Growth Through Art Song – Steans Institute Singers Reflect on Time at Ravinia’s Young Artist Program

https://operawire.com/growth-through-art-song-steans-institute-singers-reflect-on-time-at-ravinias-young-artist-program/

Since 1988, the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute has been a major proponent of lifting up the next generation. Since its inauguration the institute has provided coaching, master classes, and performing opportunities for over 1,700 musicians. This year, the program will host 15 classical vocalists, who will get the spotlight for two weeks with a series of masterclasses with such notable {…}

Business, News

Samuel Mataelet Wins 2026 Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest

https://operawire.com/samuel-mataelet-wins-2026-kiri-te-kanawa-song-quest/

The inaugural Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest has announced its 2026 winners following the competition on July 11, 2026 in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. This year, the first prize winner was New Zealand countertenor Samuel Mataelet. In a statement Mataelete said, “This competition offers not only the financial support, with the prize money that is won, but also the publicity to sort {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Staatsoper Stuttgart 2025-26 Review: Don Giovanni

https://operawire.com/staatsoper-stuttgart-2025-26-review-don-giovanni/

(Credit: Martin Sigmund) While the midsize southwestern German city of Stuttgart is not an international operatic centre like Berlin or Munich, it’s nonetheless important to opera’s history. It witnessed the world premieres of three major works: Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos“ (1912); Zemlinsky’s “A Florentine Tragedy” (1917); and Philip Glass’s “Akhnaten” (1984), in addition to several operas by Carl Orff and {…}

Opera Meets Film, Special Features

Opera Meets Film: Celebrating An Operatic Giant in Brian Staufenbiel’s ‘Flicka’

https://operawire.com/opera-meets-film-celebrating-an-operatic-giant-in-brian-staufenbiels-flicka/

Photo Credit: IMG Artists/Frederica von Stade/Robert Millard (2005) This year was exciting for many reasons but one of them stands out. On Monday, March 10, 2025, the documentary about Frederica von Stade, “Flicka: A Love Letter,” first created in 2023, was screened at the National Opera Center in New York City. Combining archival footage of performance clips, Brian Staufenbiel’s “Flicka” gave {…}

Special Features

Opera in Appalachia – How Brevard Music Center Brought Opera to the Mountains

https://operawire.com/opera-in-appalachia-how-brevard-music-center-brought-opera-to-the-mountains/

(Photo credit: Chuck Gilmore) Southern Appalachia is typically acknowledged as the heart of traditional American folk music, from old-time string bands to bluegrass, and haunting ballads, but there are more connections to opera and classical singing than one might realize. Pioneers like Cecil Sharp, Maud Karpeles, and John Jacob Niles collected folk songs throughout southern Appalachia, such as “The Lover’s {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Teatro alla Scala 2024-25 Review: La Cenerentola

https://operawire.com/teatro-alla-scala-2024-25-review-la-cenerentola/

(Credits: Brescia e Amisano) Just days before the premiere of his new opera, Gioachino Rossini – true to his habits and to the conventions of his time – chose to speed up the process. For the Sinfonia (overture), he reused one he had written a year earlier for “La Gazzetta,” while for the protagonist’s final rondò, he adapted a fragment {…}

News

Metropolitan Opera Announces Laffont Competition Finalists

https://operawire.com/metropolitan-opera-announces-laffont-competition-finalists/

The Metropolitan Opera has announced the finalists for the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominque Laffont Competition. Following the semi-finals on March 9, nine singers will advance to the final round. The finalists will compete on the Met stage on March 16 at 3 P.M. ET. Karen Kamensek will lead the Met Orchestra and Laffont alumna and star mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton {…}

IndieOpera

Musica Viva NY to Present ‘Curse Upon Iron’

https://operawire.com/musica-viva-ny-to-present-curse-upon-iron/

Musica Viva NY is set to present “Curse Upon Iron,” a one-night-only concert at Manhattan’s All Souls NYC. The evening will be held on March 2, 2025 and will feature choral music from the Baltic States. Led by Musica Viva NY’s Artistic Director/Conductor Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, the Musica Viva NY choir, accompanied by piano and organ, will honor the heritage of {…}