Before he was an Emmy-winning TV star, Mandy Patinkin was already a Tony-winning Broadway legend. The acclaimed actor, singer and storyteller will appear on the Heinz Hall stage with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra tonight, April 5 at 8 p.m. in his most electrifying role - concert performer.
Before he was an Emmy-winning TV star, Mandy Patinkin was already a Tony-winning Broadway legend. The acclaimed actor, singer and storyteller will appear on the Heinz Hall stage with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra tonight, April 5 at 8 p.m. in his most electrifying role - concert performer.
Internationally Acclaimed Tenor, James Valenti will be making his triumphant return tothe Metropolitan Opera located at 10 Lincoln Center Plaza in New York City as he takes on the role of Lt. Pinkerton inPuccini's "Madama Butterfly" on April 4, 9, 12 and 15. Valenti has been praised by critics for having a voice of Italianate lustre and is part of the long-standing tradition of great Italian tenors. The sought after 6'5 tenor has built a global reputation for his elegant musicianship, commanding stage presence, ardent vocal style and striking good looks.
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.
The New York Philharmonic and the Music Academy of the West have entered into a four-year partnership that will create unique and intensive opportunities for selected Music Academy Fellows to train with New York Philharmonic musicians and Music Director Alan Gilbert in Santa Barbara and New York. Alan Gilbert, the New York Philharmonic, its Assistant Conductors, and musicians will have a presence at the Music Academy Summer Festival for training and performances each summer for four years beginning in 2014, culminating in a joint concert with the New York Philharmonic and Academy Festival Orchestra celebrating the Music Academy's 70th anniversary in 2017.
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.
As I was going to the Paul Taylor performance I saw a woman wearing a mink coat and my brain retreated to my early teenage years when all those Blackglama ads were in vogue. You remember them: 'What becomes a legend most?' Among those featured in the advertisements were Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn, and Martha Graham, among the many icons.
On Saturday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m., the talented singers and pianist of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center 2013-14 ensemble will perform with members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra in works of Adams, Bizet, Copland, Donizetti, Gershwin, Gounod, Handel, Lehár, Massenet, Mozart, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Walton. Rising Stars in Concert is offered in celebration of an extraordinarily successful year of study and performance for these up-and-coming artists.
Following this afternoon's highly competitive semi-final competition, nine young singers will advance to the final phase of the Metropolitan Opera's 2014 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, March 30at the Grand Finals Concert, with winners receiving individual cash prizes of $15,000 and the prestigious-and potentially career-launching-title of National Council Auditions Winner. The Grand Finals Concert begins at 3 p.m. and will feature Marco Armiliatoconducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as each finalist performs two arias in contrasting styles. The concert will be hosted by tenorLawrence Brownlee, a former National Council winner currently at the Met rehearsing for Bellini's I Puritani. While the judges deliberate, another former winner, Susanna Phillips, who stars in three operas at the Met this season, will perform an aria from Mozart'sLe Nozze di Figaro. Tickets for the Grand Finals Concert may be purchased at the Met Box Office, by phone at 212-362-6000, or online at www.metopera.org.
Twenty-three singers, five apprentice coaches and one apprentice stage director, representing ten countries, will participate in the 57th season of the Merola Opera Program from June 2 to August 17. More than 900 artists vied for the 29 coveted spots in the 2014 summer program. Offered free of charge for all participants, the prestigious Merola Opera program is unique in the industry in many ways. Merola is the only young artist program to provide financial support to developing artists for five years following participation. In the past year alone, more than $150,000 was distributed to more than 100 artists supporting varied needs from coaching to language classes to audition travel. In addition, only Merola graduates are considered for participation in the San Francisco Opera's Adler Fellowship program. Selected through an extensive world-wide audition and application process, nearly one third of this season's artists come from countries outside the United States, including: Canada, China, Taiwan, Italy, South Korea, Russia, Iran, Poland and Israel. This year, the program will have three returning Merola artists, Casey Candebat (Merola 2012), Sahar Nouri and Rhys Lloyd Talbot (both Merola 2013).
