“I was, like many composers, not someone who was immediately in love with the human voice, the operatic voice, in new music,” says Lembit Beecher, whose opinion has definitely changed. He has become a powerful new force in the medium, with his new opera, SKY ON SWINGS, written with librettist Hannah Moskovitch and directed by Joanna Settle, opening the second year of Opera Philadelphia's Festival, O18, on September 20. It stars two formidable mezzos, Frederica von Stade and Marietta Simpson.
Dr. David DiChiera, Founder and long-time General Director of Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT), died today at his home in Detroit with his family by his side. He was 83 years old and had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March, 2017.
Pacific Opera Project (POP) joins forces with The Occidental College Glee Club for two performances of Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata on October 27 and 28, 2018 at Occidental College's Thorne Hall. Following a wonderful experience together producing The Rake's Progress in 2016, the collaboration allows POP to present Verdi's masterpiece with a more than 50-member chorus of Occidental Glee Club students and a POP professional chorus, plus a large orchestra.
Washington National Opera opens its 2018-2019 season with a stunning new production by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello of Verdi's La traviata, October 6-21, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets start at $45. From the famous brindisi drinking song to the heartbreaking 'Addio del passato' aria, the original 'Pretty Woman' proves it's better to have loved once than not at all. Verdi's romantic masterpiece and familiar tunes are as timeless as the storyline is contemporary, pitting tensions of social class against Violetta's personal sacrifice.
Puccini's La Bohème, the most-performed opera in Met history, returns to the repertory in the opening week of the 2018-19 season, with 11 performances of Franco Zeffirelli's beloved production from September 25. Initial performances feature three much anticipated Met debuts
The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage's 2018-19 Celebrity Opera Series opens with one of the most acclaimed sopranos in the world, Sonya Yoncheva, with Domingo Hindoyan, conductor, on Wednesday, November 7 at 7:30pm. Zachary Woolfe said in The New York Times, "Yoncheva is a performer that I'd seek out, no matter what she does." Tickets for members are now on sale. Tickets for the general public will go on sale on Wednesday, September 12.
Musica Viva NY kicks off its 2018-19 season with Songs of Love, an evening of lieder by Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and P.D.Q. Bach, on Sunday, September 23 at 5:00 p.m. at All Souls Church. The concert features soprano Devony Smith, mezzo-soprano Michele Eaton, tenor Nathan Siler, and baritone Brian Mextorf, accompanied by Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez and Trent Johnson.
It was announced today that Irish soprano Jennifer Davis, who was scheduled to perform the role of Violetta in the opera Il bravo by Saverio Mercadante at this year's Festival, has with regret withdrawn from the production. Explaining the reason for her withdrawal, Artistic Director David Agler said, “Since Ms Davis was initially engaged to sing the role in Wexford, her voice has developed, and the role is no longer suitable vocally. She would not want to sing the role in a way which would not do proper justice to the music or the public and so, along with Wexford, has regretfully decided not to continue. Wexford Festival Opera and Ms Davis hope that she will return to the Festival in the future.'
Tenri Cultural Institute proudly presents The Chamber Music of Dana Dimitri Richardson on Sunday, October 14th at 3pm. The program features world premieres and recent works performed by pianists Craig Ketter, Simon Mulligan, and Cathy Callis, soprano Jacqueline Milena Thompson, saxophonist Mark Engebretson, and Canta Libre Chamber Ensemble.
Stu Mindeman, pianist and composer, is set to release his new album titled Woven Threads (Sunnyside Records) on September 14, 2018. The eight track album is a remarkable journey through themes of distant memories, self re-discovery, and the connection between North and South American cultures. Woven Threads is inspired by Stu's recent trips to Chile reconnecting him to his childhood memories of the country's rich culture, vibrant people, and diverse musical landscape. The album also features an impressive array of talents including Francesca Ancarola, Ana Tijoux, Kurt Elling, Miguel Zenón, and Marquis Hill.
A double-bill of operatic masterworks is headed for the Belgrade Theatre this summer when Russian State Ballet and Opera house present a pair of lavish new productions.
Continuing its celebratory 35th Anniversary Season, The Verdi Chorus (Anne Marie Ketchum, Founding Artistic Director), announced today that auditions will be held on Saturday, August 25, 2018 at the First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica for The Verdi Chorus Fall 2018 Concert.
The third of four extraordinary hour-long performances produced by New York City Opera in Bryant Park this summer, La Traviata (or 'The Fallen Woman') is Giuseppe Verdi's tragic and revered opera about courtesan Violetta Valéry. New York City Opera, 'The People's Opera,' brings La Traviata, one of the most beloved operas of all time to Bryant Park. Grab a blanket (and a tissue) and find the perfect spot to enjoy a one-hour adaptation of Verdi's classic that inspired Moulin Rouge, with instantly recognizable tunes famously featured in Pretty Woman.
Da lunedi 11 giugno e in onda su La5 la serie musical teen DALIA DELLE FATE, gia conosciuta in Argentina come Dalia de las hadas.
Abbiamo incontrato Mariano Jaime, attore italo-argentino del teatro musicale nostrano.
Watch a preview of Tony Award–winning director Michael Mayer's new production of Verdi's “La Traviata,” starring Diana Damrau and conducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Opens December 4, 2018.
Portland Opera is pleased to announce programming for the company's 55th season, scheduled to begin in November 2018. The season will launch with the recently announced "November classic" - Verdi's heartbreaking romance La Traviata - bringing opera back to Portland in the fall months. In March, Portland Opera will present Laura Kaminsky's brave and beautiful coming-of-age story, As One, where two voices, a mezzo-soprano and a baritone, share the role of the transgender heroine Hannah. The season will continue in the spring with the company's annual Big Night concert and a bright and vibrant production of Rossini's great Il Barbiere di Siviglia. In July, the company will present Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera for the first time, followed by the company premiere of Philip Glass's exploration of the nature of justice, In the Penal Colony, based on Franz Kafka's short story.
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.
