Welcome back for this week’s review of the major CD and DVD releases. This week, audiences are in for many world premiere recordings as well as rarely performed works. Here is a look at some of the pieces audiences will discover! Virko Baley: Music for Emily Dickinson Toccata Classics releases an album dedicated to the music of Virko Baley, a {…}
On Sept. 7, Italian soprano Margherita Rinaldi died at the age of 88 in Impruneta, Italy. Born on Jan. 12, 1935 in Turin, Italy, Rinaldi went to study music in Rovigo. Following her studies, she went on to win a competition in Spoleto and made her operatic debut in 1958 in the title role of “Lucia di Lammermoor.” The success of {…}
On August 18, 2023 soprano Hilda de Groote died at the age of 77 in Vienna, Austria. Born on Oct. 14, 1945, in Ghent, Belgium, de Groote studied music with opera director Karel Locufier early in her career. She went on to make her debut at the Royal Opera Ghent in 1961 in “Les contes d’Hoffmann” and went on to {…}
Opera is not one thing, as many people know. Instead, opera is an umbrella term for a large host of different categories and types ranging from the typical to the rather peculiar. While Mozart looks one way, Monteverdi and Wagner will look a different way. Of course they all follow the same trajectory, but their style has led them in {…}
The musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra have voted to reject their management’s “best and final offer” ahead of the expiration of the contract between the Philadelphia Orchestra Kimmel Center, Inc. (POKC) and Local 77 of the American Federation of Musicians. According to a press release, not a single musician voted in favor of the POKC’s “best and final offer” with {…}
The Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center Theater New Works Program have announced the commission of a new work by Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomiiets and librettist George Brant. The new opera will be based on the true events of Ukrainian mothers who embarked on an arduous 3,000-mile journey behind enemy lines into Russia to rescue their children forcibly detained there by {…}
Angela Gheorghiu has joined Intermusica for Worldwide General Management. The company said, “We are thrilled to announce that legendary soprano Angela Gheorghiu has joined Intermusica for worldwide general management.” She will be managed by Nathan Morrison, Associate Director, Vocal & Opera. Gheorghiu is one of the most famous sopranos of her generation having performed at every major opera house in {…}
Photo credit: Stephanie Berger Right off of an international tour that included several wins at the World Choir Games, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City is jumping into its 2023-24 season. The choir performs alongside The Metropolitan Opera in Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking.” Performance Dates: October 21- 26, 2023 Next up is an appearance in the American {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago announced the 2023-24 season will launch the SoundShirt as part of its accessibility initiative. The season-long pilot program brings wearable technology to the opera house for the first time. The SoundShirt invented and produced by London-based CuteCircuit, allows wearers to better interpret the unique qualities of live opera and musical-theater performances. Wearers experience the feeling {…}
The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc.’s (POKC) management team have suddenly terminated negotiations before the Sept. 10 expiration of the Philadelphia Orchestra musicians’ union contract. According to a press release, “after bargaining all day Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, progress was being made toward a deal. On Friday evening, an agreement was made between the union and Orchestra management that {…}
Grammy award-winning artist Zachary James released his first full-length classical vocal album, “Song of Myself” on Sept. 7. “Song of Myself” is James’ classical composition debut. The song cycle was born from the words of Whitman’s iconic work of the same title. There is additional music by cellist Wick Simmons, percussionist Ariel Campos, and guitarist Frederick Poholek. When writing James {…}