Ensemble For These Times With Luna Composition Lab Announces Winners Of 2023 Call For Scores

Following its successful 15th anniversary season, Ensemble for These Times (E4TT), an award-winning San Francisco-based contemporary chamber group, in partnership with Luna Composition Lab, has unveiled the winners of its 2023 Call for Scores. During the selection phase, the E4TT was presented with 22 scores from 13 emerging women and nonbinary composers. From this pool, they chose six outstanding pieces {…}

Sep 23, 2023

Samuel Schultz Calls Out Metropolitan Opera & Susan Graham for ‘Dead Man Walking’

Baritone Samuel Schultz is calling out the Metropolitan Opera for opening the season with “Dead Man Walking” and casting Susan Graham. Schultz took to social media and said, “The Metropolitan Opera opens this season with Dead Man Walking, an opera that explores a nun’s push to remove the death penalty for a convicted rapist/murderer. In the story, the victims are {…}

Sep 23, 2023

Obituary: Argentine Baritone Alejandro Meerapfel Dies of Heart Attack During Performance

Baritone Alejandro Meerapfel died on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023 during a performance in France. Per reports, the Argentine artist had a heart attack during a performance at the Ambronay Festival. He was appearing in Antonio Draghi’s oratorio “Dono della Vita Eterna” alongside the Cappella Mediterranea ensemble and the Namur Chamber Choir under the musical direction of Leonardo García Alarcón. Upon {…}

Sep 23, 2023

Doppelgänger – Claus Guth on Finding Inspiration in Park Avenue Armory, Jonas Kaufmann & Schubert’s ‘Genius’

It’s late September in New York and a major European director is staging a unique new work at a historic venue. And it stars Jonas Kaufmann, making his return to the Big Apple for the first time in two years. Described by director Claus Guth as a “highly emotional trip” in a recent interview with OperaWire, “Doppelgänger” is gracing the {…}

Sep 23, 2023

Peter Gelb Receives Ukraine’s Order of Merit

The Metropolitan Opera’s General Manager Peter Gelb has received Ukraine’s Order of Merit. Gelb received the award on Sept. 21 during an address by President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. He was one of several recipients recognized for the Met’s support of Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion. Since the {…}

Sep 23, 2023

Paul McCartney, Elliot Madore & Gilda Fiume Lead Cincinnati Opera’s 2024 Season

Cincinnati Opera has announced its 2024 Summer Festival, which will take place from June 13 to July 27, 2024. The season opens with Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” which will star Elliot Madore, Jessica Faselt, Jessica Rivera, Aaron Blake, Christian Pursell, Erin Keesy, Joseph Parrish, and bass Patrick Guetti. Alison Moritz directs and Dame Jane Glover conducts. Performance Dates: June 13 & 15, 2024 Vderi’s {…}

Sep 23, 2023

Festival degli Olimpici Announces 2023 Season

The Festival degli Olimpici has announced its 2023 season which will take place from Sept. 19 to 24 at the Teatro all’Antica – Teatro Olimpico di Sabbioneta. For the purposes of this article, here are the vocal performances. Barbara Frittoli’s master class students will give a concert at the Teatro di Sabbioneta. The students will be in masterclasses with the {…}

Sep 23, 2023

Opera Atelier to Open Season with ‘Orpheus and Eurydice’

Opera Atelier is set to open its 2023-24 season with the French 1774 version of Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice.” The opera will be performed from Oct. 26 through Nov. 1 at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto. “Orpheus and Eurydice” will star Canadian tenor Colin Ainsworth as Orpheus, soprano Mireille Asselin as Eurydice, and soprano Anna-Julia David as Amour in her {…}

Sep 23, 2023

Denyce Graves Foundation to Present Symposium 2023

The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is set to welcome visiting classical voice students to its Baltimore campus for a symposium and intensive coaching sessions as part of Shared Voices, a collaboration between HBCUs and leading conservatories designed to foster a more diverse classical vocal arts. The event will be led by Peabody faculty member Denyce Graves and {…}

Sep 22, 2023

Alleged Abuse, Financial Strain, and Questions of Leadership Threatens CIM’s Reputation

According to an in-depth report by VAN Magazine, the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is grappling with multifaceted challenges, jeopardizing its ambition to establish itself as a leading, tuition-free conservatory à la Philadelphia’s highly selective Curtis Institute. The appointment of conductor Carlos Kalmar as the director of orchestral studies has spiraled into controversy, marked by persistent allegations of abusive behavior, {…}

Sep 22, 2023

Wiener Staatsoper Announces Cast Change for ‘Il Barbiere di Siviglia’

The Wiener Staatsoper has announced a cast change for its performances of “Il Barbiere di Sivigilia” on Sept. 23, 2023. The company said that Marco Caria will sing the role of Figaro replacing Davide Luciano. Caria has performed at the Teatro La Fenice, Teatro di San Carlo, Teatro Colón, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and Verbier Festival. He is a member of {…}