(Photo Credit: Karen Almond / Met Opera) Antony and Cleopatra. The two icons have long been mythologized throughout history, their story captured in theater, cinema, and even the opera. In fact, the story of the lovers is forever linked to the Metropolitan Opera and its new house. And unfortunately, it isn’t always a heroic story. To this day, we hear {…}
The Lincoln Center’s “Summer for the City” program returns this summer. Only classical vocal events are featured in this article. Events are all free and pay-what-you-choose. The American Modern Opera Company presents a fusion of Monteverdi’s “The Coronation of Poppea” with W.E.B. Du Bois’s short story “The Comet” as part of the Run AMOC Festival. Performers include Anthony Roth Costanzo, {…}
(Credit: David Ruano / Liceu Opera Barcelona) The Metropolitan Opera is set to present John Adams’s most recent opera, “Antony and Cleopatra.” The work will have its company premiere on May 12 and will mark the final new production of the 2024–25 season. This will be the fifth opera by John Adams presented by the Met, a distinction last achieved {…}
The Royal Ballet and Opera has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with Puccini’s “Tosca” in a new production by Oliver Mears. Anna Netrebko and Aleksandra Kurzak share the title role. Freddie De Tommaso and Gerald Finley also star. Performance Dates: Sept. 11-Oct. 7, 2025 Speranza Scappucci conducts Verdi’s “I vespri siciliani” in a revival of Stefan Herheim’s production. Marina {…}
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has announced the 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Orchestra Daniela Candillari conducts Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater” with Giulia Semenzato and Jennifer Johnson Cano. The program includes Jennifer Gunn as a soloist and music by Simon, Barber, and Musgrave. Performance Dates: Oct. 3 & 4, 2025 Manfred Honeck conducts Mozart’s “Requiem” with Jeanine {…}
(Photo credit: Allison Michael Orenstein) GRAMMY award-winning soprano Julia Bullock is set to perform on the Lincoln Center’s February roster. The Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series presents “History’s Persistent Voice,” a multimedia ethnographic anthology envisioned by curated Bullock. The program focuses on the influence of pre-Emancipation voices, poetry, and musical traditions across generations, while centering on the multifaceted identities of {…}
Julia Bullock and the Age of Enlightenment Orchestra offered a jewel of a performance at the University of California, Berkeley on Sunday, January 19th. The Age of Enlightenment Orchestra, based in London, is a period instrument orchestra that formed in 1986. They specialize in 17th to 19th century music (and sometimes beyond) composers such as Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, {…}
Composer John Adams’ and librettist Peter Sellars’ opera, “El Niño,” debuted at Metropolitan Opera earlier this year, making this their fourth work to be produced at the Met, including “Doctor Atomic” (2008), “Nixon in China” (2011), and “The Death of Klinghoffer” (2014). OperaWire reviewed the production in addition to attending and documenting Guggenheim Museum’s “Works & Process” presentation by the {…}
The Yale Schwarzman Center has announced its Spring 2025 lineup of events. Here is a rundown of the classical vocal offerings. First up is a work-in-progress presentation for Ted Hearne and Chana Porter’s “The Dispossessed.” The work is based on an award-winning novel that explores a future utopian society. Performance Date: Jan. 18, 2025 Soprano Julia Bullock and the New Haven {…}
It is time to wrap up the year and look back at our favorite moments and performers. After releasing our favorite performances of 2024 and showcasing our rising stars of the year, it’s time for OperaWire’s annual tradition of naming our top 11 singers of the year, performers that we thought stood out. Performers who had major breaks, headlined major productions or simply had {…}
The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is set to present the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Julia Bullock on Jan. 23, 2025. They will present a concert entitled “The Golden Age of the Baroque” on the David Geffen Stage at Kaufmann Concert Hall. The performance will mark the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s first 92NY appearance. {…}