The Lady Gaga of opera. A fashion Icon. An intense singing-actress. A glamorous personality. These are just some of the great descriptions that have also been placed upon star soprano Carmen Giannattasio. These are also some of the reasons for her rise in the opera world since her Operalia win in 2002. Sixteen years after that breakthrough, the soprano begins a {…}
Luciano Pavarotti is one of the most iconic opera stars in history. Born on Oct. 12, 1935, the tenor is a touchstone of popular culture, even for those who have never gone to an opera. In honor of Pavarotti’s legend, here is an opera quiz that tests you on how much you really remember about the great tenor.
The labor dispute between the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Federation of Musicians Local #10-208 (CFM) has finally come to an end. Per a press release from the Lyric Opera of Chicago management, a new agreement was reached on Saturday that extends into the 2020-21 season. It has to be ratified by the CFM members, though in all {…}
It’s not every day that New York audiences will get a chance to experience the Hungarian State Opera without heading across the pond. But in just a few weeks, starting on Oct. 30, 2018, they will get that very opportunity at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center as the company comes on tour with a number of operatic {…}
I arrived at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Thursday night, Oct. 11, 2018, just in time to catch some of conductor James Conlon’s pre-performance talk to several hundred audience-members attending that evening’s Los Angeles Opera production of Verdi’s “Don Carlo.” Yes, Conlon regularly delivers these incredibly insightful introductions to the evening’s opera even as he’s about to go out and {…}
Not many opera singers can claim to be inducted into a hall of fame. But Leona Mitchell can claim to be inducted into two. Born on Oct. 13, 1949, in Enid, Oklahoma, Mitchell and from an early age it was apparent that she would be a musician as she sang in the choir of the church where her father was {…}
The Chautauqua Opera has announced its 2019 season, which is the company’s 90th Anniversary season. “The Chautauqua calendar is always a gigantic puzzle, and our 2019 plans are hugely disruptive—in a wonderful way. For the first time in decades we are engaging Guest Artists to spend the entire season at Chautauqua. Our collaboration with the Chautauqua Symphony is taking new forms, {…}
The San Diego Opera has announced its dates for Opera on the Concourse throughout the 2018-19 season. The series of free lunchtime concerts returned in 2015 and averages 300 audience members per performance. They generally last 45 minutes and this season there will be a total of three concerts scheduled across the season. The first of these performances will be {…}
Nathan Gunn and his wife Julie Gunn will appear together at the Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University on Oct. 28, 2018. The performance will feature works of Mozart, Bernstein, Tom Waits, Kurt Weill, and others. The duo will also offer up a master class the following day to the Musco Center’s Master Class program. “I am pleased to {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago has canceled its Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018 matinee performance of “La Bohème,” which stars Michael Fabiano and Maria Agresta. This is the third performance that the company cancels this season. It had canceled the second performance of “La Bohème” as well as the opening night performance of “Idomeneo” due to the ongoing labor strike from {…}
The New York Festival of Song has announced that it will kick off its 2018-19 season with “W.C. Handy and the Birth of the Blues” on Nov. 14, 2018. The performance will feature soprano Shereen Pimentel, mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford, tenor Joshua Blue, baritone Justin Austin, and pianists Steve Blier and Joseph Li. The concert, which is set to take place {…}