Arizona State University 2019-20 Review: Street Scene

On February 28, 2020, ASU’s Music Theatre and Opera Department presented Kurt Weill’s “Street Scene” at the Evelyn Smith Theater. Weill composed “Street Scene,” to a libretto by Elmer Rice and Langston Hughes, after arriving in the United States and it is very different from the works he wrote in Germany. Musically, its numbers run the gamut of styles from Puccini to 1940’s jazz. Weill described Street Scene” as an American opera despite its spoken passages. His music may show its European roots, but the text reflects specific American problems of the ‘40s.

Mar 3, 2020

Facebook Bans Dallas Opera From Promoting Applications for Hart Institute for Women Conductors

(Photo courtesy of Dallas Opera) Facebook has barred the Dallas Opera from promoting its application process for the Hart Institute for Women Conductors, claiming that such actions violate its Job Posting policies. David Lomeli, the company’s Director of Artistic Administration, told OperaWire that on Monday, the company had announced that the applications were open for this year’s edition of the {…}

Mar 3, 2020

Metropolitan Opera Implements Quarantine on Traveling Artists

The Metropolitan Opera has implemented a quarantine on singers arriving from high risk areas. Diane Zola, Assistant General Manager of the Met, sent letters to artists arriving from Asia and Europe stating, “With the Coronavirus having reached New York, we have instituted travel policies for our employees that we wanted to share with you, since your artists will need to {…}

Mar 3, 2020

Golda Schultz, Lawrence Brownlee, Anthony Roth Costanzo Headline San Francisco Performances 2020-21 Season

(Credit: Dario Acosta) San Francisco Performances has unveiled its 2020-21 season which will feature a number of diverse musical performances. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be on vocal performances. Lawrence Brownlee brings a recital entitled “Crooners” with emphasis on vocalists from the 50s and 60s. This gala performance will be in benefit of San Francisco Performances’ {…}

Mar 3, 2020

Zachary James to Highlight Women Composers in Carnegie Hall Recital

(Credit: Daniel Welch) Bass-baritone Zachary James will present a recital at Carnegie Hall dedicated to music by women on Nov. 30, 2020. Other performers on the recital include pianist Charity Wicks, baroque guitarist Brandon J. Acker, cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, and soprano Megan Nielson. Ellen Jackson will direct the concert. Among the pieces featured on the program will be Juliana Hall’s {…}

Mar 3, 2020

Valery Gergiev & Sergei Skorokhodov to Perform in Bogotá’s Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo

(Credit: Valeri Guérguiev) The Mariinsky Orchestra is set to appear in Bogotá, Colombia at the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo on Monday, March 9, 2020. The orchestra, which will be led by maestro Valery Gergiev, will feature Russian tenor Sergey Skorokhodov and Hungarian violnist Kristóf Baráti as the soloists. The orchestra will perform Debussy’s “Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune” {…}

Mar 3, 2020

Metropolitan Opera 2019-20 Review: National Council Audition Grand Finals

(Credit: Richard Termine) One of the best parts about the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is that it’s open to the public. But even more exciting than that is coming across a singer that makes an aria completely their own, so much so that it changes your interpretation of the music. Now that’s a star. And who else can say {…}

Mar 3, 2020

Royal Opera House Announces Major Cast Change for ‘Fidelio’

(Credit: Bill Cooper / ROH) The Royal Opera House has announced cast changes for its upcoming performances of “Fidelio.” For the performance on March 3, 2020, Baritone Simon Neal has withdrawn from the role of Don Pizarro. In a press release, the company noted at the British artist was indisposed and was replaced by German baritone Michael Kupfer-Radecky as Don {…}

Mar 3, 2020

Jonas Kaufmann & Antonio Pappano Honored by Royal College of Music

(Credit: Matt Dunham/PA) The Prince of Wales visited “the jewel in the crown of cultural excellence in the UK” to honor Antonio Pappano, Jonas Kaufmann, Debbie Wiseman and Rachel Portman. Prince Charles, president of the Royal College of Music, handed out awards at a ceremony where Pappano and Kaufmann were made honorary Doctors of Music, while Wiseman and Portman became {…}

Mar 3, 2020

Rolando Villazón, René Pape, Anja Harteros Highlight Semperoper Dresden’s 2020-21 Season

(Credit: Jiyang Chen / Marco Borggreve) The Semperoper Dresden has announced its 2020-21 season featuring seven new operatic productions and a number of revivals. Here is a look at the operatic productions. Premieres The first new production of the season will be Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell,” written by de Jouy and Bis. The new production by Georg Schmiedleitner will star Christoph {…}

Mar 3, 2020

Washington National Opera Announces Name Change to Young Artist Program

The Washington National Opera has announced that the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program will be renamed Cafritz Young Artists of Washington National Opera. The company announced in a press statement that in light of AGMA’s recent finding, the company chose to rename the program. The company stated, “In 2002, while Placido Domingo was serving as Washington National Opera’s (WNO) artistic director, {…}