Baritone Julien Van Mellaerts has been given The Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation Laureate from the superstar soprano herself. The baritone is a former winner of the first prize at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and the Kathleen Ferrier Awards. He has performed with such organizations as the Verbier Festival, Salzburg Mozartwoche, Opéra National de Lorraine, Opera Holland Park, and {…}
The Verbier Festival has announced its 2022 season, featuring operas and several concerts. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on vocal works. Operas Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni” kicks off the festival with Olga Peretyatko as Donna Anna, Magdalena Kožená as Donna Elvira, Bogdan Volkov as Don Ottavio, Mikhail Petrenko as Leporello, Alexandros Stavrakakis as Il Commendatore, Julien {…}
This week, audiences will get to discover new releases of world premieres, rarely performed works, and several debut albums. This is also a new release from one of the most famous singers in the world. Il Vologeso The Mozartists release Niccolò Jommelli’s “Il Vologeso,” with a cast headed by the Irish mezzo-soprano Rachel Kelly, Stuart Jackson, and Gemma Lois Summerfield. {…}
(Photo: Alciro Theodore da Silva) The relationship of art to society is a complex and ever-changing one. At times it is used to support the dominant values of the elite as was the case with the 17th and 18th century baroque, whilst during other periods, it sets itself up in opposition to society, underpinned by varying degrees of revolutionary intent. {…}
Opera Holland Park has announced Song in Opera. The short series of recitals curated by Julien Van Mellaerts presents three programs with an innovative focus on storytelling and will star pianists Perez, Ella O’Neill, and Simon Lepper. Singers will include Fleur Barron, Nicky Spence, Anush Hovhannisyan, and Nardus Williams, and three of the 2021 OHP Young Artists, Charlotte Badham, Charlotte {…}
The Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg hosts Mozart Week annually on or around Mozart’s birthday (Jan. 27) in celebration of the composer’s contributions to the world of music. The lineup for Mozart Week 2020, which will be held Jan. 23 – Feb. 2, has been announced. For the purposes of this article, we will highlight vocal performances and anything else opera-related. The {…}