Vittorio Grigolo News

Tonight, the Metropolitan Opera Guild continues its series of tributes to legendary singers with a celebration of two unforgettable opera icons who passed away last summer. 'INCOMPARABLE: A Celebration of Licia Albanese and Carlo Bergonzi' will take place at New York City's Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College tonight, March 13 at 7:30pm, and will be hosted by Opera News Award-winning soprano Patricia Racette.

This Friday, the Metropolitan Opera Guild continues its series of tributes to legendary singers with a celebration of two unforgettable opera icons who passed away last summer. “INCOMPARABLE: A Celebration of Licia Albanese and Carlo Bergonzi” will take place at New York City's Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College on March 13 at 7:30pm, and will be hosted by Opera News Award-winning soprano Patricia Racette.

New York, NY (March 4, 2015) – Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo will sing their first Met performances of the title character in Massenet's Manon and her devoted lover, the Chevalier des Grieux. Emmanuel Villaume will conduct the first revival of Laurent Pelly's 2012 Met staging, also starring Russell Braun as Manon's cousin, Lescaut, and Nicolas Testé as the Chevalier's father, the Comte des Grieux. The opera opens March 9 and plays six performances through March 28.

A beautiful mechanical doll. An irresistible courtesan. A visit from beyond the grave-or is it just an illusion? All these, plus an imaginative hero who never gets the girl, show up in The Met's new production of Jacques Offenbach's masterwork. Les Contes d'Hoffman has been inspired by a variety of influences that reflect the opera's multiple dramatic layers-including Kafka, classic Hollywood cinema, and even Woody Allen. Town Hall Theater will broadcast this new production today, January 31st at 1pm.

Is there another staple of major opera houses that's as big a mess as LES CONTES D'HOFFMAN by Jacques Offenbach? If there is, I can't think of it--but it doesn't keep it from being wildly enjoyable in the right hands. The Met's current production is entertaining, in spite of itself.

A beautiful mechanical doll. An irresistible courtesan. A visit from beyond the grave-or is it just an illusion? All these, plus an imaginative hero who never gets the girl, show up in The Met's new production of Jacques Offenbach's masterwork. Les Contes d'Hoffman has been inspired by a variety of influences that reflect the opera's multiple dramatic layers-including Kafka, classic Hollywood cinema, and even Woody Allen. Town Hall Theater will broadcast this new production on Saturday, January 31st at 1pm.

Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann will return to the Met stage January 12, with Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo in his first company performances of the title role, a poet whose attempts at romance are repeatedly thwarted.

Summer saw the passing of two of opera's most iconic figures: Licia Albanese, at the age of 105, and Carlo Bergonzi, at 90.

Puccini's LA BOHEME has that magical ability to change its shape depending on the cast. When Pavarotti sang, it became his opera, with a Mimi hard pressed to take the spotlight, even in her death scene. When Stratas, Carreras and Scotto (as Musetta) led the cast, it became a glittery ensemble of shooting stars. At this week's performance with rising star Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Mimi, there was no doubt that she was the evening's “it” girl, even though the other principal singers added mightily to the performance's success.

Hosted by soprano Deborah Voigt, from the Grand Staircase of the Met, the special covers a wide range of operatic ground, from heartbreak to hilarity, delivered by such artists as Natalie Dessay, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Juan Diego Flórez, Jonas Kaufmann, and Anna Netrebko, along with Voigt herself. These extraordinary moments, selected from more than 75 productions, were initially seen as part of the Met's global Live in HD movie-theater transmissions, and later shared with PBS audiences as presentations ofGreat Performances at the Met.

How exhilarating are the operas and plays broadcast Live in HD to The Ridgefield Playhouse, complete with behind-the-scenes tours and commentary by some of the genres' most revered stars. From London's National Theatre on Sunday, January 11, at 4 p.m., JOHN authentically depicts the real-life stories of more than 50 men asked about love and sex. JOHN contains adult themes, strong language and nudity. Suitable for 18yrs+. From the Met in New York City comes Lehar's The Merry Widow stars Renee Fleming on Saturday, January 17, at 6 p.m. The Met will also bring Offenbach's Les Contes D'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) with magnetic tenor Vittorio Grigoloto to the theater on Saturday, January 31, at 12 p.m.

The Astana Opera will make its Toronto debut performance tonight, October 30 at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. Its concert program 'Voice of Asia,' selected for its inclusion of Kazakh folk songs and pieces by Kazakh composers, will be under the direction of Abzal Mukhitdinov.

The Astana Opera will make its Toronto debut performance on Thursday, October 30 at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. Its concert program 'Voice of Asia,' selected for its inclusion of Kazakh folk songs and pieces by Kazakh composers, will be under the direction of Abzal Mukhitdinov.

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live transmissions to more than 2,000 movie theaters in 65 countries around the world, will feature ten operas in the 2014-15 season, including all six new productions in the Met season. All ten performances, transmitted live from the Met stage, will feature the world's finest singers, conductors, and theatrical artists.

The Capitol Center for the Arts is pleased to announce that it will present 10 productions in next season's Met: Live in HD series, beginning with Verdi's Macbeth on Saturday, October 11, at. Single tickets for this series are on sale now for $26 Adults; $22 Seniors/Met/CCA Members; and $15 Students. Season subscriptions are also available at $208 Adults; $176 Seniors/Met/CCA Members; and $120 students.

Tickets are now on sale for the 2014-15 season of The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live transmissions into more than 2000 movie theaters and performing arts centers worldwide.

The Metropolitan Opera's popular Summer HD Festival returns to Lincoln Center Plaza with screenings of ten acclaimed productions from the Met's Emmy Award-winning Live in HD series, including four new productions from the 2013-14 season.

The Warner Theatre has announced its 2014-2015 MetOpera: Live in HD Season which will feature 10 operas, 9 of which will be streaming live from the Metropolitan Opera, and 1 encore performance.

The Collegiate Chorale will make its seventh appearance at the Verbier Festival from July 21-27, 2014, in concerts with Charles Dutoit, Yuri Temirkanov, Marc Minkowski, and Daniel Harding.

“The party's over,” wrote Betty Comden & Adolph Green in BELLS ARE RINGING. “It's time to call it a day.” The opera season at the Metropolitan said its farewells to 2013-2014 on May 10 with a bel canto doubleheader of Rossini's LA CENERENTOLA (a shot heard round the world via radio and The Met's LIVE IN HD) and Bellini's IL PURITANI--not a bad swan song, considering the singing talent involved.