Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Names New Assistant Conductor & Conducting Fellow

https://operawire.com/baltimore-symphony-orchestra-names-new-assistant-conductor-conducting-fellow/

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has announced the appointment of Jiannan Cheng as Assistant Conductor and Tatiana Pérez-Hernández as Conducting Fellow for the 2025–26 season. Cheng takes over for Jonathon Taylor Rush, who previously served as Assistant and later Associate Conductor from 2020 to 2023. In her new role, Cheng will lead select family, education, and holiday performances, as well as {…}

DVD and CD Reviews

CD Review: EuroArts’ ‘Norma’

https://operawire.com/cd-review-euroarts-norma/

All “Normas” are a spectacle, but some are more spectacular than others—or so the Orwellian adage might go. Marina Rebeka, for instance, set the bar for dramatic intensity in her fiery CD release from last year. By contrast, Melody Moore’s portrayal on EuroArts—though dignified—leans toward restraint. That is not to slight Moore or—indeed—any of her colleagues. As Norma, she commands {…}

IndieOpera

‘Frederick Douglass’ to Be Presented by Odyssey Opera & Boston Modern Orchestra Project

https://operawire.com/frederick-douglass-to-be-presented-by-odyssey-opera-boston-modern-orchestra-project/

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), in partnership with Odyssey Opera, will present the New England premiere of “Frederick Douglass” at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall. The performance will be held on June 20, 2025 and will feature Black composer Ulysses Kay and librettist Donald Dorr’s opera, which centers on a fictionalized account of the final year of the renowned {…}

DVD and CD Reviews, Reviews

CD Review: Gordon Getty’s ‘Goodbye, Mr. Chips’

https://operawire.com/cd-review-gordon-gettys-goodbye-mr-chips/

The score of Gordon Getty’s “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” breathes all the unpretentiously sweet melancholy of its many predecessors – from James Hilton’s 1933 novella of the same title to subsequent adaptations as, among others, radio plays and lavishly cast movie musicals. Yet it is not exactly the feel-good opera advertised in Pentatone’s press release; rather, the eponymous Mr. Chips – {…}

News

Morris Robinson, Angel Blue & Erika Grimaldi Lead The Washington Chorus’s 2024-25 Season

https://operawire.com/morris-robinson-angel-blue-erika-grimaldi-lead-the-washington-choruss-2024-25-season/

The Washington Chorus has announced its 2024-25 season. Dr. Eugene Rogers conducts Morris Robinson in music by Jessie Montgomery, Aaron Copland, and Carlos Simon/Dan Harder. rs. Performance Dates: Sept. 14, 2024 Dr. Eugene Rogers conducts Suzzette Ortiz. Performance Dates: Dec. 14-22, 2024 Dr. Eugene Rogers conducts Damian Norfleet and Monique Holmes-Spells in music by Leonard Bernstein, Nkeiru Okoye, Eugene Rogers, {…}

News

New Orleans Opera Announces 2024-25 Season

https://operawire.com/new-orleans-opera-announces-2024-25-season/

New Orleans Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. The season opens with “Tosca” starring Melody Moore, Dominick CHenes, Reginald Smith Jr., and Ivan Griffin. George Manahan conducts and Christopher Mattaliano directs. Performance Dates: Sept. 27 & 29, 2024 Then comes “Samson and Delilah in Concert. Limmie Pulliam, Raehann Bryce-Davis, and Alfred Walker star. Daniela Candillari conducts. Performance Dates: Nov. 8 & 10, {…}

DVD and CD Releases, News

Annalisa Stroppa, Lise Davidsen, Luciano Pavarotti & Yannick Nézet-Séguin Lead New CD/DVD Releases

https://operawire.com/annalisa-stroppa-lise-davidsen-luciano-pavarotti-yannick-nezet-seguin-lead-new-cd-dvd-releases/

Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week you get albums from two very famous singers, a soundtrack to one of this year’s Oscar contenders, and two complete opera recordings you cannot miss. Maestro Deutsche Grammophon releases the official soundtrack to Bradley Cooper’s new film “Maestro.” The recording features {…}

DVD and CD Reviews, Reviews

CD Review: Pentatone’s ‘Tosca’

https://operawire.com/cd-review-pentatones-tosca/

After this summer’s “Un Ballo in Maschera,” the forces behind the Dutch label Pentatone are turning their attention to another heavy-hitter from the Italian repertoire: with “Tosca” they enter the well-trodden territory of one of the most recorded operas ever. Yet, Carlo Montanaro and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester do not pretend to proverbially reinvent the wheel the way Rostropovich famously did in {…}