Q & A: Director James Kicklighter on His Film “The Sound of Identity”

https://operawire.com/q-a-director-james-kicklighter-on-his-film-the-sound-of-identity/

History was made on May 3, 2019. The first transgender baritone, Lucia Lucas, sang the title role in Mozart/Da Ponte’s, “Don Giovanni.” Such an important milestone in both opera and transgender history didn’t take place in New York or Los Angeles or Chicago; it was in Tulsa, Oklahoma that Lucas made her debut as Don Giovanni, a crucial and extremely {…}

Behind the Scenes, Interviews

Q & A: Elisabet Strid on New Beginnings, COVID-19 and Overcoming Obstacles

https://operawire.com/q-a-elisabet-strid-on-new-beginnings-covid-19-and-overcoming-obstacles/

(Credit: Emelie Kroon) When COVID-19 struck a few months back, one of the final “live” performances to take the stage was a rendition of Wagner’s “Die Walküre” in Sweden. Among the performers in that production was dramatic soprano Elisabet Strid, who took on the role of Sieglinde. Strid, who has performed in such opera houses as the Teatro Real, Lyric {…}

News

Theodore Front Music Selects Dr. Adolphus Hailstork As August’s Composer of the Month

https://operawire.com/theodore-front-music-selects-dr-adolphus-hailstork-as-augusts-composer-of-the-month/

Theodore Front Music Literature, Inc., a leading sheet music and music book dealer based in Santa Clarita, California has named Black composer, Dr. Adolphus Hailstork as its composer of the month. Hailstork is currently at work on a George Floyd requiem cantata titled “A Knee On a Neck.” The piece is scored for orchestra, chorus, tenor, baritone, and mezzo-soprano. The {…}

Opera Wiki

Artist Profile: Thulani Davis, Famed Librettist of ‘Amistad’ & ‘The Life & Times of Malcolm X’

https://operawire.com/artist-profile-thulani-davis-famed-librettist-of-amistad-the-life-times-of-malcolm-x/

Thulani Davis is best known as the librettist for two of the most acclaimed operas of the late-twentieth century—“X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X,” and “Amistad.” Both projects were in collaboration with her composer, the composer Anthony Davis. Davis was born July 19, 1949 to parents from Virginia, but moved to New York City to attend Barnard College, {…}

Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Q & A: Daniel Sutin on ‘Tosca,’ COVID-19 & the Northern Lights Music Festival

https://operawire.com/q-a-daniel-sutin-on-tosca-covid-19-the-northern-lights-music-festival/

On July 17, the Northern Lights Music Festival will open its socially distanced production of Puccini’s “Tosca.” It will mark the first U.S staged opera production since the March lockdown due to COVID-19. The festival has lined up an all-star cast, which will include acclaimed baritone Daniel Sutin, who will take on the role of Scarpia. Sutin, who is well {…}

News

Will Liverman, Emily Fons, Emily Pogorelc Headline Valhalla Media’s New Live Stream Program

https://operawire.com/will-liverman-emily-fons-emily-pogorelc-headline-valhalla-medias-new-live-stream-program/

Valhalla Media will launch a brand new streaming platform aimed at providing live opera performances to audiences worldwide. On June 26, the company will feature baritone Will Liverman alongside pianist Paul Sanchez in a program centered on African-American composers including Leslie Adams, Margaret Bonds, Damien Snead, and Robert Owens. There will also be a world premiere by Shawn Okpebholo. On {…}

News

Obituary: Uruguayan Conductor Federico Garcia Vigil Dies, Aged 79

https://operawire.com/obituary-uruguayan-conductor-federico-garcia-vigil-dies-aged-79/

Uruguayan composer and conductor Federico Garcia Vigil passed away on June 4, 2020, at the age of 79. Born in Montevideo on January 5, 1941, Vigil attended the Elbio Fernandez school before studying piano at the Guillermo Kolischer Conservatory. In the 1960s, Vigil was hired to work at the Orchester de Ballet Alicia Alsono in Havana Cuba. Here, he met {…}

News

Great Performances to Broadcast Leonard Bernstein’s Mass with Paulo Szot

https://operawire.com/great-performances-to-broadcast-leonard-bernsteins-mass-with-paulo-szot/

Great Performances is set to present Leonard Bernstein’s Mass on May 15 at 9 p.m. EDT on PBS. The performance from the 2019 Ravinia Festival features 200 artists, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, baritone Paulo Szot, and conductor Marin Alsop. The choral ensemble Vocality, the Chicago Children’s Choir, and the Highland Park High School Marching Band also perform. Szot is {…}

News

Renée Fleming & Evgeny Kissin Cancel Paris Recital

https://operawire.com/renee-fleming-evgeny-kissin-cancel-paris-recital/

(Credit: Jonathon Tichler) Renée Fleming and Evgeny Kissin have canceled their Paris recital scheduled for March 19, 2020. In a statement from the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the theater announced that Fleming and Kissin will not perform due to government regulations that only allow 1,000 guests or less to congregate in a public space. As a result only part of their {…}

451 search results for…

Q & A: Director James Kicklighter on His Film “The Sound of Identity”

Q & A: Elisabet Strid on New Beginnings, COVID-19 and Overcoming Obstacles

Theodore Front Music Selects Dr. Adolphus Hailstork As August’s Composer of the Month

Artist Profile: Thulani Davis, Famed Librettist of ‘Amistad’ & ‘The Life & Times of Malcolm X’

Q & A: Daniel Sutin on ‘Tosca,’ COVID-19 & the Northern Lights Music Festival

Will Liverman, Emily Fons, Emily Pogorelc Headline Valhalla Media’s New Live Stream Program

Obituary: Uruguayan Conductor Federico Garcia Vigil Dies, Aged 79

Great Performances to Broadcast Leonard Bernstein’s Mass with Paulo Szot

Renée Fleming & Evgeny Kissin Cancel Paris Recital