Photos: Dario Acosta The Richard Tucker Award and Gala came back in full force after two years with no awards. A galaxy of operatic stars was on hand for the event held in the newly renovated David Geffen Hall, which was designed to remedy the venue’s seemingly intractable issue with—of all things—acoustics. (Geffen Hall is the home of the New {…}
The Knights are set to present “Everlasting Light,” a holiday concert featuring two of opera’s biggest stars. The showcase, scheduled for Dec. 14, 2022 at the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center, will be headlined by Angel Blue and Anthony Roth Costanzo. They will be joined by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus under Dianne Brekun Menaker. Eric Jacobsen conducts the performance. Audiences will {…}
The Grammy Awards have announced their nominations for 2023 with the Metropolitan Opera leading the field in the classical categories. In the Best Opera Recording category Matthew Aucoin’s “Eurydice” was nominated alongside Terrence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut up in my Bones” and Anthony Davis’ “X – The Life And Times Of Malcolm X” “Eurydice” features Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Barry Banks, Nathan Berg, {…}
Verdi’s La Traviata returns to the Metropolitan Opera with three casts. The opera, performed eight times from Oct. 25 to Nov. 19, 2022, will star Stephen Costello, Lucas Salsi, and Nadine Sierra. Maestro Daniele Callegari conducts the production by Michael Mayer. Then between Jan. 5 and 26, 2023, Ermonela Jaho will sing her acclaimed interpretation alongside Ismael Jordi and Amartuvshin {…}
The Arena di Verona has announced a replacement for Angel Blue in “La Traviata” on July 30, 2022. The company noted that Nina Minasyan will sing the role of Violetta. Blue canceled the production earlier this month because the Arena di Verona decided to use Blackface in a production of “Aida.” Blue called the practice “offensive, humiliating, and outright racist.” {…}
Toledo Opera will present Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s new opera “Blue.” The work will be presented on August 26 and August 28 at 2 p.m. at the Valentine Theatre in Toledo, Ohio. The work, which is influenced by gospel music and uses vivid flashbacks, places timely issues at the forefront of modern opera. Since its world premiere in 2019 {…}
Zuzana Marková is set to replace Angel Blue at the Arena di Verona in a production of “La Traviata.” The Czech soprano took to Instagram to announce her performance on July 22. She said, “Guess where am I? Becoming Violetta tomorrow night!” She posted the photo with the hashtags #latraviata, #violetta, #unexpected, and #vivaverdi. The Arena di Verona did not make {…}
The Metropolitan Opera is set to launch its Summer HD Festival this August. After a screening of Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” on August 26, the company will showcase “Porgy and Bess” starring Angel Blue and Eric Owens from 2020. Performance Date: August 27, 2022 Next up is “Akhnaten” starring Anthony Roth Costanzo from 2019. Performance Date: August 28, 2022 {…}
Following Angel Blue’s high-profile cancelation at the Arena di Verona via social media, the soprano’s Instagram and Facebook pages have disappeared. Blue had posted a Faithful Friday post on July 15 following her July 14 post where she announced she would cancel her “La Traviata” due to the Arena di Verona’s use of blackface. The soprano said, “Dear Friends, Family, {…}
The Arena di Verona has released a statement regarding Angel Blue’s decision to cancel her performances of “La Traviata” due to the blackface controversy. The company said, “Fondazione Arena di Verona’s principal aim has always been to create peace through the spread and development of music and art. Culture creates bridges.” The company added, “the current production of ‘Aida’ was {…}
Angel Blue has canceled her debut at the Arena di Verona in a production of “La Traviata.” The soprano took to social media and said, “Dear Friends, Family, and Opera Lovers, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that I will not be singing La Traviata at Arena di Verona this summer as planned. As many of you know, Arena di {…}