The Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) has announced the addition of six new singers to its Resident Artists roster. The newly appointed Resident Artists include tenor Joshua Berg, soprano Manli Deng, mezzo-soprano Ariana Maubach, soprano Veronica Richer, baritone Geoffrey Schmelzer, and bass-baritone Nan Wang. “We are thrilled to welcome these extraordinary artists to the Academy of Vocal Arts. They represent {…}
Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival announced the full lineup of performances for 2023. The festival runs from Aug. 29-Sept. 12. Here’s what the 2023 Opera Festival will offer audiences. Laura Reid presents a song cycle of hope using recorded sounds, voices, and instruments. Inspired by Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Hope is a thing with Feathers,” contemporary writers Ahed Al Hamwi, {…}
(Photo: Palacio de Bellas Artes) Artisan Books will release a whopping nine-pound deluxe boxed set, “Philip Glass Piano Etudes: The Complete Folios 1-20 & Essays from Fellow Artists,” on October 31, 2023. The project, conceived as an heirloom, was supervised and edited by Linda Brumbach and Alisa E. Regas, founders of Pomegranate Arts. The collection includes The Complete Folios 1-20 {…}
Conductor Raymond Dobbs Franks has died at the age of 90. Born in 1933, he went on to study at the Juilliard School of Music and went on to work with the New Zealand Opera Company in the 1960s. That led him to work with numerous Australian companies such as the Australian Opera Studio, West Australian Ballet, Chamber Made Opera, {…}
(Credit: Philip Vile) Britten Pears Arts has unveiled its Autumn 2023 season. Here is a rundown of the classical vocal performances. Mezzo Anna Huntley and pianist Lucy Colquhoun present a recital of songs by Schubert, and Britten, among others. Performance Date: Oct. 6, 2023 There will be two “Scratch Choir days.” The first features music by Emma Lou Diemer and Vaughan {…}
(Credit: Jonas Kaufmann , Sony Classical) Legendary mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender is reacting to Jonas Kaufmann’s appointment as the Intendant of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl. In an interview with the APA, she said Kaufmann “hardly meets the criteria” and added, “I would have liked Bernd Loebe’s theater knowledge to continue.” Fassbaender also noted that she believed that the appointment of Kaufmann {…}
Operabase has announced upgrades to its platform in the months ahead. Among those changes will be enhanced search functionality and improved site navigation. The updated search tool will provide access to a user’s history, including past searches and previously visited pages. It will also generate suggestions based on the user’s input. To streamline the search process for performances and video {…}
The Operalia Competition has announced the participants for its 30th-anniversary edition. The 2023 participants hail from such countries as Russia, Italy, USA, Malta, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Armenia, South Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Israel, South Africa, and Bulgaria. The competition will be held at the Capetown Opera and will take place from Oct. 30 through Nov. 5, 2023. Operalia {…}
Joseph Calleja has withdrawn from his upcoming performances of “Parsifal” at the Bayreuth Festival. In a statement, Calleja said, “Due to a persistent throat infection, I was advised by my doctor to withdraw from the current production of Parsifal here in Bayreuth. Goes without saying that this was a very hard decision to take, and I am so sorry for {…}
(Credit: Shirley Suarez) The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced that John Relyea will take over the role of King Philipp in its upcoming production of “Don Carlo.” The company announced the news days after Ildar Abdrazakov withdrew for personal reasons. In a statement the bass said “I needed to take a break from my schedule and cancel all July shows. Thank {…}
Jonas Kaufmann has released the first single to his upcoming album “The Sound of Movies.” The lead single is “Conquest of Paradise” from the 1992 film “1492: Conquest of Paradise” by Ridley Scott. The song was originally recorded by Greek composer Vangelis and achieved success in many territories upon its release in 1992 including Flanders, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. {…}
