The Princeton Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2023-24 season. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be on vocal performances. The season’s first vocal showcase will be Mozart’s Requiem with the Westminster Symphonic Choir. Rossen Milanov conducts. The program will also feature Caroline Shaw’s “Entr’acte” and Gregory Spear’s new versions of the Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei for {…}
Spoleto Festival USA has announced its 2023 season. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be on vocal and operatic performances. The company will present “Vanessa” at the Charleston Gaillard Center. The Barber opera will star Nicole Heaston, Zoie Reams, Edward Graves, Rosalind Plowright, and Malcolm MacKenzie. The opera is conducted by Timothy Myers and directed by Rodula {…}
After a bumpy 2021, which still had numerous COVID cancelations, 2022 saw opera companies almost return to normalcy. There were setbacks like cyberattacks, a war that has destroyed a country, and companies losing funds from government agencies. But in all, it also showed how opera companies could unite through benefit concerts and through sheer artistry. And after releasing our favorite {…}
Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo will headline the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s “Handel and Vivaldi” concert. The showcase, which will feature a number of concertos and arias from both composers, will also include such vocal works as “Pena tiranna” from “Amadigi di Gaula,” “Quella fiamma” from “Arminio,” and “Vivi, tiranno” from “Rodelinda.” Joining the opera star will be harpsichordist {…}
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 {…}
Artful Narratives Media has launched “Speaking Soundly,” a new podcast featuring Met Opera Orchestra Principal Trumpet David Krauss as its host. The podcast’s first episodes feature conversations with such artists as opera star Isabel Leonard, violinist Ray Chen, trombonist Joseph Alessi, oboist Spencer Rubin, famed composer and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, percussionist Evelyn Glennie, bassist Christian McBride, and Met Opera Orchestra {…}
(Credit: Matthew Placek) The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and Odyssey Opera are set to present the East Coast premiere of John Corigliano and Mark Adamo’s new opera “The Lord of Cries.” Considered to be one of the major operatic events of the new decade, “Cries” tells the story of the dangers that result from the repression of our darkest {…}
Death of Classical and The Green-Wood Cemetery presented the one-night-only world premiere of Aaron Seigel’s “Watching Birds at the End of the World” on July 21, 2022. This collection of 14 songs, written for countertenor and a vibraphone, illuminates the otherworldly connection of composer Aaron Siegel as a guide for anyone endeavoring a path of greater awareness within. Each song {…}
Justin Vivian Bond and Anthony Roth Costanzo’s “Only An Octave Apart” is set to make its London premiere this fall at Wilton’s Music Hall. The performances kick off on Sept. 28 and run through Oct. 22. The showcase will feature music supervision by Thomas Bartlett, arrangements by Nico Muhly, and costume design by Jonathan Anderson. Zack Winokur directs the show. {…}
On June 30, 2022, The Philadelphia Orchestra will present the online premiere of its organ concert at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City. The program was comprised of works from the 16th-20th centuries, featuring composers such as Gigout, Jongen, Faure, Durufle, Gabrieli, Handel, Beach, Saint-Saens, as well as Stokowski’s orchestration of Bach’s “Little Fugue in G Minor,” and the {…}
(Photo Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera) Opera is a way in which we can creatively examine momentous historical shifts and rediscover the possibilities of radical change in an existentially emblematic and exuberant way, especially at the Met. However, what is it that makes this art form balanced enough not to tip over into becoming purposefully deceptive and overly politically {…}