Prolific young composer and pianist Felix Jarrar’s ninth opera will premiere virtually on Oct. 31, 2021, and in keeping with the Halloween season, his latest chamber opera is based on an Edgar Allan Poe story. This time around, Jarrar’s libretto is an adaptation of “The Cask of Amontillado” which relates the tale of a quest for a bottle of Spanish {…}
In most countries around the world, once you leave the conservatory setting, you have a number of options through which you can build your career. Whether it be working with independent companies, engaging with young artist programs, or even doing residencies, there are options, albeit competitive ones, available to the burgeoning opera artist. In some countries, there are even the {…}
Founded in 2018, the Irish National Opera has put itself on the map for its innovation, operatic productions, and world premieres. During the pandemic, the company was forced to halt live performances, only two years into its work. However, due to its recent founding, the organization was able to pivot to virtual performances with ease, creating such works as “20 Shots {…}
Credit: Dario Acosta It has the elements of opera: singing; a story communicated through sound; and a hero that is born, faces obstacles, makes a sacrifice, and dies. The work in question is the public sound installation and experimental opera “The Last Stand” by Dr. Kamala Sankaram, to be presented by Creative Time in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park from September 18 {…}
(Credit: © UNHCR/Markel Redondo) Opera audiences may know Barabra Hendricks for her historical operatic performances and her forays into jazz. But for the past 35 years, Hendricks has dedicated her work to the UNHCR as the longest-serving Goodwill Ambassador. She has traveled to Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Cote D’Ivoire as an ambassador and visited refugee {…}
OperUS, a young artist community created by and for young artists, will hold its first Growth Environment for Singers, or GEFS for short, beginning Sept. 6, 2021, in Montepulciano, Italy. The organization, founded by mezzo-soprano Fiorenza Badila Costantini and soprano Alessandra Torrani establishes a space for young singers to connect and promote and celebrate their work, regardless of gender, ethnicity, {…}
Paco Azorín is one of today’s most prolific artists in Spain. In a 25 years, he has participated in more than 300 productions in theater and opera. Recently his 2014 “Tosca” debuted at the Teatro Real de Madrid for the very first time and with it audiences got to see three different casts with the likes of Anna Netrebko, Sondra {…}
(Credit: Tyler Fayose) Femi Elufowoju Jr is a practitioner of many crafts. He’s a screen actor with 15 credits, a stage director who has been at the helm for myriads of productions, and a film director. But there was a missing piece. Elufowoju Jr is a music lover and comprehends the enormous power it can have over an audience. The {…}
Last month, Hector Armienta’s animated opera “Mi Camino” premiered for audiences around the world. The work represented one of the first animated operas in the industry and showcased the stories of migrant Latino farmworkers during the pandemic. The Mexican American composer has garnered recognition around the United showcasing works with the Pacific Symphony, Oakland East Bay Symphony, and Western Stage {…}
Scottish Opera turns 60 next year, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of its Outreach and Education program, arguably the longest-standing formal company outreach of its kind in the opera world. The department’s activities range from Paisley’s 2018 “Pagliacci”—performed in a tent with a community choir, and for which designer Tim Meacock won the Best Designer Award at the {…}
(Credit: Zen Grisdale) The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is actively creating new life in the digital realm of opera by evolving the genre’s traditional standards and exploring alternate creative interpretations to share with audience members at a broader level through a new series called “music video remake” films. The aesthetic concept underlying OAE’s recent film which features bass-baritone {…}