Sasha Cooke, John Holiday, Liv Redpath, Leah Hawkins, Mario Chang Headline San Francisco Symphony’s 2024-25 Season

The San Francisco Symphony has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a rundown of the vocal performances on offer. Joe Hisaishi conducts a concert of music from the films of Hayao Miyazaki. The concert will feature the participation of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Performance Dates: Sept. 5 – 8, 2024 Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts Verdi’s Requiem with Leah Hawkins, Karen Cargill, {…}

Feb 28, 2024

Angela Meade & Ailyn Pérez Lead Washington Concert Opera’s 2023-24 Season

The Washington Concert Opera has announced its 2023-24 season. The company will present two rarely performed works from the Italian repertoire. Rossini’s “Ermione” is set to star Angela Meade, Lawrence Brownlee, David Portillo, and Ginger Costa-Jackson. Performance Date: Dec. 2, 2023 Ailyn Pérez, Mario Chang, Jonathan Johnson, Deanna Breiwick, Javier Arrey, Tess Ottinger, Natalie Conte, and Melanie Ashkar star in {…}

Nov 12, 2023

Q & A: Soprano Ailyn Pérez on ‘Florencia en el Amazonas’ & the Importance of Spanish-Language Opera

(Credit: Paola Kudacki / Met Opera) On Nov. 16, the Metropolitan Opera will make history by presenting only the third Spanish-language opera in the company’s trajectory. Additionally, the work in question, “Florencia en el Amazonas,” will be the very first Latin American opera presented by the company. For the massive milestone, the company brought together a mixed cast that includes {…}

Jun 22, 2023

Nicholas Brownlee, Sinéad Campbell-Wallace, Amanda Woodbury Lead Irish National Opera’s 2023-24 Season

The Irish National Opera has announced its 2023-24 season. Éna Brennan’s “Breathwork” will star Andrew Gavin, Michelle O’Rourke, and Kelli-Ann Masterson. John McIlduff directs. Performance Dates: Sept. 28-30, 2023 Duke Kim sings the title role of Gounod’s “Faust” alongside Nicholas Brownlee, Jennifer Davis, Gyula Nagy, Mark Nathan, and Gemma Ní Bhriain. Elaine Kelly conducts the production by Jack Furness. Performance {…}

Apr 8, 2022

Andriana Chuchman, Mario Chang, Larisa Martínez Headline Festival Napa Valley 2022

Festival Napa Valley has unveiled its 2022 festival, which is set to take place between July 9-23, 2022. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be on vocal events. Kicking things off will be the Novack Concert for Kids starring the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. Performance Date: July 14, 2022 The Young People’s Chorus of {…}

Dec 24, 2021

Tenor Mario Chang Joins Promethean Artists

(Credit: Christian Monterroso) Guatemalan tenor Mario Chang has joined the roster of Promethean Artists for General Management. Chang is a well-known tenor who has performed with such companies as the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Oper Frankfurt, Washington National Opera, Den Norske Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Theater Bonn, among others. “The next few years will be a very exciting {…}

Nov 30, 2021

Marina Rebeka, Piero Pretti, Elsa Benoit & Mario Chang Headline OperaVision’s December 2021 Streaming Lineup

(Credit: Mikel Ponce / Miguel Lorenzo) OperaVision has announced its streams for the month of December. Clément Hervieu-Léger’s production of Philippe Hersant and Jean Echenoz’s “Les Éclairs” from Opéra Comique kicks off the streaming slate. The opera features Jean-Christophe Lanièce, Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur, François Rougier, Elsa Benoit, André Heyboer, Jérôme Boutillier, Alban Dufourt, and Mathieu Dubroca. Ariane Matiakh conducts. Streaming dates: {…}

Oct 21, 2021

J’Nai Bridges, Rihab Chaieb, Andriana Chuchman, Mario Chang, Jennifer Rowley Headline Palm Beach Opera’s 2022 Season

Florida-based Palm Beach Opera has announced its 2022 season. It all kicks off with “Dido and Aeneas” in an outdoor performance. The work will be conducted by Gregory Ritchey. Performance Date: Dec. 11, 2021 The first production of the year will be “Carmen” with J’Nai Bridges and Rihab Chaieb sharing the title role. Jonathan Burton and Migran Agadzhanyan will share {…}

Jan 26, 2020

Arizona Opera 2019-20 Review: La Bohème

In Phoenix on January 24, 2020, Arizona Opera presented Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica, and Giuseppe Giacosa’s popular opera “La Bohème.” Illica and Giacosa wrote the opera’s libretto and I agree with modern writers that librettists deserve as much credit as composers. When the curtain opened, Stage Director Paul and Scenic Designer Peter Dean Beck gave us a two-level garret that would return for the last act. In it he did not use what I guess was merely a sleeping loft on the upper level. This construction is actually part of a most effective unit set that formed the second act hillside street, and the third act gate.

Apr 24, 2019

Stuart Skelton, James Rutherford and Atalla Ayan highlight the Norwegian National Opera’s 2019-20 season

The Norwegian National Opera announced its plans for the 2019-20 season. Here is the lineup: The season open with Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore” in a production by British director Oliver Mears. Operalia Competition winner Luis Gomes sings Nemorino opposite Andrea Carroll’s Adina. Baritone Andrei Kymach and Bass-baritone Günes Gürle will sing Belcore and Dulcamara, respectively. The conductor will be Daniel Smith. {…}

Feb 19, 2019

Golda Schultz, Julia Bullock & Gustavo Dudamel Headline LA Philharmonic’s 2019-20 Season

The LA Philharmonic has announced its 2019-20 season featuring numerous world premieres and a number of superstars. Here is a look at what the season has to offer. Please note that we have only announced the vocal performances. Julia Bullock headlines a concert that includes Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” Gershwin’s Concerto in F, the world premiere of Andre Previn’s {…}