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Interviews
Gabriela Lena Frank: Pipelines to Cultures, Stories, and Becoming the First Latina Opera Composer at the Met
(Credit: © Erik Castro) As music can travel through time, space, and lands, Gabriela Lena Frank has traveled through a multitude of worlds that now brings her to the Metropolitan Opera debuting her Spanish-language opera “El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego,” May 14th. Recent winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Music, the 25th anniversary Heinz Award, and the {…}
Q & A: Jordan Best & Lori Schulman on the Santa Cruz Opera Project
(Photos: courtesy of the artists) Chamber opera is growing in appeal. Not only with composers, such as Missy Mizzoli and Nico Muhly, but also with producers such as Pocket Opera and West Edge Opera looking for small and untraditional venues in which to present their work. Minimalist opera in small halls invariably attracts new, young, inquiring audiences and companies such {…}
Q & A: OperAffinity Founder Breana Stillman on Working with Organization & Festival’s Future, Working with Refugees & How Music Creates Connection & Understanding
It was during her years working as an opera singer in Germany that Breana Stillman first encountered the transformative power of the art form beyond the stage, specifically through children’s choirs involved in opera productions. What she witnessed there, the musical growth, the exposure to languages and cultures, the discipline and sense of community it fostered in young people, planted {…}
Indie Opera
Jason Detwiler, Christina Major & Jeremy Brauner Headline New Rochelle Opera’s ‘Nabucco’
New Rochelle Opera has announced principal casting for concert performances of Verdi’s “Nabucco” on Friday, May 15 and Sunday, May 17, 2026, at The Ursuline School in New Rochelle, New York. The cast features Jason Detwiler in the title role, while Christina Major sings Abigaille. Jeremy Brauner takes the role of Ismaele, Brandon Coleman sings Zaccaria, and Michelle Detwiler sings {…}
Vashon Opera to Present Humperdinck’s ‘Hänsel und Gretel’ This May
Vashon Opera will present Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel” on May 29 and 31 at the Vashon Center for the Arts. The production marks the stage directing debut of Artistic Director Allison Pohl. Mezzo-soprano Laurel Semerdjian makes her Vashon Opera debut in the role of Hänsel. She is joined by lyric coloratura Emma Petersen, also making her company debut, as {…}