The Houston Grand Opera has announced a cast change for Donizetti’s “La Favorite.” The company revealed that Michael Spyres will sing the role of Fernand replacing Lawrence Brownlee. The performance will mark Spyres’ debut at the Houston Grand Opera. Spyres is set to also make his Metropolitan Opera debut in “La Damnation de Faust” this month alongside Elina Garanca and {…}
The LA Opera has announced its 2020-21 season featuring a number of Main stage productions, of grand and community events. Here is a look at what the ambitious season is set to showcase. Main Stage The season opens with Verdi and Cammarano’s “Il Trovatore” starring Angel Blue in her role debut as Leonora and Gregory Kunde in his LA Opera {…}
(Credit: © Decca / Simon Fowler) The Russian Embassy in London has canceled the concert with Russian soprano Aida Garifullina and British pianist Simon Lepper scheduled for Jan. 27, 2020. The Embassy released a statement noting, “We had been preparing for this event for a long time and so it saddens us to a great extent to cancel it at {…}
(Credit: John Hardy) Back in early April 2019, the Opera San José Board of Directors announced that Khori Dastoor would be taking over as General Manager. The announcement was the culmination of a unique relationship that saw Dastoor rise from performer to manager in just a little over a decade. Irene Dalis’ Call Back in 2007, Dastoor was a soprano {…}
For this edition of the word search, we are asking you to seek out the last name of the Librettist for the corresponding opera. Instructions: You are free to solve the word search directly on your mobile or desktop device; just click the first and last letter of each word for it to appear on the screen. For those using {…}
***This review has been edited from its original form. A previous version stated that the presentation of the concert version was the result of a “break down of the machine” by Robert LePage, which was incorrect and irresponsibly misinterpreted information on the part of the writer. Last June, the Metropolitan Opera announced that its upcoming production of “La Damnation de {…}
(Image Source: Donald Runnicles Official Website) The Grand Teton Music Festival has announced the 2020 Donald Runnicles Musical Arts Scholarship Competition. The scholarship competition is open to high school seniors from Wyoming, Idaho and Montana who intend to pursue degrees in music (classical, jazz, or other) at an accredited four-year college with a music program recognized by the National Association {…}
The Wilmington Music Festival has announced an exciting lineup of events for their upcoming opera gala, which will see four nights of performances from Feb. 6 to 9, 2020. The Opening Night Gala will feature distinguished performers and educators, such as Pavlina Dokovska, the chair of the piano department at the Mannes School of Music, Shuai Zhao of China’s Zi’an {…}
(Photo Credit: Jennifer Taylor) On Jan. 14, 2020, SongStudio opened its second year of masterclasses and performances at Carnegie Hall, continuing in the legacy of supporting and nurturing young artists started by revered mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne. Among the distinguished instructors of the program, led by Renée Fleming, were Elīna Garanča, Julia Bullock, Gabriel Kahane, and Hartmut Holl, Gabriel Kahane The {…}
(Photo Credit: Deutsche Oper Berlin/Leo Seidel) Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that soprano Andrea Danková will replace Rachel Harnisch in the title role of Janaček’s “Jenůfa” for the performance on Saturday, Jan. 25. Harnisch will act out the role on stage, while Danková will sing the role from the side of the stage. Danková will join a cast that includes {…}
(Credit: Dario Acosta) Opéra National de Paris has opened its doors for the first time in months and will present Offenbach and Barbier’s opera “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” today, January 25, 2020, at the Opéra Bastille, per an official statement on the company’s website. This is the first performance of “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” of the season after an earlier one was {…}