(Credit: Magali Dougados) OperaVision will showcase Barry’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” live from the Nouvel Opéra Fribourg on Nov. 22, 2019. The production will star Ed Ballard, Alison Scherzer, Nina van Essen, Timur, Jessica Walker, Graeme Danby, Vincent Casagrande, and Steven Beard. Jérôme Kuhn conducts a production directed by Julien Chavaz. The stream kicks off at 7 p.m. local {…}
Legendary soprano Lucy Shelton is set to perform at the National Sawdust on Dec. 15, 2019. She will present a program formatted as a five-course meal with Shelton spontaneously selecting the order of the “courses.” Per a press release, the appetizers will feature music of Stravinsky, John Cage, and George Rochberg. “Soups” will showcase music of Stravinsky and Rochberg, while {…}
In simplified terms, Wagner’s music, especially in “Tristan und Isolde,” can be visually compared to a continuous stream of waves coming and going, each growing in size and power, exploding, and then receding back to where they came from. In the best performances, a singer rides these orchestral waves of sound, the voice standing above the music, but also impossible {…}
(Credit: Credit: Ph. Rota) In 1819 Donizetti wrote the opera “Pietro il Grande.” The opera was his fourth in what would become a legendary output with some major repertory staples. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the opera’s premiere, the Donizetti Festival Opera performed the work in a new production by Ondadurto Teatro – Marco Paciotti and Lorenzo Pasquali. The {…}
Opera San Antonio has made some major changes to its primary leadership position. The company recently announced that is has named E. Loren Meeker as its next General and Artistic Director and that Francesco Milioto will be its Music Director.Garnett Bruce will continue as Artistic Advisor to the company. Meeker has been involved with Opera San Antonio since 2017 when {…}
(Credit: Orlando Mendiola) Once Upon a Time composer Felix Jarrar examined the life of Kiki de Montparnasse in “Tabula Rasa.” He delved into the dark depths of Edgar Allan Poe’s “House of Usher.” He brought Ebenezer Scrooge out of the darkness and into the light with “A Christmas Carol.” He examined the myth of “Apollo and Hermes.” But four operas {…}
Victoria Bond’s “Mrs. President” will get a showcase at Symphony Space in New York this April 27, 2020 as part of the Cutting Edge Concerts Series. “Mrs. President’ tells the story of Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for the highest office in the nation in 1872. She was often seen as a threat to society and deemed “Mrs. {…}
Soprano Nina Stemme has made a last minute cancelation of “Tosca” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. In her stead, Soprano Karine Babajanyan will be performing alongside Fabio Sartori as Cavaradossi and Ambrogio Maestri as Scarpia. Donald C. Runnicles will conduct the performance. Babajanyan was also the last minute replacement for Nina Stemme at the Wiener {…}
On Nov. 13, 2019, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music staged the second performance of its production of Richard Wagner’s “Parsifal.” This epic work was brought to life through a fascinating mixture of traditional and modern techniques, both styles supporting each other and lending a wealth of meaning to the unfolding story. Given the vocal demands of the primary roles, {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced that longtime Artistic Administrator Jonathan Friend will be stepping down from his position following the end of the 2019–20 season. The company announced Michael Heaston, the former Executive Director of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program will take over the position. Heaston is currently at both Houston Grand Opera and Rice University and will be {…}
The Cleveland Orchestra is gearing up for a busy holiday season. The ensemble is set to perform a whopping 12 Christmas Concerts between Dec. 13-22 at Severance Hall. The concerts, which will be conducted by Richard Kaufman, will also feature the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, Blossom Festival Chorus, Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus Chamber Ensemble, the Wooster Chorus {…}