OPERA America named seven exemplary artists, administrators, and advocates to the Opera Hall of Fame as the class of 2024. The 2024 Opera Hall of Fame inductees are: Adele Addison, soprano and teacher Justino Díaz, bass-baritone and teacher Jake Heggie, composer and mentor Carol F. Henry, founding trustee and philanthropist Wayne Sanders, artist, pianist, and arts leader Sarah Billinghurst Solomon, {…}
(Credit: Scott Suchman – CBS) The 44th Kennedy Center Honors are set to be televised on Dec. 22 on the CBS Television Network. The gala, which was held on Dec. 5, 2021, will also be available to stream live and on demand via the CBS app and Paramount+. The 2021 honorees included Justino Díaz, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, {…}
The Kennedy Center has announced its 44th class of honorees, which will include one notable opera star. Among the honorees will be bass-baritone Justino Diaz, who famously performed on the very first performance at the new Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center, taking on the title role in Barber’s “Antony and Cleopatra” alongside Leontyne Price. The Puerto Rican bass-baritone was {…}
Bass-baritone Justino Diaz is one of the most famous Puerto Rican opera stars of all time. Born in San Juan, he started to participate in his elementary school’s vocal activities at the age of eight. He would go on to University of Puerto Rico High School where he would continue his development as a singer; this continued at the University. {…}
Justino Díaz had a tremendous career that rivals that of some of the other great singers of his era. Born on Jan. 29, 1940, Díaz’s singing career started off at a rather early age when he took classes in school at the age of eight. From there he would head over to the University of Puerto Rico and then the {…}
This week international audiences will get advance releases of two great operatic works. Let’s take a look! Francesca da Rimini Dynamic continues to rediscover some of opera’s rarities and this time the company will release the World Premiere recording of Saverio Mercadante’s “Francesca da Rimini.” The story has been told in popular works by Tchaikovsky and Zandonai. However, with this {…}