Janai Brugger, Tess Altiveros, Wendy Bryn Harmer, Toni Marie Palmertree Among Headliners of Seattle Symphony’s 2025-26 Season

Seattle Symphony has announced its 2025-26 season, the first with Xian Zhang as its new music director. Here is a breakdown of the vocal performances on offer. Gemma New conducts works by Gabriella Smith and Vaughan Williams with Wendy Bryn Harmer and Jarrett Ott as the vocal soloists. The concert also features cellist Gabriel Cabezas and the Seattle Symphony Chorale. {…}

Mar 25, 2025

Joyce DiDonato, Janai Brugger & Jamie Barton Lead Minnesota Orchestra’s 2025-26 Season

The Minnesota Orchestra has announced its 2025-26 season. Here are the vocal performances for the season. Thomas Søndergård and Joyce DiDonato open the season performing Strauss, Berlioz, Connesson, and Bernstein. Performance Dates: Sept. 18 & 19, 2025 Thomas Søndergård and Lauren Snouffer perform Sibelius Stenhammar, and Abrahamsen. Performance Dates: Jan. 16 & 17, 2026 Eun Sun Kim leads Beethoven’s Symphony {…}

Mar 14, 2025

Ana María Martínez, Janai Brugger, Nicole Cabell & Eric Ferring Lead Ravinia Festival’s 2025 Season

The Ravinia Festival has announced its 2025 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. The festival will present Opera for the Young’s “The Magic Flute.” Performance Date: June 28, 2025 Marin Alsop conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara. Performance Date: July 13, 2025 The CSO & Chorus will be conducted by Marin Alsop {…}

Feb 11, 2025

Janai Brugger, Juan Diego Flórez, Nadine Sierra, Gabriella Reyes, John Holiday Lead LA Opera’s 2025-26 Season

LA Opera has announced its 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the program. Opera Gabriella Reyes and Duke Kim star in the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story.” James Conlon conducts the production by Francesca Zambello. Performance Dates: Sept. 20-Oct. 8, 2025 Puccini’s “La Bohème” will return Janai Brugger, Oreste Cosimo, Erica Petrocelli, Gihoon Kim, Emmett O’Hanlon, and {…}

Jan 11, 2025

Grant Park Music Festival to Premiere Jake Runestad’s ‘Earth Symphony’

(Photo credit: Norman Timonera) The Grant Park Music Festival has announced its 2025 season. For the purposes of this article only classical vocal concerts are included. The Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra and Chorus give the Illinois premiere of Jake Runestad’s “Earth Symphony.” Also programmed on this concert is Gustav Holst’s “The Planets, and Lili Boulanger’s “Psalm 24.” Christopher Bell {…}

Aug 7, 2024

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Review 2024: Carmen

(Photo: © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photography by Richard Hubert Smith) “Carmen” is unquestionably one of the most popular works ever composed and has become an almost permanent fixture in the repertoire of opera houses. However, this presents something of a dilemma for those creative artists and directors who desire to produce the opera in a more contemporary setting and feel {…}

Jun 7, 2024

Jonas Kaufmann, Nicholas Phan, Siobhan Stagg & Janai Brugger Lead Hong Kong Philharmonic’s 2024-25 Season

The Hong Kong Philharmonic has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Ralf Otto conducts Händel’s “Messiah” with Valentina Farcas, Catriona Morison, Nicholas Phan, and Thomas E. Bauer. Performance Dates: Dec. 20 & 21, 2024 Benjamin Northey and Siobhan Stagg celebrate the New Year with a Viennese program. Performance Dates: Dec. 29 & 30, 2024 {…}

Apr 25, 2024

Angel Blue, Latonia Moore, Jamie Barton, Corinne Winters & Christopher Maltman Lead BBC Proms’ 2024 Season

The BBC Proms has announced its 2024 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Elim Chan conducts the First Night at Proms with soloists Sophie Bevan and Isata Kanneh‐Mason. The program includes Handel, Ben Nobuto, Beethoven Bruckner, and Clara Schumann. Performance Date: July 19, 2024 British choral groups The King’s Singers and VOCES8 present a Prom that showcases {…}

Mar 14, 2024

Sondra Radvanovsky Leads Canadian Opera Company’s ‘Medea’

Canadian Opera Company is set to present the company premiere of Cherubini’s “Medea.” The opera will be presented in Sir David McVicar’s acclaimed production which was presented at the Metropolitan Opera. The opera will star Sondra Radvanovsky, Matthew Polenzani, and Janai Brugger, who all made their role debuts at the Met in 2022. Of those performances, OperaWire said “Sondra Radvanovsky {…}

Dec 13, 2023

Metropolitan Opera 2023-24 Review: The Magic Flute

Photo: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera This year’s season opener of the Met’s “The Magic Flute,” on December 8th, 2023, was another high-energy holiday extravaganza. The family-friendly annual production by Julie Taymor was a familiar favorite to many; its rich fantasy world of magical symbolism dazzled and delivered. However, what set the bar for this year’s production apart from others, {…}

Oct 26, 2023

Houston Grand Opera 2023-24 Review: Intelligence

Photo: Michael Bishop Houston Grand Opera’s season premiere, “Intelligence,” is not just another opera to take in – it’s an experience to be absorbed. It masterfully fulfills art’s big-picture role: sparking dialogues and bridging emotional divides, even when the discussions are challenging and the ties seem broken. This riveting work is realized through the collective genius of composer Jake Heggie, {…}

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