On Friday, September 24, 2021 at 6:00pm, Bradshaw Performing Arts Center at Sandhills Community College will present Grammy Award-winning baritone Lucas Meachem in a recital celebrating the release of his first ever solo album, Shall We Gather, out on Rubicon Classics the same day
Southwest Florida's regional opera company - Gulfshore Opera - will bring the dramatic beauty of Puccini's Tosca to all three counties as the finale for Season 8. For a company known for pioneering, this full-scale production will also mark some wonderful and historic partnerships.
On Friday, September 24, 2021, Grammy Award-winning baritone Lucas Meachem, highly in-demand at opera houses around the world, will release his first ever solo album, Shall We Gather, on Rubicon Classics.
The League of Chicago Theatres announces the long-awaited reopening of the robust Chicago theatre industry.
“We had to make our initial decisions within a vacuum of information,” said general director Anthony Freud. 'At the time, this felt like a good way to help people feel ready to return to the opera house. But the new guidance from the authorities means the changes are no longer necessary.”
General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler announced the selection of the artists for the Resident Artist Program for the 2021-2022 season. They include Soprano Danielle Beckvermit, Mezzo-Soprano Aubrey Odle, Tenor Wayd Odle, Bass-Baritones Keith Klein and Peter Morgan. High-res photos and more can be found here.
Lyric Opera of Chicago will hold virtual auditions for solo dancers with significant stage experience for its upcoming production of Florencia en el Amazonas by Daniel Catán. The production will be staged by critically acclaimed director Francesca Zambello with choreography by Eric Sean Fogel. August Tye is the ballet mistress.
Grammy-winning conductor Michael Christie will lead the Welsh National Opera Orchestra to accompany finalists in the 2021 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World main prize competition. Staged without an audience in strict compliance with the latest health and safety government guidelines related to COVID-19, the competition takes place from June 12 – June 19, 2021 at St. David's Hall in Cardiff.
Celebrating 90 years of innovation, access, and excellence in music education, the Music Institute of Chicago welcomed more than 450 viewers to its 90th Anniversary Virtual Gala on Monday, May 10. Contributions totaled more than $825,000 from about 250 donors before and during the event, which was free to view.
The Lyric Opera of Chicago is currently presenting Twilight: Gods , running through May 2, 2021.
Celebrating 90 years of innovation, access, and excellence in music education, the Music Institute of Chicago hosts its 90th Anniversary Virtual Gala on Monday, May 10 at 6 p.m. CDT.
As I write this, mezzo soprano Emily Fons is driving from her home in Milwaukee to San Diego to rehearse the role of Rosina, the wife of roving-eyed count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville by Rossini. Three years ago Fons sang Cherubino here in the related comic opera The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart. The switch to the count's wife from Mozart's Cherubino, a 15-year-old boy and randy rival of the philandering count, is an indication of the mezzo's acting and vocal versatility. I discovered when we met via Zoom (what else?) that her adventurous openness to new roles is typical of the mezzo's approach to life.
Emily Fons received a Grammy nomination for her work on the recording of Jennifer Higdon’s opera Cold Mountain. Fons has been lauded for her virtuosic abilities in the Baroque and Bel Canto repertoires and for the dramatic commitment and musicality she brings to modern works. She has performed with Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, and many others.
Rising Opera star Toni Marie Palmertree is joining forces with pianist Ellen Rissinger to present a digital concert entitled 'The Heart of a Woman'. Inspired by the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment, this concert presents a rich collection of songs by Argentinian, French, German, and American women composers.
Inspired by the success from their safe drive-in performances of La bohème in the Fall, which heralded the return of live, in-person, opera to San Diego County since the start of the pandemic, and provided over 300 jobs to many, San Diego Opera has announced a Spring season of safe, socially-distanced, drive-in performances.
Today, baritone Will Liverman has released Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers with pianist Paul Sánchez on Cedille Records. Liverman says, “Right now, it is more important than ever to celebrate the contributions of Black composers, and I’m honored to give voice to the art songs on this album.'
Collaboraction, Chicago's theater for social change, has added four new staff members, all committed to collaborating with a diverse community of Chicagoans, artists, activists and under-represented voices to create original theatrical experiences that cultivate dialogue and action around the city's most critical social issues.
Today American Lyric Theater has announced the Opera Writers Diversity and Representation Initiative as part of an ongoing commitment to mentoring the next generation of operatic writers. First steps include the appointment of conductor Kelly Kuo as ALT’s new Associate Artistic Director and the creation of a free, virtual Opera Writers Symposium.
This year has been a challenging one to say the least; particularly in the arts. Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre, like other performing arts organi-ations, has been facing a changing landscape, not only due to the pandemic (which forced HOT to postpone the 20-21 season) but also in the way people consume entertainment.
On Friday, February 19, Houston Grand Opera will present the digital world premiere of Songs for Murdered Sisters. Five years ago, Joshua Hopkins’s life changed forever when his sister Nathalie and two other women were murdered by her ex-boyfriend in a spree that is now considered one of the worst cases of domestic violence in Canadian history.
Videos
