New Camerata Opera has announced the “United We Sing” concert on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. The concert, which will feature such artists as Barbara Porto, Eva Parr, Nicole Leone, Erik Bagger, Victor Khodadad, Scott Lindroth, Stan Lacy, Shawn Farrar, Charles Temkey, April Lindevald, and Angela Dinkelman Shan, is in partnership with the Congregationalist Church of Manhasset and is part of {…}
San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program will present the 36th season of the Schwabacher Recital Series. The series of four recitals will be held in the Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theatre in San Francisco between Feb. 13 – Apr. 24, 2019. The program is aimed at introducing gifted up-and-coming artists to Bay Area audiences. Works performed will {…}
The Handel and Haydn Society has announced its 2019-20 season, which will include a few vocal performances. In its 205th season, the organization will continue its mission to bring “Classical and Baroque music to life on period instruments in historically informed performances, showcasing the music the way the composer intended.” H+H will perform works of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, as well {…}
MasterVoices will showcase “Night Songs and Love Waltzes” on Friday, March 1, 2019. The performance, which will take place at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, will feature the ensemble’s 120 singers in a program of music by Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, Clara and Robert Schumann, and Franz Schubert. There will also be a World Premiere performance of Ricky Ian {…}
Composer Nathan Felix has released a recorded performance of his “The War Bride,” which he has categorized as a “headphone opera.” Per a press release, the seven act work is meant to be listened to on headphones and “allows the audience to hear the entire ‘live’ performance via their headphones which will be given out before the concert. Through the {…}
Opera Naples will be holding auditions for their company’s production of Bizet’s “Carmen” on Feb. 4, 2019. The auditions for both the youth and adult chorus of “Carmen” will be held by appointment at the Wang Opera Center in Naples. “No experience is necessary to audition. For the audition, please prepare one vocal solo from a variety of repertoires,” stated the {…}
The 48th Annual George London Awards Competition for Opera Singers will host their final round and award announcements on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019 at the Morgan Library & Museum’s Gilder Lehrman Hall. The public is invited to attend. Judges for the competition include Harolyn Blackwell, John Hausner, Nora London, George Shirley, and Richard Stilwell. Accompaniment will be provided by pianist {…}
The Mercury Opera will showcase Puccini’s “La Bohème” at the Chez Pierre Cabaret starting on Feb. 27, 2019. The company is known for showcasing opera in new light and this version of the famed opera is set in NYC’s Alphabet City around 1979. In this context, Marcello and Rodolfo remain an artist and writer, respectively, but Schaunard is a drag {…}
The Handel and Haydn Society has also announced that its Artistic Director, Harry Christophers, will be stepping down following the 2020-21 season. The search is on for a successor. His accomplishments with H+H are indeed many. Christophers hired more than 60 percent of the current roster of musicians, led H+H through its 2015 bicentennial, and has drawn much attention to {…}
This week, one major CD is slated for release and it comes from one of opera’s greatest singers. Here is a sneak peek of that release! Songplay Joyce DiDonato releases her latest album for Erato featuring music by Vivaldi in both its customary Baroque purity and swinging to the heady rhythm of a samba. As described in a press release {…}
Bass-baritone Justino Diaz is one of the most famous Puerto Rican opera stars of all time. Born in San Juan, he started to participate in his elementary school’s vocal activities at the age of eight. He would go on to University of Puerto Rico High School where he would continue his development as a singer; this continued at the University. {…}