Walking-marking the 15th anniversary of one of the most widely performed operas of the 21st century-in three performances this weekend, February 20 and 21, 2015 at 8 pm and February 22, 2015 at 2 pm at YBCA Theater in San Francisco.

In anticipation of its February 20-22 YBCA Theater premiere of a new production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, award-winning contemporary opera company Opera Parallèle will present a special free public event tonight, January 21, 7-8:30 pm at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. The evening will feature a discussion of the opera—which has had 40 productions, spanning the globe, in its 15-year history—and its controversial topic, the death penalty, along with performances of excerpts from the opera and other works. Opera Parallèle founder and Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel will host special guests including activist and author Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, which chronicles her relationship with a Louisiana death-row inmate, and which was also made into a celebrated motion picture; composer Jake Heggie, mezzo-sopranos Frederica von Stade and Catherine Cook, sopranos Kristin Clayton and Nicolle Foland, and Roslyn Barak, cantor of Temple Emanu-El. Admission for the event is free of charge and advance reservations are required at opdmw.brownpapertickets.com .

It's a new era at Seattle Opera. The company today announced its 2015/16 season, the first to be presented by General Director Aidan Lang, and a return to full-year programming with a total of six operas, including new productions and a world premiere. Under Lang's leadership, the company hopes to serve the community through the magic of theater and music in McCaw Hall, and in learning and engagement programs across the Pacific Northwest.

It's a new era at Seattle Opera. The company today announced its 2015/16 season, the first to be presented by General Director Aidan Lang, and a return to full-year programming with a total of six operas, including new productions and a world premiere. Under Lang's leadership, the company hopes to serve the community through the magic of theater and music in McCaw Hall, and in learning and engagement programs across the Pacific Northwest.

In anticipation of its February 20-22 YBCA Theater premiere of a new production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, award-winning contemporary opera company Opera Parallèle will present a special free public event Wednesday, January 21, 7-8:30 pm at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. The evening will feature a discussion of the opera—which has had 40 productions, spanning the globe, in its 15-year history—and its controversial topic, the death penalty, along with performances of excerpts from the opera and other works. Opera Parallèle founder and Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel will host special guests including activist and author Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, which chronicles her relationship with a Louisiana death-row inmate, and which was also made into a celebrated motion picture; composer Jake Heggie, mezzo-sopranos Frederica von Stade and Catherine Cook, sopranos Kristin Clayton and Nicolle Foland, and Roslyn Barak, cantor of Temple Emanu-El. Admission for the event is free of charge and advance reservations are required at opdmw.brownpapertickets.com .

San Francisco, November 24, 2014 – Acclaimed contemporary opera company Opera Parallèle will open its 2015 season with the premiere of a new production of Jake Heggie's landmark work Dead Man Walking—marking the 15th anniversary of one of the most widely performed operas of the 21st century—in three performances Friday and Saturday, February 20 and 21, 2015 at 8 pm and Sunday, February 22, 2015 at 2 pm at YBCA Theater in San Francisco. Based on Sister Helen Prejean's memoir and passionate statement against capital punishment of the same title, Dead Man Walking plumbs the depths of human emotion, resilience, fortitude, hope, and redemption, making it an ideal subject for the operatic stage and for Opera Parallèle's brand of story-telling, exploring the human experience in provocative and intense stagings. The premiere will be followed by the Company taking to the road for the first time to present a concert version of Dead Man Walking at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA, March 7 and 8, 2015.

Founder and Artistic Director Nicole Paiement has announced details of Opera Parallèle's 2014--2015 season, which will feature the premiere of a new production of Jake Heggie's acclaimed Dead Man Walking--marking the 15th anniversary of one of the most widely performed operas of the 21st century--and the U.S. premiere of vibrant composer Tarik O'Regan's Heart of Darkness. Both operas, based on significant literary works, plumb the depths of human emotion, resilience, fortitude, hope and redemption, making them ideal subjects for the operatic stage and for Opera Parallèle's brand of story-telling and rich exploration of the human experience in provocative and intense stagings. Both original Opera Parallèle productions will be led by Paiement on the podium, with production design and direction by Opera Parallèle Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel and members of the creative team responsible for OP's acclaimed productions of Orphée, The Great Gatsby, Ainadamar, and Trouble in Tahiti.

Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) in collaboration with American Lyric Theater (ALT) announced today the star-studded cast of the highly anticipated 2016 world premiere opera JFK. Based on the final twelve hours of the 35th president's life and time spent in Fort Worth, Texas, JFK is the next major statement from the celebrated creative team of composer David T. Little and librettist Royce Vavrek, who made waves with their critically acclaimed debut opera Dog Days (2012).

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!

The internationally-­acclaimed Pacific Chorale in Orange County, CA will be presenting a new work created by American opera composer Jake Heggie, and the versatilelibrettist 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.

