Rosalind Elias is one of America’s great mezzo-sopranos. She was born in Massachusetts as the 13th and youngest child in her family. She studied at the New England Conservatory and first appeared with the New England Opera between 1948-52. On Feb. 23, 1954, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut, a life-changing date for Elias. She would go on to sing {…}
The Pacific Opera Project is set to present an experimental version of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” The company will present the first-ever true-to-story bilingual “Madama Butterfly” with a new libretto written by POP Artistic Director Josh Shaw and Opera in the Heights Artistic Director Eiki Isomura. The production will present Puccini’s story as if it actually happened and attempt to answer {…}
Although few people would now recognize his name, Carlo Gesualdo, was one of the most fascinating musicians of the Italian Renaissance. Born into a rich noble family in 1566, he became increasingly obsessed with music over the course of his life, and is most famous for his colorful madrigals, which pushed at the limits of tonal music. However, he is {…}
Cherubini’s claim to fame in the opera world is “Médée,” which had its world premiere on March 13, 1797. The work didn’t really receive a good reception, but it did return to the repertory in the 20th century, usually in an Italian version that featured recitatives replacing the French spoken dialogue. There are also German versions of the work, though {…}
On March 7, 2019, lovers of classical music gathered at the Church of the Intercession for the latest installment of Unison Media’s celebrated series, The Crypt Sessions. These concerts, curated by company president Andrew Ousley, often sell-out in minutes due to not only the limited size of the crypt, but the world-class performers that fill its depth with music. This {…}
The McCammon Voice Competition, in collaboration with Fort Worth Opera, is set to present Angela Meade in recital on Monday May 6 at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden Auditorium. The intimate concert will mark the highly anticipated return of the world-renowned soprano to Fort Worth after winning first prize in the 2005 McCammon Voice Competition. Meade will be accompanied on piano {…}
On Site Opera has received a 15,000 Art Works grants by the National Endowment for the Arts, which approved more than $27 million in grants as part of the Arts Endowment’s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2019. The grant was received to support the commission of “Stay,” a new, immersive opera composed by John Glover with libretto by {…}
Jean-François Lapointe will sing the Marquis de la Force in the upcoming revival of Poulenc’s “Dialogues des Carmélites” at the Metropolitan Opera, replacing Dwayne Croft. The Met press office announced that Croft would no longer be singing the role and as a result Lapointe will make his Met debut. Lapointe is a well-known Canadian baritone who recently performed the role {…}
“Silent Night,” Puts’ first opera, received its premiere at Minnesota opera in 2011 and won a Pulitzer Prize the following year. According to its libretto, during a late December in World War I, French, German and Scottish troops found it possible to declare an unofficial “truce” and celebrate a common holiday in brotherhood. This story has been told in several other artistic formats including the French film “Joyeux Noël” on which Campbell based his libretto.
“Simon Boccanegra” is one of Verdi’s most divisive operas. Many consider it among his greatest works, while others find it a major bore. The opera had its world premiere on March 12, 1857, in a version that was received very poorly. The original reaction was so negative that the opera was quickly forgotten. But Verdi endured and before working with {…}
Cheltenham Music Festival has announced its 2019 slate of performances. For the purposes of this article, we will highlight mainly vocal and opera-related performances in the lineup. Cheltenham Music Festival will celebrate its 75th Anniversary this year with an ambitious program featuring 20 world premieres and a community opera, with a focus on women composers and performers. The Festival, under {…}
