The Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) is set to present Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” this March. The Academy will present the work with Maestro Christofer Macatsoris conducting the AVA Opera Orchestra and Dorothy Danner as stage director. Danner has staged past AVA operas such as “L’Italiana in Algeri” and “Ariadne auf Naxos.” The cast will be made up of Resident {…}
Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment will take a look {…}
Opera Naples is set to present a special black-tie-optional evening, including a concert and dinner featuring Joseph Calleja. An Evening with Joseph Calleja will feature the tenor in his Opera Naples debut and maestro Ramón Tebar at the piano. In a press statement, Tebar said, “I met Joseph Calleja five years ago at the Pablo Casals Festival in San Juan, Puerto {…}
This spring, Handa Opera will present U.S. based director Francesca Zambello’s new production of ‘West Side Story,’ the very first musical to take place outside on Sydney Harbor. The production, according to the press release, will bring “a gritty, urban New York landscape to a floating stage on the picturesque shores of Sydney Harbor, complete with graffiti-covered streetcars, a subway {…}
Amore Opera will continue its 2018-19 season with a rare Meyerbeer opera and a classic Mozart opera at the Riverside Theatre in Riverside Church on Claremont Ave in New York, NY. The company will present four performances, directed by Nathan Hull, of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s long-forgotten comedy “Dinorah,” with the original French libretto. The opera was last fully-staged at the Metropolitan Opera {…}
The Wiener Staatsoper is set to broadcast Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” on Orf 2. The production by Laurent Pelly, which premiered last week, is set to star Olga Peretyatko and Juan Diego Flórez in the leading roles. George Petean and Jongmin Park also star as Enrico and Raimondo. Evelino Pidò conducts the production, which features a critical edition and a new cadenza {…}
The Festival Napa Valley has revealed its 2019 slate. For the purposes of this article, we will highlight the vocal showcases. Things get started with a concert that features Francesco Demuro and Nino Machaidze, both performing operatic favorites with the Festival’s Blackburn Music Academy Orchestra. Performance Dates: July 12, 2019 Audiences will get a chance to witness a performance of {…}
Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato is a true American superstar. Born on Feb. 13, 1969 in Prairie Village, Kansas, the mezzo initially headed to Wichita State University to study vocal education. However, she became more interested in singing and performing and upon graduating in 1992, she headed the Academy of Vocal Arts which she followed up with enrollment in the Santa Fe {…}
The Utopia Opera has announced its cast for its upcoming performances of Benjamin Britten and Eric Crozier’s “Albert Herring.” Cory Gross will take on the title role with Marie Masters Webb as Lady Billows. Caroline Tye will interpret Florence Pike, while Rebecca Richardson will be Miss Wordsworth. Glenn Friedman will appear as Mr. Gedge with Ethan Fran as Mr. Upfold. {…}
The New Amsterdam Opera has announced that it will host a surprise salon event to preview its upcoming concert performance of Massenet’s “Hériodade.” The event is set for March 30, 2019 at a surprise Manhattan location and will be guest hosted by Ken Benson. The showcase will feature performances from the opera’s cover artists, which include Rachelle Pike, Sara Pearson, {…}
The Kurt Weill Foundation has announced the 28 semifinalists for the 2019 Lotte Lenya Competition. Among the semifinalists were a whopping 24 Americans, one Canadian, two Germans, and one Russian. Nine of the semifinalists were over the age of 30 and 19 were under 30; of those 19, six were under the age of 25. The semifinalists are Lily Arbisser {…}