The Charlottesville Opera has announced the casts and operas for its 2023 season. The season will include Frank Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls” and Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca,” two works never performed by the company. “We are excited to present these classic productions for our audience here in Charlottesville. Both shows exemplify what we all love about musical storytelling, great characters, and {…}
Arizona Opera has announced it will release “Carmen: the Graphic Novel” in early December, just in time for the holidays. The book is a project of Alek Shrader, an operatic tenor and director who appeared in “The Audition,” a documentary about the Met Opera National Council Auditions, now called the Laffont Competition. Shrader served as the graphic novel’s writer and {…}
Opera Philadelphia has announced its 2022-23 season which will see the return of the season-opening Festival O. Festival O22 (Sept. 21-Oct. 2) The season will open with Rossini’s “Otello” starring Opera Philadelphia Artistic Advisor Lawrence Brownlee as Rodrigo. He is joined by fellow tenors Khanyiso Gwenxane in the title role and Alek Shrader as Iago, with mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as Desdemona. {…}
Caramoor has announced its 2022 summer season, which runs between June 18 through August 19, 2022. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be on opera and vocal performances. Soprano Christine Taylor Price and baritone Thomas West headline “Pops & Patriots” alongside the Westchester Symphony Winds and conductor Curt Ebersole. The showcase features music by Smith, Porter, Thomas, {…}
The English Concert has announced the fall portion of its 2021-22 season. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be on vocal and operatic performances. First up will be Händel’s “Samson” at the London Händel Festival, St. George’s Hanover Square. The showcase will star Stuart Jackson, Sophie Bevan, Paula Murrihy, Matthew Brook, David Shipley, and Rachel Redmond. Harry {…}
(Credit: © Gregor Hohenberg / Sony Classical/BreeAnne Clowdus) Cal Performances has announced its 2021-22 season featuring an array of music including pop, opera, musical, and dance. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on vocal and operatic performances. Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch showcase a program of lieder and songs in French, German, and Italian. Performance Date: Oct. {…}
(Credit: Stefan Cohen/San Francisco Opera) San Francisco Opera stages its first live opera performances with Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” The opera will be offered in a drive-in setting at San Rafael’s Marin Center and will open on April 23 and showcased for eleven performances running through May 15. Director Matthew Ozawa adapted the opera into a 90-minute version {…}
San Francisco Opera has announced that it will be returning to live performances starting in the Spring 2021. The company will present a 90-minute drive-in version of “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” directed by Matthew Ozawa starring Daniela Mack, Alek Shrader, Lucas Meachem, Laura Krumm, Philip Skinner, Kenneth Kellogg, and Catherine Cook. Roderick Cox makes his company debut at the podium. {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced the next month of nightly streams which focus on a number of unique themes including operas in English, holiday works, and even an entire work dedicated to one of the most iconic artists of all time. Week 39– In Plain English Monday, December 7 – Thomas Adès’s The Tempest Starring Audrey Luna, Isabel Leonard, Iestyn Davies, Alek Shrader, {…}
Opera Philadelphia is set to stream the 2015 production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” starring Lisette Oropesa. The production marked the role debut of Oropesa as Violetta in a new production by Paul Curran. Since then Oropesa has gone on to perform the role to great acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera and Arena di Verona. Opera Philadelphia’s production will premiere on {…}
The Atlanta Opera (TAO) website greets visitors with an invitation: “JOIN US AT THE BIG TENT!” Cool. The company’s staging its 2021 productions in an enormous tent. But wait a minute; is that a circus tent? Yes, it is, and unlike the Met’s new-ish production of “Così fan tutte” in which the circus entered the opera house, The Atlanta Opera’s {…}
