Whether one wishes it to be true, contemporary opera and those who create it have an undeniable responsibility to engage with the world and its many polemics and difficulties. Although not a new concept, having been liberated from its purely entertainment existence so many centuries ago, the operatic genre now fully occupies the role of participant and commentator within an {…}
Some people seem to be born with an irrepressible zest for life, who ooze positivity and energy, and view the world as a place in which they can fulfill their ambitions and dreams. Setbacks and barriers are but challenges to be overcome, mistakes are something to be learnt from, little seems to deter them. They are always on the move, {…}
OperaWire had the chance to speak with Grammy-award-winning pianist Craig Terry about his work with the Merola Opera Program. For this season he has curated the opening piece entitled “A Celebration of American Song.” Terry serves as the Music Director at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Artistic Director of its “Beyond the Aria” recital series. He has collaborated on piano {…}
The nature of opera is changing. No longer bound by the stage, the whole idea that a libretto set to music and then staged is the true definition of an opera is dead. To be an “opera” is now a state-of-mind, a creative worldview that seeks to posit that all things are connected, with the actors involved as “characters” in {…}
Photos: Frances Marshall “At Home With… ” is a collaboration between OperaWire and photographer Frances Marshall of Marshall Light Studio, combining original photography with insightful interviews that reveal the human side of artists. Call him the “Voice Whisperer.” It seems vocal coach par excellence Paul Farrington can teach most anyone to sing, including the cast of Dustin Hoffman’s 2013 film, {…}
(Photos Courtesy of Pam Chaddon, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs / Taken during rehearsal) Back in February, Eapen Leubner’s Art Song Colorado presented “Voices of the African Diaspora,” a concert dedicated to Black composers throughout the centuries. Audiences had the chance to listen to works by Joseph Bologne, H. Leslie Adams, George Walker, Jessie Montgomery, Andre Myers, and Undine Smith {…}
On June 16 and 18, 2022, audiences in New York City will get the opportunity to witness the world premiere of “Southern Crossings.” The work, set to a libretto by Yvette Christiansë and Rosalind Morris, centers on the story of the meeting between famed astronomer John Hershel and Charles Darwin and how different characters experienced and hoped that that meeting {…}
On June 18, 2022, the National Sawdust and Chelsea Factory will present Bare Opera’s production of Thomas Cabaniss’ “Firesongs.” Cabaniss, a South Carolina Native, was an initiator of The Lullaby Project and The Somewhere Project, both at Carnegie Hall, and was the host and composer-in-residence for Carnegie Hall’s Link Up program between 2010-2020. In addition to the dozens of works {…}
Despite his relatively subdued presence in contemporary performance repertoire, during his time Camille Saint-Saëns was known across the world for his exceptional aptitude and fiercely developed intellect. Having begun life as a piano prodigy and gaining compositional mastery shortly after with his “First Symphony” at the age of only 17, Saint-Saëns is possibly one of France’s most transformative, yet erroneously {…}
(Credit: Annelies van der Vegt) On June 9, the Grange Festival in Hampshire will open its fifth annual season. The festival will present three operatic masterpieces including “Macbeth,” “Tamerlano” and “The Yeoman of the Guard” as well as a Jazz and a Dance program. The festival, which was founded in 2016 by Michael Chance, Rachel Pearson, and Michael Moody, opened {…}
In 2019, Gail Gordon started Numi Opera with the aim of sharing works by composers and artists who were suppressed and banned by Nazi regime due to their Jewish origins. The opening productions that the company presented were Alexander von Zemlinky’s “Der Zwerg” and Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s “Der Ring des Polykrates.” It was supposed to be the start of a {…}