The Sixteen and the Genesis Foundation have announced the 22 young artists who will join Genesis Sixteen’s 14th cohort this autumn. The program hosts 18-23-year-old singers to nurture the next generation of ensemble singers. The cohort will culminate their training with a showcase performance at Sounds Sublime Festival, taking place on July 13. Other highlights of Sounds Sublime include a {…}
(Photo credit: Thalhammer & Pledger) The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has announced its lineup for the 2024-25 season. This article only features vocal works. Soprano Mary Bevan opens the season with a program of works by Schubert. Edward Gardner conducts. Performance Date: July 17, 2024 Soprano Lucy Crowe, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston, tenor Nicky Spence, and baritone Jonathan Lemalu serves {…}
(Photo credit: Paul Marc Mitchell) The English Concert marks its 50th anniversary with new releases of its legacy project, “Handel for All.” This spring the group will put on a number of special concerts and events in celebration, whilst continuing to build its library of recordings of Händel’s works that are free and accessible. Sopranos Jeanine de Bique and Liv {…}
(Photo credits: Chris Sorensen, Victoria Cadisch, Andrew Staples) The English Concert has announced its 2023-24 season. This article features vocal works only. Countertenor Iestyn Davies returns to the BBC Proms to perform “Late Night Bach.” Davies will perform two of Bach’s solo cantatas, “Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust” and “Geist und Seele wird verdwirret” at the Royal Albert Hall. Performance Date: {…}
Photo: © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton Normally, ‘heritage’ productions make me nervous. The established stagings summon to mind lumbering Zeffirelli-esque spectacles and unwieldy, moth-eaten costumes. Opera houses resting on their artistic laurels, unwilling take artistic risks. The ingrained conservatism in the opera business that could even prove fatal for the art form. But, Peter Hall’s production of Benjamin {…}
The Philharmonie de Paris has announced its 2023-24 season. Here is a look at the vocal highlights of the season. Klaus Mäkelä conducts Orchestre de Paris with soloists Bertrand Chamayou, Olga Peretyatko, Pavel Petrov, Alexey Markov, and Bertrand Mandico. The program includes music by Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Rachmaninoff. Performance Dates: Sept. 6 & 7, 2023 Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Mass in {…}
The Handel and Haydn Society is set to perform Händel’s Messiah for the holiday season. The concert is a hallmark of the H+H season that dates to its first concert in 1815 which featured the famed “Hallelujah” chorus. This year’s performance will be special as Harry Christophers returns to Symphony Hall for his 13th and final season as Artistic Director {…}
The Handel and Haydn Society in Boston has announced its 2021-22 season returning to live performances. For the purposes of this article, we will only focus on vocal performances. For the 168th consecutive year, the company will celebrate the holiday season with performances of Handel’s “Messiah,” at Symphony Hall. For the last time as Artistic Director, Harry Christophers will lead {…}
Lockdown has meant more people than ever consuming opera through streams, broadcasts, and archive videos, often from leading houses. It has proved a mixed experience for many. The spectacle of opera, and its broad-brush gestures, can feel boxy on the small screen; so too can its emotional climaxes feel oddly overblown out of a theatrical context. There have been innovative {…}
The Handel + Haydn Society has announced its 2020-21 season, which features a wide range of performances, including 10 company premieres. As always, our focus will be on performances of the operatic and vocal variety. The season kicks off with a performance of Brahms’ “A German Requiem” featuring soprano Amanda Majeski and baritone Ryan McKinny. Conductor Harry Bicket will lead {…}
Garsington Opera has announced the schedule for its 2019 season, which will be the company’s 30th Anniversary celebration. The first production will Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride,” which will star Natalya Romaniw, Brenden Gunnell, Joshua Bloom, Stuart Jackson, Peter Savidge, Marie McLaughlin, Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Anne-Marie Owens, and Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts. Jac van Steen conducts while Paul Curran directs. Performance Dates: May 29, {…}