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 2013-2014 season with the east coast premiere of the new American opera Moby-Dick, today, February 22 to March 8 in the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 2013-2014 season with the east coast premiere of the new American opera Moby-Dick, February 22 to March 8 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Written by composer Jake Heggie and featuring an English- language libretto by Gene Scheer based on Herman Melville's 19th-century literary classic, Moby-Dick sweeps audiences straight out to the high seas with its massive nautical sets and dazzling multimedia visual effects, in what is perhaps the most technically challenging opera WNO has ever mounted. Renowned American director Leonard Foglia leads a talented all- American cast in performances conducted by Evan Rogister, a dynamic young American maestro making his WNO debut.

Composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer's award-winning opera Moby-Dick, will be broadcast on THIRTEEN's Great Performances tonight, November 1, 2013 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), as part of the PBS Arts Fall Festival.

Knoxville Opera will open its 36th Season with a stunning production of Offenbach's popular The Tales of Hoffmann, tonight, October 25th and 27th, at the magnificent Tennessee Theatre. The production stars Talise Trevigne, performing all four soprano roles, a rare feat tackled by very few artists in history.

Today, October 21 marks the release of HERE/AFTER: Songs of Lost Voices, a two-CD set of recent songs and music by Jake Heggie, 'the finest American art song composer of his generation' (John von Rhein, Classical Review), to texts by the Grammy Award-nominated Gene Scheer. The generous PentaTone Classics collection features more than two hours of music from the composer and librettist of the operas Moby-Dick and Three Decembers, with performances by some of the foremost exponents of their work, including soprano Talise Trevigne, mezzo Joyce DiDonato, tenor Stephen Costello, baritone Nathan Gunn, flutistCarol Wincenc, and the Alexander String Quartet. Recorded at LucasFilm's Skywalker Ranch and produced by Grammy Award-winner Steve Barnett,HERE/AFTER seeks to give voice to silenced individuals whose stories deserve to be heard, including victims and survivors of 9/11 (Pieces of 9/11) and the great French sculptor Camille Claudel (Camille Claudel: Into the Fire). The composer explains that he and Scheer set out to capture 'the hope and newness that can come from grief,' and, as the Associated Press recently recognized, HERE/AFTER succeeds in transmuting 'memories of grief into survivor songs - some of them surprisingly joyous.' Video trailers featuring excerpts from five of the songs may be viewed here.

Knoxville Opera will open its 36th Season with a stunning production of Offenbach's popular The Tales of Hoffmann, on October 25th and 27th, at the magnificent Tennessee Theatre. The production stars Talise Trevigne, performing all four soprano roles, a rare feat tackled by very few artists in history.

Composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer's award-winning opera Moby-Dick, will be broadcast on THIRTEEN's Great Performances Friday, November 1, 2013 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), as part of the PBS Arts Fall Festival.

October 21 marks the release of HERE/AFTER: Songs of Lost Voices, a two-CD set of recent songs and music by Jake Heggie, “the finest American art song composer of his generation” (John von Rhein, Classical Review), to texts by the Grammy Award-nominated Gene Scheer. The generous PentaTone Classics collection features more than two hours of music from the composer and librettist of the operas Moby-Dick and Three Decembers, with performances by some of the foremost exponents of their work, including soprano Talise Trevigne, mezzo Joyce DiDonato, tenor Stephen Costello, baritone Nathan Gunn, flutistCarol Wincenc, and the Alexander String Quartet. Recorded at LucasFilm's Skywalker Ranch and produced by Grammy Award-winner Steve Barnett,HERE/AFTER seeks to give voice to silenced individuals whose stories deserve to be heard, including victims and survivors of 9/11 (Pieces of 9/11) and the great French sculptor Camille Claudel (Camille Claudel: Into the Fire). The composer explains that he and Scheer set out to capture “the hope and newness that can come from grief,” and, as the Associated Press recently recognized, HERE/AFTER succeeds in transmuting “memories of grief into survivor songs – some of them surprisingly joyous.” Video trailers featuring excerpts from five of the songs may be viewed here.

Urban Stages (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director), in association with producer/director/lyricist Peter Napolitano announces a series of musical evenings entitled WINTER RHYTHMS 2012, beginning on Tuesday, December 4 and running through Friday, December 15, 2012 at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street). Tickets are $25 per show (both shows in one night, $40). Beer and wine will be available for a $3 donation. Tickets may be purchased on www.smarttix.com or 212 868-4444.

Storytelling at its best, San Francisco Opera's co-production of new opera "Moby Dick" overwhelms upon sight and hearing. The magnificent production has some of the most exquisite music ever written for the stage. Jack Heggie's grand cinematic score moves faultlessly from solemn, contemplative moments to lightning and thunder during a storm, making up for minor scenic limitations and becoming the narrator of the piece.