The Merola Opera Program has added tenor Alek Shrader to its team as the Director of Membership & Engagement. Shrader, a performer at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Philadelphia, among others, will lead the organization’s membership program, enhance donor engagement and stewardship, and enhance its visibility through storytelling and alumni activation. Shrader {…}
(Photo: Cory Weaver) French soprano Julie Fuchs is the current toast of her operatic genre, as much as the character she portrays in the San Francisco Opera production of George Frideric Handel’s “Partenope.” Last weekend’s audience cheered, screamed, applauded, and thrilled to Fuchs’s electrifying dispatch of the daunting role—her final aria even stopped the show in its tracks! With glamorous costuming {…}
San Francisco Opera’s 2024 Summer Season will continue with Händel’s “Partenope.” The opera will be showcased in Christopher Alden’s 2014 production and Christopher Moulds, a baroque specialist, will conduct. The opera will star soprano Julie Fuchs in her American debut in the title role of Partenope, Carlo Vistoli in his U.S. debut, Nicholas Tamagna, Daniela Mack, Alek Shrader, and Hadleigh Adams. {…}
The Charlottesville Opera has announced the casts and operas for its 2023 season. The season will include Frank Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls” and Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca,” two works never performed by the company. “We are excited to present these classic productions for our audience here in Charlottesville. Both shows exemplify what we all love about musical storytelling, great characters, and {…}
Arizona Opera has announced it will release “Carmen: the Graphic Novel” in early December, just in time for the holidays. The book is a project of Alek Shrader, an operatic tenor and director who appeared in “The Audition,” a documentary about the Met Opera National Council Auditions, now called the Laffont Competition. Shrader served as the graphic novel’s writer and {…}
Opera Philadelphia has announced its 2022-23 season which will see the return of the season-opening Festival O. Festival O22 (Sept. 21-Oct. 2) The season will open with Rossini’s “Otello” starring Opera Philadelphia Artistic Advisor Lawrence Brownlee as Rodrigo. He is joined by fellow tenors Khanyiso Gwenxane in the title role and Alek Shrader as Iago, with mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as Desdemona. {…}
Caramoor has announced its 2022 summer season, which runs between June 18 through August 19, 2022. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be on opera and vocal performances. Soprano Christine Taylor Price and baritone Thomas West headline “Pops & Patriots” alongside the Westchester Symphony Winds and conductor Curt Ebersole. The showcase features music by Smith, Porter, Thomas, {…}
The English Concert has announced the fall portion of its 2021-22 season. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be on vocal and operatic performances. First up will be Händel’s “Samson” at the London Händel Festival, St. George’s Hanover Square. The showcase will star Stuart Jackson, Sophie Bevan, Paula Murrihy, Matthew Brook, David Shipley, and Rachel Redmond. Harry {…}
(Credit: © Gregor Hohenberg / Sony Classical/BreeAnne Clowdus) Cal Performances has announced its 2021-22 season featuring an array of music including pop, opera, musical, and dance. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on vocal and operatic performances. Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch showcase a program of lieder and songs in French, German, and Italian. Performance Date: Oct. {…}
(Credit: Stefan Cohen/San Francisco Opera) San Francisco Opera stages its first live opera performances with Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” The opera will be offered in a drive-in setting at San Rafael’s Marin Center and will open on April 23 and showcased for eleven performances running through May 15. Director Matthew Ozawa adapted the opera into a 90-minute version {…}
San Francisco Opera has announced that it will be returning to live performances starting in the Spring 2021. The company will present a 90-minute drive-in version of “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” directed by Matthew Ozawa starring Daniela Mack, Alek Shrader, Lucas Meachem, Laura Krumm, Philip Skinner, Kenneth Kellogg, and Catherine Cook. Roderick Cox makes his company debut at the podium. {…}