This past week, the Arizona Opera presented the world premiere of Greg Kallor’s second opera “Frankenstein.” Kallor is a composer and pianist whose first opera “The Tell-Tale Heart” will be performed at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has also collaborated Dover and Escher String Quartets and Tuesday Musical and has also performed in recital at Carnegie Hall. {…}
Gregg Kallor’s “Frankenstein” is commissioned by Arizona Opera and will make its world premiere in October 2023 with performances in Phoenix and Tucson. This opera in two acts; adapted from Mary Shelley’s novel, brings to the surface humanity’s dire need for greater empathy. Composer and librettist Gregg Kallor in collaboration with director Sarah Meyers, dramaturg Cori Ellison and conductor Nicole {…}
The Arizona Opera has announced its 2023-24 season. The McDougall Red Series The season opens with The McDougall Red Series with the world premiere of “Frankenstein” by Gregg Kallor. The score is a riveting, cinematic work and follows the successes of “Riders of the Purple Sage” and “The Copper Queen.” Edward Parks, Terrence Chin-Loy, Katherine Beck, Brad Bickhardt, and Melissa {…}
The Arizona Opera is set to present the world premiere of Gregg Kallor’s new opera “Frankenstein.” The opera, which opens on Oct. 13, 2023, will run through Oct. 22 and will mark Arizona Opera’s third world premiere, following the successes of “Riders of the Purple Sage” and “The Copper Queen Film.” In a statement, Kallor said, “What drives my creation {…}
Photo: Caitlin Oldham On March 3, Arizona Opera is set to present a production of “The Sound of Music.” It’s a rare moment when an opera company brings a musical to its stage. The 1959 musical is most famous for its movie adaptation, which won the Oscar for Best Picture and has some of Rodger and Hammerstein’s most iconic work. {…}
Arizona Opera is among four arts organizations to receive major support and aid from Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s office. In an official press statement, the company noted that it would be a recipient of a grant of $500,000 as part of a $2 million COVID relief fund. “We’re incredibly grateful to the State of Arizona as well as to Governor {…}
As part of this week’s CD / DVD releases, audiences will get to hear rarely performed works, a Rossini album, a documentary, a streamed opera, and a solo album by one of the great tenors of his generation. George Walker The fifth audio release on The Cleveland Orchestra’s own label showcased Music Director Franz Welser-Möst performing music by American composer {…}
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 {…}
Arizona Opera is set to open its 2022-23 season with a production of “The Falling and The Rising.” The opera, which is set to be presented in Phoenix (Oct. 14-16) and Tucson (Oct. 22-23), tells the story of service and sacrifice, which traces the inner journey of a soldier who enters a coma after she suffers a roadside attack. As {…}
Arizona Opera’s upcoming production of “The Falling and the Rising” is an operatic story of the unique service of those in the military who face danger, often paying the price of a great sacrifice. Staff Sergeant Ben Hilgert, serving in the Soldiers’ Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band, is the visionary of the piece. His passion to tell this {…}
Arizona Opera has named Katherine Kozak its new Head of Music, Chorus Master, and Principal Coach of the Pullin Opera Studio. “I’m delighted to be joining this dynamic company, and am enthusiastic to get to know and collaborate with the staff, and the artists of the Studio and Chorus. I’m happily anticipating my move to the Phoenix area and becoming {…}