When the Vienna State Opera visited New York at the end of February, it brought Alban Berg's WOZZECK to Carnegie Hall as part of the “Vienna: City of Dreams” festivities. With the big sound of the Vienna Philharmonic central to the concert performance, it set out to show what a quintessentially Viennese opera sounded like played by the hometown band. Sorry, boys [and it's still mainly a male bastion], but the Met Orchestra, conducted by James Levine, could show you a thing or two.
Thomas Hampson will be at Manhattan School of Music today, March 19th to give a vocal master class. This master class, a free event and open to the public, takes place at 4:00 p.m. in the School's Greenfield Recital Hall, and will be streamed live by going to http://dl.msmnyc.edu/live. The master class will be given in collaboration with MSM's world renowned Distance Learning and Recording Arts Department, headed by Christianne Orto, Dean of Distance Learning and Recording Arts at Manhattan School of Music.
Before he was an Emmy-winning TV star, Mandy Patinkin was already a Tony-winning Broadway legend. The acclaimed actor, singer and storyteller will appear on the Heinz Hall stage with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, April 5 at 8 p.m. in his most electrifying role - concert performer.
Before he was an Emmy-winning TV star, Mandy Patinkin was already a Tony-winning Broadway legend. The acclaimed actor, singer and storyteller will appear on the Heinz Hall stage with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, April 5 at 8 p.m. in his most electrifying role — concert performer.
Internationally Acclaimed Tenor, James Valenti will be making his triumphant return tothe Metropolitan Opera located at 10 Lincoln Center Plaza in New York City as he takes on the role of Lt. Pinkerton inPuccini's “Madama Butterfly” on April 4, 9, 12 and 15. Valenti has been praised by critics for having a voice of Italianate lustre and is part of the long-standing tradition of great Italian tenors. The sought after 6'5 tenor has built a global reputation for his elegant musicianship, commanding stage presence, ardent vocal style and striking good looks.
Twenty young opera singers who have won regional competitions around the United States will arrive in New York next week to prepare for the next phase of the country's leading vocal competition: the semi-final round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The closed semi-final competition, held on the Met stage before a panel of judges, will determine the select group of finalists who will advance to the final round of the competition. Those finalists will return to the Met to perform in the Grand Finals Concert on Sunday, March 30 at 3 p.m., where each will perform two arias with conductor Marco Armiliato and the Met Orchestra. At the end of the concert, winners will be announced, each of whom will receive an individual cash prize of $15,000 and, more importantly, career-making exposure. The Met Auditions, currently in their 61st year, are a major stepping stone to a career as an opera singer and were crucial in introducing many of today's best-known stars, such as Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Deborah Voigt, and Dolora Zajick. In 2007, the National Council Audition process was captured in an acclaimed documentary, The Audition, which was released on DVD and aired on PBS, including a rebroadcast on WNET in December 2013.
Daniel Sutin will sing the title role in tonight's performance of Berg's Wozzeck, replacing Thomas Hampson, who is recovering from bronchitis. Hampson's illness also forced him to withdraw from the March 6 performance of Wozzeck, which was sung by Matthias Goerne. Hampson expects to be ready in time for the next scheduled performance of Wozzeck on March 13.
Thomas Hampson will be at Manhattan School of Music on Wednesday, March 19th to give a vocal master class. This master class, a free event and open to the public, takes place at 4:00 p.m. in the School's Greenfield Recital Hall, and will be streamed live by going to http://dl.msmnyc.edu/live. The master class will be given in collaboration with MSM's world renowned Distance Learning and Recording Arts Department, headed by Christianne Orto, Dean of Distance Learning and Recording Arts at Manhattan School of Music.
Matthias Goerne is stepping into the title role in tonight's opening night performance of Berg's Wozzeck, replacing Thomas Hampson, who has withdrawn due to illness.
Following an extensive European tour with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Thomas Hampson returns to the U.S. to make his role debut as the eponymous antihero of Alban Berg's Wozzeck, opening tonight, March 6 at New York's Metropolitan Opera.
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