Every six years or so, we’re gifted with an operatic gem from composer George Benjamin and playwright Martin Crimp. Their fourth and latest collaboration, “Picture a day like this,” is a revelation. This live recording, released by Nimbus Records, features the composer conducting the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the work’s 2023 Aix-en-Provence Festival premiere. While Benajmin and Crimp’s colleagues on {…}
The Oratorio Society of New York led by Music Director Kent Tritle is set to launch its 2024-2025 season with “Carmina Burana.” The concert set for Nov. 11, 2024, at Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage in Carnegie Hall will feature soprano Eva Martinez and tenor John Riesen, both making their Carnegie Hall debuts. The concert will also showcase baritone John {…}
The Orchestra of St. Luke has announced its 50th Anniversary season. For the purposes of this article only vocal performances are included. Soprano Erin Morley will perform at the DiMenna Center Benefit. Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham hosts. Performance Date: September 9, 2024 First up in the Chamber Music Series is “Schubert with Liv Redpath and George Li.” They will present works {…}
The New York Festival of Song announces its 2024-25 season. Adriana Stepien, Scott Rubén La Marca, Philip Stoddard, Katherine M. Carter, and Steven Blier lead NYFOS@North Fork. The concert at Poquatuck Hall will feature music by Strauss, Lehar, Kalman, Weill, Piazzolla, Mauri, Puccini, Kern, Sondheim, Messager, and Sorozabal. Performance Date: August 25, 2024 Steven Palacio, Blythe Gaissert, Britt Hewitt, and {…}
The Oratorio Society of New York has announced its 2024-25 season. Soprano Eva Martinez makes her Carnegie Hall debut in “Carmina Burana.” She is joined by tenor John Riesen, baritone John Brancy, choristers of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and pianists Amir Farid and Blair McMillen. The concert features works by Orff, Brahms, Oliver Caplan, and Libby Larsen. {…}
MasterVoices is set to close its 2023-24 season on April 17 at Carnegie Hall with a revised concert version of “The Grapes of Wrath.” The opera by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist Michael Korie is based on the epic novel of the same name by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck. Set in the Great Depression of the 1930s, it {…}
The Oratorio Society of New York is set to perform Handel’s “Messiah” for the 149th time on Dec. 18, 2023 at Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. The Society continues its tradition of performing the work. The society first performed the Messiah on Christmas Day 1874 in Carnegie Hall under the baton of founding director Leopold Damrosch. For {…}
(Photo Credit: Jean-Louis Fernandez) Reviewing a new opera is always a hard task. Beyond the many difficulties of reflecting on an extremely elaborate piece of work, after only one or two hearings, there is also a major difficulty for the critic when addressing unavoidable questions like, “is the new work any good?” This often transforms itself into a more dangerous {…}
(Credit: Courtesy of Bowman Media) On April 20, 2023, Grammy Award-winning baritone John Brancy will give a recital of works at Café Carlysle. Joined by pianist Peter Dugan, the program will feature selections from Weill, Ravel, Porter, Brel, Hahn, Gershwin, and Rachmaninoff, among others. The duo has recently taken their journey to reinvent the recital to venues such as Carnegie {…}
Photos: Erin Baiano If you were to walk down a street, stop a stranger, and ask if they’ve heard of the opera “Carmen,” more than likely, many would say yes. Ask the follow-up question: What’s it about? There may be some head scratching and faces scrunched in concentration as they try to recall … “Bullfighter.” Whether it was in an opera {…}
Mastervoices is set to present the original version of Bizet’s “Carmen” with Jazz at Lincoln Center on Oct. 25, 2022. The opera will feature dialogue instead of recitative with an English translation by Sheldon Harnick. Mezzo Ginger Costa-Jackson, Terrence Chin-Loy, Mikaela Bennett, and John Brancy star in the production. Other cast members include Nicole Fernandez-Coffaro, Kimberly Sogioka, Zhengyi Bai, Michael {…}