Portland-based arts philanthropist Arlene Schnitzer has passed away on April 4, 2020. Born on January 10, 1929, Schnitzer grew up in a business setting as her parents were owners of a furniture store. At 20, Arlene married Harold Schnitzer of Schnitzer Steel Industries, who founded Harsch Investment Properties the following year. Over the decades, the couple donated tens of millions {…}
The Bolshoi Theatre has reported an outbreak of the coronavirus following a live, televised performance with no audience present. Thirty-four members of the company have since tested positive for the virus, despite the preliminary screening days before. Vladimir Urin, General Director of the Bolshoi Theatre, stated, “Without exception, all of the theatre’s personnel, including security guards and engineers, were tested {…}
The Sofia Opera and Ballet in Bulgaria is sending out a special concert dedicated to the medics and police officers who are helping to manage the COVID-19 crisis. The online concert features Vladimir Stoyanov, Radostina Nikolaeva, Martin Iliev, Krasimir Dinev, Gabriela Georgieva, Atanas Mladenov, Boris Spasov, Kiril Manolov, Marianna Zvetkova, stetso Ivanov, Katerina Petrova, Nikolay Petrov, Biser Georgiev, Dimitar Stanchev, {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera) In continuation of the 2019-20 Great Performances Series, PBS will present the Live in HD broadcast of Alban Berg’s “Wozzeck” from the Metropolitan Opera on Sunday, May 3, 2020. The broadcast will kick off at 12 p.m. EDT. The cast includes baritone Peter Mattei in the title role with Elza van den Heever as {…}
On April 15, 2020, Swedish mezzo-soprano Kerstin Meyer passed away, at the age of 92. Meyer is remembered as a leading mezzo during the 50s and 60s, singing with prominent companies throughout Europe. After graduating from Stockholm’s Royal College of Music in 1948, Meyer studied at the Opera School, where she won the Christine Nilsson Scholarship to fund studies in {…}
The New York Philharmonic has announced a Mahler Digital Festival. The streaming festival will begin on April 16 with Symphony No.1 followed by Young People’s Concert with Leonard Bernstein on April 18. On April 20 the Kindertotenlieder will be shown with Thomas Hampson and on April 22, a virtual walking tour will be available. April 23 will be entitled Mahler {…}
On Site Opera has announced the appointment of four new members to the Board of Directors. The new members include John Baumgardner, Frank Martinez, Sam Roberts II and Daisy Wademan Dowling. Baumgardner is a former partner and Of Counsel to Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. Martinez is a trained opera singer who made a career in law, specializing in employment law; he {…}
The Donizetti Opera Festival has announced the “Gran Gala sul Sofa.” Presented by the festival’s director Francesco Micheli and Music Director Riccardo Frizza, the gala will be showcased on Facebook on April 24 at 6 p.m. Italian time. The performed will be structured as televised talk and a live concert with a number of opera stars from their apartments and {…}
“Opera Meets Film is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will hone in on a selection or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perceptions of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features Akira Kurosawa’s {…}
The Minnesota Orchestra has announced plans to restructure its 2019-20 season. The orchestra announced that the restructuring is designed to delay all concerts until August 2020. In the press statement, the organization noted noted, “The revised concert calendar reschedules numerous performances and cancels all others through June 15, 2020; postpones all Summer at Orchestra Hall 2020 concerts and activities until {…}
The Wiener Staatsoper is organizing a gala concert “We Play for Austria” on Sunday, April 19, 2020 (8:15 p.m. on ORF III and on Radio Ö1) and will be the start of three live music evenings from the ORF RadioKulturhaus. The concerts were organzied by ORF III in cooperation with u. a. mit dem Haus am Ring, the Volksoper Vienna {…}