Plácido Domingo has resigned from the American Guild of Musical Artists and has donated $500,000 to a fund that helps opera employees in crisis due to the coronavirus outbreak. The money will also go to sexual harassment eradication programs. With the resignation, the union announced that all charges were withdrawn. The resignation comes after both AGMA and the LA Opera {…}
Mezzo-sopranos Teresa Berganza and Christa Ludwig shared a great deal in common. In addition to both being born on March 16, albeit of different years, they both practically made all their major debuts as Cherubino (Met Opera debuts, Vienna State Opera debuts). So in celebration of these two historic singers, here is a short little quiz, a lightning round if {…}
Over the last few years, Sarah Vautour has been slowly but surely making herself a major force in the Los Angeles Opera scene. The soprano has been a young artist at the Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program since 2018 making her debut with the LA Opera under the baton of James Conlon and taking on the role of Papagena in “The {…}
Ariel Artists has announced the Robinson Recitals, a unique competition aimed at providing social-distancing video-concerts for those in retirement and nursing homes. The competition, which is being organized by a Boston-based group of infectious disease doctors, epidemiologists, and other health experts, will offer $500 to the top three concert performance submissions. Musicians of all kinds are allowed to submit a 45-minute {…}
Pacific Opera Project is joining a number of other opera companies in bringing opera to the public online. On March 19, 2020, the company loaded up its production of “La Traviata” on its official YouTube channel. Afterward, it put up its production of “The Barber of Seville” before loading up “Le Nozze di Figaro” on March 20. The aim is {…}
The Minister of Culture of France, Franck Riester, has announced a $22 million emergency fund to rescue those working the arts due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The fund will be divided up in the following manner: $10 millones will be given to music while $5 million for theater, and $2 million for visual arts. The minister announced that this {…}
The Wiener Staatsoper has extended the time that it will remain closed in an ongoing effort to help with containing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The company announced that “following the Austrian Federal government’s decision, the Wiener Staatsoper will remain closed until April 13.” The Wiener Staatsoper originally stated that it would be closed until March 31 but due {…}
La Monnaie de Mont is set to launch free streaming on March 21, 2020. The company will begin the series with Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” from last June. That will be followed by Mark Grey’s “Frankenstein” starring Scott Hendricks. Verdi’s “Aida” and “Macbeth” follow with Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” after with Bryan Register and Ann Petersen. Ponchielli’s “La {…}
(Credit: Jiyang Chen/Javier del Real/ Simon Pauly) The Festspielhaus Baden Baden has announced its 2020-21 season. For this article we will only highlight vocal performances. The season opens with Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and “Bluebeard’s Castle.” Rinat Shaham and Gerald Finley star in the later with Sir Simon Rattle conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Performance Date: Sept. 20, 2020 Benjamin {…}
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, has announced that it will launch a program of free online content that people can watch from their homes throughout the shutdown due to coronavirus. The program, which will include opera and ballet, will be featured for free via the company’s Facebook and YouTube channels. First up is The Royal Ballet’s performance of “Peter {…}
(Credit: English Touring Company / Owen White Management) Welsh soprano Jennifer Rhys-Davies has passed away on the weekend of March 7, 2020, as confirmed by her daughter. While the exact cause of death is unknown, for the last several months, Rhys-Davies had battled an unspecified illness. Born in Wales, Rhys-Davies studied at Trinity College of Music with the late Audrey {…}