(Photo: BSoM Headshots) Baritone Donnie Ray Albert likes to quip that “[he’s] had many Besses in his life and [he’s] survived them all.” At 75, he’s enjoying spending time with Gwen, his wife of 52 years and traveling back and forth between his home north of Dallas to Austin where he’s a Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Voice at the University {…}
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 Experiential Orchestra and Videmus present the Julia Perry Centenary Celebration and Festival in New York City. Julia Perry (1924-79) was an African-American composer, born in Lexington, Kentucky and raised in Akron, Ohio. She spent two summers at the Berkshire Music Center, studied with Luigi Dallapiccola and briefly with Nadia Boulanger. She won the Prix Fontainebleau and two Guggenheim Fellowships, {…}
France’s Opéra National de Lorraine has announced its 2023-24 season featuring opera and concerts. Opera Marta Gardolińska conducts Mozart’s “Idomeneo“ in a new production by Lorenzo Ponte. Atalla Ayan sings the title role alongside Héloïse Mas, Siobhan Stagg, Amanda Woodbury, and Léo Vermot-Desroches. Performance Dates: Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2023 Lucio Gallo, Vuvu Mpofu, Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani, and Germán Olvera star in Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale.” {…}
The Dallas Opera (TDO) has announced its 2023-24 Season, featuring a world premiere production of “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” Kicking off the season, opening with Puccini’s “Tosca” starring Ewa Płonka in the title role, Joseph Calleja as Cavaradossi, Gihoon Kim as Scarpia, Andrew Potter as Angelotti, Thomas Cilluffo as Spoletta, and Darren Drone as Sacristan in this Andrew {…}
Noontime Concerts of San Francisco with The Living Heritage Foundation is set to present “Majesty of the Spiritual.” The concert, which is produced by Robert Sims and set to be performed on August 28, will see a program of concert spirituals featuring legends of opera and “legends to be.” Among the performers are Edwin Davis, Edward Graves, Raehann Bryce-Davis, as well {…}
Houston Grand Opera has announced the return of “Giving Voice: Lawrence Brownlee and Friends Sing Opera, Gospel, and Standards” on Jan. 22, 2021. The original concert sold out during its initial showcase back in 2020 at Wortham, and this latest installment will feature the return of Lawrence Brownlee as co-host alongside soprano Nicole Heaston. The free digital stream will feature {…}
Fort Worth Opera (FWO) announced the world premiere of “Bernadette’s Cozy Book Nook,” a film by composer and FWO Artistic Director Joe Illick and Pulitizer Prize and Grammy® Award-winning librettist Mark Campbell. The film, part of FWO’s Green Room digital initiative, premieres on January 14, 2021, at 7:30 p.m. CST, and runs through January 24. “Bernadette’s Cozy Book Nook,” is {…}
Credit: Gregor Hohenberg/Sony Gramophone has announced the recordings that have advanced to the final round of the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2020. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on vocal, choral, and opera categories. The first contestant in the opera category is the Barber’s “Vanessa,” performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Glyndebourne Chorus, under the musical {…}