When you hear the name Leonard Warren, you always hear another name – Verdi. The baritone, born on April 21, 1911, was dedicated to the great Italian and practically sang every great baritone role that Verdi wrote. You name it. For many, he was the ultimate Rigoletto (he performed the opera 89 times at the Metropolitan Opera), while others will {…}
The Washington National Opera has announced an Opera Gala to conclude its 2016-17 season. The 2017 WNO Opera Gala, celebrating WNO Board Chairman Jacqueline Badger Mars, will take place on Saturday, June 3, 2017, and will include a concert in the Kennedy Center Opera House featuring the WNO Orchestra and an array of musical stars who will pay special tribute to Mars’s {…}
Mezzo-Soprano Samantha Hankey has been tapped as one of the eight finalists for the Annenberg fellowship. The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania will announce the recipients of its annual fellowship program Wednesday, April 26, 2017. Eight artists have been tapped to receive $50,000 to advance their careers. It’s the last time the center will award the {…}
It was March 31, 2017, one day before the infamous day where people play tricks on one another. Soprano Jennifer Rowley was getting some shuteye, her days consumed by the task of taking on Samuel Barber’s “Vanessa” at the Toledo opera. On that very night, she would be singing the first of two performances for the demanding work. The phone {…}
The Mostly Mozart Festival is one of the highlights of the summer in New York City, filled with many selections from the great genius. Of course, there is always a nice selection for opera lovers and this year is no different. There will be two concerts that feature choral music. The first of these is “The Singing Heart” on July {…}
Stepping off the smooth high-speed train, Italy’s Frecciarossa, I began my journey to the city center, preparing for Teatro Comunale di Bologna’s opening night of “La Voix Humaine” and an Italian favorite, “Cavalleria Rusticana.” Italian Hospitality An important evening at the opera lies ahead, and this divo has high expectations for my hotel stay. Luggage in tow in the cool and {…}
On April 21, 2017, the Hawaii Opera Theatre (HOT) will debut Jacques Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann.” Kicking off his twentieth season with the company, HOT’s very own Artistic Director, Henry Akina, will run the production. Maestro Vincent de Kort will conduct the production and join Akina once again after the duo recently collaborated on HOT’s acclaimed production of “Siren {…}
Rolando Villazón has canceled his upcoming performances of Donizetti’s “L’Elisir D’Amore.” The Royal Opera House announced that tenor has to withdraw due to medical reasons. As a result, Armenian tenor Liparit Avetisyan will replace him. Avetisvan made his Royal Opera debut in the 2016-17 Season as Alfredo Germont in “La Traviata.” Recent appearances also include Alfredo Germont and Don José in Bizet’s “Carmen” {…}
It has been a hard few days in the opera Community. Over the weekend, Manfred Jung passed away and on Tuesday, tenor Paul Gyton passed away as well. Gyton was not a major soloist, but instead remained a loyal member of the chorus of the Welsh National Opera for a whopping 40 years. The tenor joined the ensemble on April 12, {…}
There has been a cancellation at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. German soprano Anett Fritsch, who was originally scheduled to take on the role of Sifare in “Mitridate, re di Ponto” has withdrawn and will be replaced by Salome Jicia in her Covent Garden debut. For years the soprano had been performing in lower profile operas but performed “La {…}
The Opera Ballet Vlaanderen has officially revealed its schedule for the 2017-18 season. The company kicks things off in Gent and Antwerp on Sept. 15 with a production of “Das Wunder der Heliane” by Korngold. The opera gets four performances at Opera Gent and five at Opera Antwerpen with Alexander Joel conducting a cast that includes Ian Storey as the {…}