San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, offers audiences a look at the opera stars of tomorrow with a lively, fully-staged production of The Rake's Progress. Based loosely on the eponymous eight paintings and engravings by William Hogarth (1733-1735), Stravinsky's dramatic opera follows the decline and fall of a profligate heir who makes a devil's bargain with Nick Shadow, abandoning life in the country and his tender fiancee for the wicked temptations of London.The Rake's Progress will be performed 7:30pm, Thursday, August 2 and 2:00pm, Saturday, August 4 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. For tickets or more information, visit www.merola.org or call (415) 864-3330.
Tanglewood's season-long Bernstein centennial celebration-one of the most comprehensive looks at Bernstein's amazing impact on the worlds of music and theater taking place in the anniversary year-will culminate in a gala concert on Bernstein's actual 100th birthday, August 25. Reflecting the season-long theme, The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood concert will spotlight Bernstein's wide-ranging talents as a composer, his many gifts as a great interpreter and champion of other composers, his role as an inspirer of a new generation of musicians and music lovers across the country and around the globe, and his presence as a driving musical force at Tanglewood, 1940-1990.
Last night during the regularly scheduled meeting, The Board of The Solti Foundation U.S. acknowledged the dedication and hard work of Artistic and Awards Committee Chair Elizabeth Buccheri by naming the Foundation's Opera Residency Programin her honor.The program, an expansion of the organization's work to help award recipients further develop their talent and careers, is the brainchild of Ms. Buccheri. Introduced in the 2014-15 season, the program places former Foundation award recipients with a distinguished U.S. opera house for one-on-one mentoring and coaching of an opera during the company's professional season. Conductors cannot apply to the program but are instead selected by the Artistic and Awards Committee.
San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program presents the stars of tomorrow in Mozart's Il re pastore. Merola is one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, featuring 29 artists selected from more than 800 international applicants. This exquisite early Mozart work featuring a string of thrilling arias explores the competing pulls of love and duty, as a young shepherd finds he must renounce his true love in order to reclaim his lost throne. Il re pastore will be performed 7:30pm, Thursday, July 19, and 2:00pm, Saturday, July 21, at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. For tickets or more information, visit www.merola.org or call (415) 864-3330.
The George London Foundation for Singers has been honoring, supporting, and presenting the finest young opera singers in the U.S. and Canada since 1971. The foundation and the George London Awards (the prize of the foundation's annual competition) are named for the legendary Canadian-American bass-baritone, one of the greatest opera singers of 20th century, who devoted much of his time and energy in his later years to the support and nurturing of young opera singers.
If you didn't find a performance to attend in the first part of this series--or you simply can't get enough operas, symphonic concerts and musical theatre pieces thrown in for good measure--here's more to choose from. It covers the gamut from the Mozart REQUIEM to Bernstein, Bernstein and more Bernstein.
If you can't get enough of operas, symphonic concerts and a few musical theatre pieces thrown in for good measure, have I got a summer for you! Start in New York City and head north--almost around the corner, or a weekend (or more) away--and you'll find more than enough to keep you happy during the sultry weather ahead. (Even if it doesn't turn out quite so sultry…) It covers the gamut from Handel to Puccini, from serial podcasts to light opera, from dramma serio to musical comedy, with an added emphasis on Leonard Bernstein as the music world celebrates his 100th birthday.
Dr. Peter Simon, Michael and Sonja Koerner President & CEO of The Royal Conservatory of Music, Mervon Mehta, Executive Director of Performing Arts, and James Anagnoson, Dean of The Glenn Gould School, today revealed details of the diverse concerts that will make up the 2018-19 season, which will mark Koerner Hall's 10th anniversary season.
San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, launches its 61st season offering audiences a look at the opera stars of tomorrow. Some of opera's greatest moments will come to life as Merola's young artists perform staged scenes from Vanessa, Il tabarro, Les pecheurs de perles, and Don Giovanni in the Schwabacher Summer Concert.
As a major highlight of its summer-long celebration, June 15-September 2, of the centennial of Leonard Bernstein's birth, Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in Lenox, MA, has programmed several fully staged and semi-staged productions of Leonard Bernstein's work written for the stage, featuring several Tony Award-winning Broadway performers, choreographers, and directors.
The Columbus Symphony kicks off the 2018 Nationwide Picnic with the Pops on Saturday, June 16, with multi-platinum rock group, Little River Band. The concert will also be the Columbus debut of new CSO Principal Pops Conductor Stuart Chafetz, one of the leading pops conductors in America today, who will helm most of the Picnic with the Pops concerts this season.
Composer Gene Pritsker presents a concert of his vocal music. 'I have written many chamber operas, various chamber music with voice, jazz songs, r&b songs, choral music and songs inspired by various genres and cultures. I thought it would be great to have a concert that features my eclectic vocal compositions. I assembled a group of great singers and picked repertoire that will feature each of their voices as well as combine them to perform some of my choral music.'
After many months of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, five singers have been named as the winners of the nation's most prestigious vocal competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Each winner receives a $15,000 cash prize and the exposure that comes with winning the competition that launched the careers of many of opera's biggest stars.
Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI)-one of North America's premiere summer training programs for young musicians-announces its 2018 programs and events today. The 2018 BUTI summer season, which will take place at Tanglewood and on the BUTI campus in Lenox, MA, June 17-August 11, features concert and recital programming throughout the Berkshires; workshops led by distinguished performers and teachers from Boston University College of Fine Arts and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO); Visiting Artists conductor Teddy Abrams (BUTI '03) and bassist Joseph Conyers (BUTI '98); Artist-in-Residence Nico Muhly (BUTI '96, '97); and rich programs of learning and performance for students ages 10-20. Led by Executive Director Hilary Field Respass, BUTI is the only program of its kind associated with one of the world's great symphony orchestras, the Boston Symphony Orchestra. BUTI's 2018 Summer Concert Series is generously sponsored by M&T Bank.
Following today's highly competitive semi-final competition, nine young singers will advance to the final phase of the Metropolitan Opera's 2018 National Council Auditions, America's most prestigious vocal competition. The selected finalists, chosen by a panel of experts from the classical music industry, will compete on the Met stage on Sunday, April 29 at 3 p.m. The winners will receive individual cash prizes of $15,000 and the prestigious—and potentially career-launching—title of National Council Auditions Winner. The Grand Finals Concert will be hosted by Joyce DiDonato, who will perform during the judges' deliberations. The finalists will sing two arias, with Bertrand de Billy conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Composer Gene Pritsker presents a concert of his vocal music. 'I have written many chamber operas, various chamber music with voice, jazz songs, r&b songs, choral music and songs inspired by various genres and cultures. I thought it would be great to have a concert that features my eclectic vocal compositions. I assembled a group of great singers and picked repertoire that will feature each of their voices as well as combine them to perform some of my choral music.'
Yamaha Artist Services New York announced that Lara Downes has joined the company's impressive roster of artists. 'We are delighted Lara has chosen Yamaha pianos and keyboards to be her partner on the concert stage, in the recording studio and for all her musical adventures for many years to come,' said Bonnie Barrett, director of Yamaha Services.
Twenty-five young opera singers who have won regional auditions around the United States will arrive at the Met this month to compete in the next phase of the country's leading vocal competition: the semi-final round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, launches its 61st season offering audiences a look at the opera stars of tomorrow.
Kahchun Wong returns to the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, where he is the Chief Conductor Designate, to conduct two concerts featuring Mahler's Symphony No. 5 on March 17 and 18, 2018. Wong will become the new Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra beginning in the 2018/2019 season.
