Denyce Graves has announced she will retire from the stage on Jan. 24, 2026. The mezzo will take her last bow during the Metropolitan Opera’s run of “Porgy and Bess” and she will sing the role of Maria. Graves made her Met debut in 1995 and went on to sing 158 times with the company in such productions as Kevin Puts’s {…}
Opera for Peace and the Denyce Graves Foundation, in collaboration with Washington National Opera and its Cafritz Young Artists Program, have announced the inaugural U.S. Opera for Peace Academy in Washington, D.C., from Nov. 10 to 17, 2025. The Academy will bring world-class training and cultural diplomacy to the nation’s capital, with marquee events at the Embassy of France, including {…}
The Denyce Graves Foundation is set to present “The Harvest Moon Gala” on Oct. 6, 2025. The Black Tie Affair, which will take place at Guastavino’s in New York, will feature a special guest performance by Andrea Bocelli, who will also be among the honorees. Other honorees include Chandrika Tandon, Dr. Louise Toppin, and Francesca Zambello. Deborah Roberts hosts. Also {…}
OPERA America has announced the 2025 Opera Hall of Fame Inductees. This year’s recipients include baritone and teacher Donnie Ray Albert, librettist and teacher Mark Campbell, mezzo-soprano and teacher Denyce Graves, arts leader and administrator Christopher Hahn, philanthropists and advocates Susan F. and William C. Morris, philanthropists and advocates Bernard and Barbro Osher, and arts administrator and director Francesca Zambello. {…}
The Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center celebrates its second season under the Renée and Robert Belfer Music & Artistic Director Jonathon Heyward with several premieres, commissions, and exciting performances. “Connected Perceptions,” a world premiere commission by James Lee III. Soprano Gabriella Reyes performs Britten’s “Les illuminations” and Golijov’s “Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra.” Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist alumni {…}
Opera Carolina has unveiled its 2025-26 lineup, marking the first season under new management. “A Night to Remember” opens the season. The concert is presented in partnership with the Puccini Festival of Torre del Lago. Performance Date: November 1, 2025 The “9/11 Commemorative Concert” features a performance of Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater.” Performance Date: September 11, 2025 A double bill of Puccini’s {…}
The Metropolitan Opera continues its partnership with the Denyce Graves Foundation’s “Shared Voices” program, the student-exchange initiative that brings together elite historically Black colleges and universities and America’s preeminent conservatories and institutions, for a second year. On Feb. 28, a new cohort of 18 students will participate in an immersive day-long program at the Met. This year, activities include a {…}
The Town Hall celebrates James Baldwin with the New York premiere of the chamber opera,“The Tongue & The Lash” and “A Return to Civic Discourse” on Feb. 18, 2025. Damien Sneed and Karen Chilton’s “The Tongue & The Lash” picks up at the end of Baldwin and William F. Buckley, Jr.’s infamous televised debate in Feb. 1965. The opera imagines {…}
On Jan. 9, KFDC’s Classical Americana SKY concert will present Denyce Graves and Lara Downes. Graves and Downes will perform music by various American composers and discuss advocacy and mentorship in building the future of classical music. Downes will also play some solo piano work. The evening will be held at the Classical California KDFC at The Bowes Center for the {…}
(Photos: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera presented the tenth performance of composer Kevin Puts’s “The Hours,” with libretto by Greg Pierce, on Friday, May 10th 2024. In November 2022, OperaWire reviewed “The Hours” debut with great attention towards how the opera came to the Met, including Kevin Puts’s score, Greg Pierce’s libretto, and the undeniable beauty of the {…}
(Credit: Karen Almond / Met Opera) On Sunday, March 17, the Met Opera hosted the grand finale of the Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Out of an initial group of 1,500 hopefuls, ten standout singers got their chance to shine before their first Met audience. Denyce Graves hosted the event, featuring a special bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green performance. The afternoon {…}