Q & A: Yongzhao Yu & Esther Maureen Kelly on Working with the New Jersey Symphony & ‘The Song of the Yangtze River’

On July 20, the New Jersey Symphony will perform at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. The performance will see Maestra Xian Zhang conducting the featured soloists Shanghai Isaac Stern-winning violinist Nancy Zhou (violin), Chopin-competition prize-winner Chelsea Guo (piano), Esther Maureen Kelly (soprano), and Yongzhao Yu (tenor) in a program entitled “East/West: A Symphonic Celebration.” The program will feature a wide variety of music inspired by China and {…}

Jul 17, 2022

Q & A: Soprano Kelli-Ann Masterson On Making An Opera Career In Ireland

(Photo: Patrick Browne) Opera in Ireland has recently been going through a boom time. Whereas only a few years ago, Irish singers were being forced to look abroad to establish a career, owing to the lack of opportunities at home, now, with the emergence of Opera Collective Ireland, the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, and, most significantly, Irish National Opera, along {…}

Jul 6, 2022

Founding a New Festival – Betty Makharinsky on Co-founding The Vache Baroque Festival

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, {…}

Jul 5, 2022

Q & A: Craig Terry on Creating ‘A Celebration of American Song’ at Merola Opera Program

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 {…}

Jun 29, 2022

Q & A: Tenor Allan Clayton on Schubert’s ‘Winterreise,’ His Process & An ‘Interesting’ Crossroads With Future Projects

(© Sim Canetty-Clarke) At the pinnacle of the song cycle is Schubert’s “Winterreise.” It is a work that has been mythologized and has influenced generations of composers thereafter including Mahler, Britten, and Maury Yeston to name just a few. While written for tenor, it has nonetheless been recorded and performed by lower male voices as well as a plethora {…}

Jun 28, 2022

Q & A: Tenor Freddie De Tommaso on ‘Madama Butterfly,’ His Inspirations & What He’d Like to Change About the World

(Credit: CraigGibson) Originally having trained as a baritone, Freddie De Tommaso is an Anglo-Italian tenor from Tunbridge Wells who went from working in his Father’s High Street Italian restaurant to some of the great opera houses of the world. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and his star was launched when he won the Plácido Domingo Tenor Prize {…}

Jun 27, 2022

‘Ballo’ Chose Me – Joyce El-Khoury on Her Musical Journey, Creative Process & ‘Un Ballo in Maschera’

Praised for her unwavering vocal stamina, character portrayal, technique, and sublime timbral quality, Joyce El-Khoury has become one of the leading bel canto sopranos of our time. Not only an expressive dramaturge and highly sought after classical singer, but additionally a champion for classical singing advocacy in her home country of Lebanon with her “Lessons for Lebanon” work, El-Khoury epitomizes {…}

Jun 22, 2022

Horses & Ants – Benjamin Orlow on the Creation of his 24-Hour Visual ‘Opera’

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 {…}

Jun 18, 2022

At Home With – Vocal Coach Paul Farrington in Birmingham, UK

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, {…}

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