Tenor William Reeder has died. Reeder’s career took him to the Zurich Opera, where for eight years was a leading operatic tenor. He went on to perform more than 40 leading tenor roles in 15 major opera houses throughout Europe. Reeder was the dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts and vice president and general manager of the {…}
President Emeritus of the Toledo Symphony Robert Bell has died. The Toledo Symphony said, “It is with deep sorrow that the Toledo Symphony and the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts mourn the passing of Robert “Bob” Bell, beloved colleague, visionary leader, master timpanist, and the heart and soul of our institution for nearly 70 years.” In a statement, TAPA {…}
Bass-baritone Peter Strummer has died at 76. Praised for his “warm, firm, agile” voice, Strummer had an international career where he sang over 120 major roles, including eight world premieres. For 15 years, the bass-baritone performed in German and Austrian opera houses, where, in addition to opera roles, he sang many performances of German and Viennese operetta. He also spent {…}
The London Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. The season opens with Sir Antonio Pappano conducting a Bernstein and Copland program featuring Dame Felicity Palmer and Katharina Konradi. Performance Date: Sept. 14, 2025 Sir Simon Rattle conducts Janáček’s “The Makropulos Affair” with Marlis Petersen, Aleš Briscein, Jan Martiník, Svatopluk Semand Peter {…}
(Photo credit: Brescia and Amisano) One of the most common phenomena of the 18th century was the pilgrimage of European composers to Italy, seeking to immerse themselves in the “alla italiana” compositional technique and then return to their homelands to apply this revolutionary formula. Such was the case of Florian Leopold Gassmann (1729–1774), who left his native Bohemia to settle {…}
(Photo credit: Koen Broos) Over the past twenty years or so, there have been plenty of programs on television, radio and the internet devoted to oral history, in which everyday people recall major and minor events along with the social and economic conditions from their own past to create an anecdotal montage that can be accessed by current and future {…}
(Credit: Mark Brenner) For the second time in only a few months, I find myself reviewing a production I have seen before where I was initially very critical of what I perceived to be a weak production, creatively, but inexplicably having a change of heart the second time around. So as not to face accusations of hypocrisy or worse, senility; {…}
Puccini’s “La Bohème” captures the joys and sorrows of young artists, following the love stories of two bohemian couples. In an inspired move, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Shangyin Opera House will present a production featuring performers close in age to the characters they portray. On April 17–18, 2025, the Shangyin Opera House—an experimental theatre affiliated with the Conservatory—will {…}
The New York City Opera is set to return to Bryant Park Picnic Performances this summer. The company will first present “Opera Goes to Hollywood,” which will include stars of the New York City Opera stage, accompanied by the City Opera Orchestra led by Maestro Constantine Orbelian, recreating favorite operatic movie moments. Performance Dates: June & 26, 2025 The company {…}
The Victoria de los Ángeles Foundation and The Juilliard School concluded the second edition of Victoria de los Ángeles Legacy on April 11, 2025. The event included a series of masterclasses dedicated to preserving and promoting the art of Catalan and Spanish song. The initiative, which arose in the framework of the commemoration of the centenary of Victoria de los {…}
Michael Harper passed away on March 10, at the age of 61. Harper was born in 1963. He went on to study at Virginia Commonwealth University before completing postgraduate and doctoral studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He also studied opera at the Mayer-Lismann Opera Centre in London. Harper’s singing career took him across Europe, the US, {…}