Jarvus Ricardo Hester is thinking about opera beyond the traditional theater. As the founder of Harlem Collective Opera, he is exploring how classical music can become more intimate, accessible, and connected to the communities it serves. At the heart of that work is the Black Composer Project, an exploration of Black art song that has grown into something larger than {…}
(Photo: Ed Choo) Born out of a belief that opera could be experienced differently — with an emotional immediacy like no other artform — OperaUpClose has evolved from its first award-winning production of “La Bohème” in a 35-seater pub in 2009, to becoming a trailblazer for London’s fringe opera scene, to a nationally touring company championing a new model for {…}
(Photo: Fabio Ceresa) One of the highlights of this summer’s Innsbruck Early Music Festival will undoubtedly be a fully staged production of Antonio Cesti’s opera from 1668, “Il pomo d’oro,” to a libretto by Francesco Sbarra. Written for the Austrian Empress, Margaret Theresa’s 17th birthday in a specially constructed outdoor theater in Vienna, it has been described as the empire’s {…}
Olivier Award winner, Peter Whelan, is known as one of the most dynamic and versatile exponents of historical performance of his generation. He is currently the Artistic Director of Irish Baroque Orchestra and Curator for Early Music of Norwegian Wind Ensemble. In addition to taking up the role of Artistic Partner with National Symphony Orchestra Ireland in January 2026 and {…}
Composer Carlos Simon has built a career at the intersection of the Black church and the concert hall, channeling a Pentecostal upbringing into music written for orchestras, opera companies and choruses. That path has taken the Atlanta native from Composer in Residence at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the inaugural Composer Chair of the Boston {…}
(Photo credit: Ozge Balkan) During the week-long program Opera by the Fjord in Bergen, Norway, co-creator and conductor Sascha Goetzel spoke with OperaWire about this unique young artist program. Not only does Opera by the Fjord take young opera singers, it brings together budding orchestra musicians, conductors, and répétiteurs. This year, the program featured performances of Mozart’s “Le nozze di {…}
In a modern world burgeoning with new operas each year, some artists are ensuring their cultures be spotlighted in an industry constantly being innovated. Quinteto Latino and Opera Cultura, are two artistic pioneers with similar missions: spotlighting Latino artists while uplifting communities through diverse storytelling. Quinteto Latino, a wind quintet engaging audiences through education and performing commissioned pieces by Latino {…}
For 15 years, Peter Kozma has built up Opera Neo into one of the most distinctive training grounds for young opera artists in the United States. At the core of his philosophy is a conviction he has held since childhood: opera is, first and foremost, theater. Born and raised in Budapest, Hungary, at the age of six, Kozma witnessed his {…}
(Photo Credit: Curtis Brown) On June 20th, Carnegie Hall will host a Carlisle Floyd Centennial concert celebrating one of American opera’s most distinctive voices. Floyd, who authored both music and libretto for his works, built a canon rooted in rural life, the Great Depression, and the post-Civil War American South, earning him the designation of “Dean” or “Father of American {…}
G. Phillip Shoultz, III, Artistic Director of “Sing Democracy 250” reveals what went into the preparation and nature of the upcoming concert in Constitution Hall, a concert to echo the words of the Declaration of Independence 250th anniversary. “Sing Democracy 250” is a multiyear program bringing youth choirs and adult choirs from around the country to seek meaning in {…}
(Photo: Sofia Opera) Professor Plamen Kartaloff’s legacy as the director of Sofia Opera is guided by his deep commitment to artistic integrity and the living spirit of music in the theater. This depth comes from years spent putting in the work, forging new paths and uncovering the musical possibilities “between the lines” for Bulgarian singers. While the Bulgarian opera tradition {…}