In collaboration with Dejan Vukosavljevic On the heels of its 2020-21 season cancelation, the Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2021-22 season. The company will present six new productions including three company premieres. Here is a look at the new season. New Productions The season opens with “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” by Terence Blanchard. The opera will be conducted by {…}
Pianist and activist Lara Downes is making the stars align in a video of Leonard Bernstein’s song “Take Care of this House.” The video, which is being released on Sept. 22 in honor of National Voter Registration Day, features a wide range of major superstars from the opera and classical music world including Thomas Hampson, Anthony Orth Costanzo, Julia Bullock, {…}
On Sept. 18, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg died at the age of 87. Ginsburg was known as a fearless leader who fought for gender equality and women’s rights and served on the Sumpreme Court for 27 years. She was also a lover of opera and frequently attended performances. She even made her operatic debut in 2016 in a {…}
October 25 marks World Opera Day 2020, and in celebrating the impact the art-form has had worldwide, Opera Europa has partnered with several international organizations to bring opera to audiences across the globe. The theme for their 2020 edition pays tribute to Beethoven on the 250th year since his birth. To that end, online platform OperaVision will stream three different {…}
Opus Klassik has announced the 2020 winners. The award for Female Singer of the year went to two artists: Elina Garanca for “Sol y Vida” and Marlis Petersen for “Dimensionen Innenwelt.” It is the first time that the award is shared by two singers. Meanwhile, the Male Singer of the year went to Danel Behle. Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla became the first {…}
The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Long Yu have announced the 2020-21 season. For the purposes of this article, we will focus primarily on vocal and operatic performances. Long Yu will conduct Fauré’s “Requiem” in a performance starring Soprano Ying Huang and Baritone Liao Changyong. The concert will also feature Huang Ruo’s “A Dust in Time” and Chopin’s “Andante {…}
(Photo Credits: Dario Acosta / Elena Nezenceva / Chris Singer / Frances Marshall) IDAGIO has announced that it will be launching a digital concert hall featuring some of the great classical music artists of our time. Among the artists involved in the initiative are Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni, Kristine Opolais, Brian Jagde, Ailyn Pérez, and Matthew Polenzani, among many others. {…}
Opera for Peace has announced that several of opera’s greatest stars are joining the organization as ambassadors and advisors. Tenor René Barbera and sopranos Elsa Dreisig and Joyce El-Khoury have become the organization’s newest ambassadors. Meanwhile, conductor Fabio Luisi, soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, and baritone Ludovic Tézier have signed on as Advisors; they join baritone Thomas Hampson and soprano Sumi Jo, who {…}
(Credit; Frances Marshall) Opera in the Times of COVID” is an interview series in collaboration with photographer Frances Marshall of Marshall Light Studio. We talk to notable figures from around the opera world to get their perspective on how they feel these challenging times may change opera’s present and future. Brian Jagde is one of the rising tenors of his {…}
No doubt the legacy of “Cavalleria Rusticana” is reaching far back into the history of recording; from the 1909 version of the Odeon Orchestra to the milestones of the LP era. Its prominence has not even slowed with the advent of the compact disc or indeed the reprinting of forgotten lore, including the 1938 performance of Lina Bruna Rasa. One {…}
This week as you continue at home, there are a number of new albums that you can check out. Here are the latest releases we recommend you listen to. Cavalleria Rusticana Marek Janowski and the Dresdner Philharmonie present a new recording of Mascagni’s masterpiece. The new recording brings together an acclaimed group of soloists Melody Moore as Santuzza, Brian Jagde {…}