Beverly Sills was one of the greatest sopranos of her time and she became an American icon, not only for her singing but also for her outreach and her work promoting young and upcoming singers. Throughout her career she sang at the greatest theaters and performed a wide array of repertoire. She also left a number of important and historic {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl / Metropolitan Opera) In continuation of the 2019-20 Great Performances Series, PBS will present the Live in HD broadcast of “Agrippina” from the Metropolitan Opera on Sunday, June 7, 2020 The broadcast will kick off at 12 p.m. EDT. The cast includes Joyce DiDonato in the title role, Brenda Rae, Kate Lindsey, Matthew Rose, and Iestyn Davies. {…}
The Palau de la Musica Catalana has announced its 2020-21 season featuring some of the greatest singers and choruses in the world. For the purposes of this article, vocal performances are highlighted. Marta Mathéu, Gemma Coma-Alabert, David Alegret, and Joan Martín-Royo are joined by pianists Jordi Armengol and Francisco Poyato for a program of Brahms. Performance Date: Sept. 17, 2020 {…}
The Handel and Haydn Society has pledged to pay musicians for canceled concerts scheduled throughout the remainder of the 2019-20 season. Per a press release, the company will pay artists 100 percent of the salary contractually agreed upon. The payments will total over $350,000 for 88 orchestra and chorus musicians. Artists will receive their payments on the same day they {…}
(Photo:Richard Boll) The Greek myth of Arianna (Ariadne in English) is a story rich in strong and contrasting emotions, for she is a woman who experiences love in extremis, and pays the price of loving the wrong man, Theseus, with whom she flees her home and betrays her family, only to be abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. {…}
Opera Atelier is set to mount Handel’s “The Resurrection” as its finale to the 2019-20 season. The production, which kicks off on April 11, 2020, will be the Canadian premiere of the opera. It will be conducted by David Fallis with soprano Carla Huhtanen, soprano Meghan Lindsay, mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, tenor Isaiah Bell, and bass Stephen Hegedus starring. The Artists of the Atelier Ballet will also appear in the {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl / Metropolitan Opera) The Met Opera’s Live in HD series for the 2019-20 season continues this Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 with a transmission of “Agrippina,” which was composed by Handel to a libretto by Grimani. The broadcast, which kicks off 12:55 p.m. Eastern time, will feature Joyce DiDonato in the title role with Brenda Rae as Poppea, {…}
(Credit: Claudio Papapietro) It’s been a great month for Handel fans in New York City. Earlier this February, the Metropolitan Opera premiered Handel’s 1709 opera “Agrippina” for the first time (ever!) in a new production by David McVicar. And just a few weeks later, The Juilliard School presented another early Handel piece – his 1711 opera “Rinaldo,” just across the {…}
(Image Source: Opera North Facebook Page) Opera North has just announced its 2020-21 Season, featuring seven operas. Performance venues include the Leeds Grand Theatre, Theatre Royal Newcastle, The Lowry, and the Theatre Royal Nottingham for the first six operas. “Parsifal” will be performed at the Leeds Town Hall, Bridgewater Hall Manchester, Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, Sage Gateshead, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, {…}
(Credit: Timothy White for Decca) Wearing a shiny taupe gown that reflected minimized images of the lights above, soprano Renée Fleming and pianist Gerald Martin Moore entered to applause that showed they have fans in this desert city. They opened with a Valentine befitting February 14th: George Frideric Handel’s enticing “Bel Piacere è Godere.” Fleming followed its fast, tricky coloratura {…}
Debuting at the Metropolitan Opera is a hard gig to come by, especially when it’s a principal role in a new production in an opera that’s never even been performed on the Met stage. But after a decade of singing leading roles all over the world, American soprano Brenda Rae is readier than ever to tackle New York’s biggest stage, {…}