Former Vice-President at Columbia Artists Opens Minerva Artists

Former vice-president at Columbia Artists, Michael Benchetrit, has struck out on his own, founding Minerva Artists with 15 high-profile artists entrusting their careers to the seasoned agent. Benchetrit was at Columbia for 25 years before the agency shuttered in August. Minerva’s current roster includes sopranos Michelle Bradley, Nicole Cabell, Anna-Sophie Neher, Marjorie Owens, Brenda Rae, and in memoriam, Erin Wall; {…}

Miah Persson, Andrea Carroll, & Jack Swanson Lead Garsington Opera’s 2021 Season

The Garsington Opera at Wormsley, England has announced the 2021 season program. The season opens with R.Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier” starring Miah Perrson, Hanna Hipp, Soraya Malfi, Derrick Ballard, and Richard Burkhard. Jordan de Souza conducts Bruno Ravella’s production. Performance Dates: June 2-July 3, 2021 Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” is set to star Jonathan McGovern, Natalia Tanasii, Sam Furness, and Mathew Rose. {…}

Julia Bullock, Corinne Winters & Aušrinė Stundytė Lead Oper Köln’s 2020-21 Season

The Oper Köln has announced its 2020-21 season featuring nine new productions and several revivals.  Premieres The first new production of the season will be Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte“ with Michael Hampe directing. Christoph Gedschold, Alfred Eschwé, and Rainer Mühlbach alternate at the pit with Julien Behr as Tamino, Antonina Vesenina, and Emily Hindrichs as the Queen of the Night, Kathrin Zukowski {…}

Ailyn Pérez, Matthew Polenzani Among 100 Singers Join Forces for Campbell & Moravec’s ‘Light Shall Lift Us’

Over 100 singers came together for a video performance of “Light Shall Lift Us,” a work by librettist Mark Campbell and composer Paul Moravec. The duo, which has worked together on “The Shining” proposed the idea to Marc Scorca of Opera America, who embraced the idea and helped put together the 107 artists who would eventually record their individual parts {…}

Corinne Winters, Andrew Stenson & Aaron Crouch Highlight Minnesota Opera’s 2020-21 Season

The Minnesota Opera has announced its 2020-21 season featuring five productions with a number of important rising stars. The season opens with Mozart’s “The Abduction from the Seraglio” starring Claudia Boyle as Konstanze, Andrew Stenson as Belmonte, and Kenneth Kellogg as Osmin. Omer Ben Seadia directs James Robinson’s original production. Performance Dates: Sept. 26- Oct. 4, 2020 Corinne Winters andJohn Moore star in {…}

Isabel Leonard, Christine Goerke & Arturo Chacón-Cruz Highlight Houston Grand Opera’s 2020-2021 Season

The Houston Grand Opera has announced its 2020-21 season featuring a number of established as well as rising stars. Here is a detailed look at the upcoming productions: The season opens with Bizet’s “Carmen” with a cast that includes Isabel Leonard and Carolyn Sproule alternating in the role of Carmen, Andrea Caré and Frederick Ballentine alternating as Don José, Anita {…}

Amanda Woodbury, Jack Swanson Among Stars of American Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Sons of Bach’ Concert

The American Symphony Orchestra is set to perform “Sons of Bach” at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center on Dec. 19, 2019. The performance, which will be conducted by Leon Botstein, is set to feature rarely-performed works by four of Bach’s sons, including W.F. Bach’s “Erzittert und Fallet,” J.C.F. Bach’s “Die Amerikanerin,” J.C. Bach’s Symphony in G Minor, and C.P.E. {…}

Janai Brugger, Amanda Woodbury & Catherine Russell Headline American Symphony Orchestra’s 2019-20 Season

(Credit: Dario Acosta) American Symphony Orchestra has announced its expanded 2019-20 season, which includes concerts at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Symphony Space. For the purposes of this article, we will focus only on vocal performances. The season will kick off with Edward Elgar’s oratorio “The Kingdom” at Carnegie Hall, which will feature soprano Janai Brugger, mezzo-soprano Maya Lahyani, tenor {…}

Enea Scala, Asmik Grigorian & Christopher Maltman Highlight Oper Frankfurt’s 2019-20 Season

Oper Frankfurt’s new season is massive. It is loaded up with over a dozen new productions and even more revivals. Premieres  Damiano Michieletto directs a new production of Rossini’s “Otello” starring Enea Scala in the title role, Karolina Makuła as Desdemona, Theo Lebow as Iago, and Jack Swanson as Rodrigo. Sesto Quatrini conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 8-Oct. 20, 2019 Asmik Grigorian sings {…}

Ailyn Perez, Tamara Wilson & Emily D’Angelo Headline Santa Fe Opera’s 2020 Season

The Santa Fe Opera has announced its highly anticipated 2020 season featuring a number of unique new productions, role debuts, and one world premiere. Emily D’Angelo, Jack Swanson, and Audun Iverson highlight Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” with Corrado Rovaris conducting. Scott Conner and Kevin Burdette round out the cast. Performance Dates: July 3-August 29, 2020 Eric Ferring. Joelle Harvey, {…}