Leo Nucci has been announced as the 2023 Piccini Prize winner. The legendary baritone will be awarded the prize at the Riflessi del Garda Festival on Lake Garda on July 8, 2023. The Piccinni Prize is a prestigious award established by the Niccolò Piccinni Fund in 1967, at the behest of the descendants of Louis Alexandre Piccinni, grandson of composer Niccolò {…}
In his return to the Ópera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, rising star Iván Ayón-Rivas encored “La Donna è mobile.” During the first performance on June 13, the tenor received an ovation that led him to encore the famed Verdi aria. It marked the second time the Peruvian singer encored an aria at Las Palmas. Back in 2020, he repeated “Una {…}
On June 10, 2023, famed Greek composer Yannis Markopoulos passed away at the age of 84. Born in Heraklion, on the island of Crete, in 1939, Markopoulos was influenced musically at an early age by not just the Byzantine liturgy and traditional Cretan music, but by the sound of detonating landmines following World War II. He joined the Athens Conservatoire {…}
La Jolla Music Society has announced its 2023-24 Winter Season, celebrating its 55th anniversary with 71 events scheduled. Vocal highlights include a recital on Valentine’s Day, showcasing the exceptional talents of Rhiannon Giddens, soprano Renée Fleming, and star tenor Lawrence Brownlee. For this article, only classical vocal performances are listed. “To push San Diego’s conceptions of who we are as {…}
Slavery and the lives forever changed by it are not easy things to talk about, much less put on the operatic stage. Yet, many composers like George Gershwin (Porgy and Bess), Rihannon Giddens (Omar), and Scott Joplin (Treemonisha) have all depicted the stories of real people that slavery sought to turn into buyable objects. Yet, to this legacy there is {…}
Detroit Opera has announced the newly selected singers to train in the company’s Resident Artist Program during the 2023–24 season. Those chosen are mezzo-soprano Lisa Marie Rogali, tenor River Guard, and baritone Rolfe Dauz. These three were selected from more than 850 international artists who applied to the program. The Resident Artists have committed to an intensive program while living {…}
Make Music New York is set to present a unique version of Mozart’s “Requiem” on June 21, 2023. The showcase is an open performance in which anyone is invited to join and participate. Leading the charge will be conductor Douglas Anderson and mezzo-soprano Melissa Gerstein. The project is several years in the making with Anderson explaining to OperaWire that the {…}
Photo credit: Susan and Neil Silverman Photography Music at Kohl Mansion has announced the roster for its 2023-24 season. The season includes seven chamber concerts that will be presented on Sunday evenings at the historic Kohl Mansion’s Great Hall. This article only mentions performances related to vocal works. Soprano Shawnette Sulker will present Francis Poulenc’s “Selected Songs for the Ensemble {…}
On June 21, 2023, On Site Opera will open its “Opera in the Garden” series, two nights of outdoor performances at the West Side Community Garden. The company will return to the venue where it held their 2017 production of Mozart’s “The Secret Gardener,” with a program comprised of excerpts from “The Magic Flute” and Bizet’s “Carmen.” Excerpts from ‘The {…}
(Photo by Olivia Kahler) American soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen is known for her diverse repertoire ranging from Mozart to Wagner. She has performed at leading opera houses around the world to high acclaim. She won first prize at the 2014 Operalia competition in Los Angeles and at the 2011 Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, and she was a winner of the {…}
The BBC Cardiff Singer of the 2023 Competition has announced the winners of its three main competition. Taking home the Main Prize was bass Adolfo Corrado from Italy. Born in Apulia, he has performed at La Scala, Teatro Petruzzelli, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro la Fenice, Arena di Verona, and Teatro Regio di Torino, among others. He performed arias {…}