Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get to hear two high anticipated album debuts by two celebrated performers. There are also reissues and the completion of an acclaimed Ring Cycle. O Sole Mio – Reissue Decca Classics reissues Luciano Pavarotti’s classic album. The album showcases {…}
(Credit: Kia Caldwell Photography) Few sopranos have managed to build as diverse a career as Karen Slack has over the past few years. Throughout the pandemic, Slack made numerous premiere digital performances with such companies as the Houston Grand Opera, Madison Opera, and Minnesota Opera. She launched her digital talk show “#kikikonversations.” She’s been a massive advocate for new works, {…}
(Kia Caldwell Photography) The 92nd Street Y in New York City has announced its 2024-25 Tisch Music Season. Here is a rundown of the classical vocal performances. Vocalist and composer Caroline Shaw headlines “Rectangles and Circumstance” alongside Alica Olatuka and So Percussion. Performance Date: Oct. 23, 2024 Soprano Julia Bullock and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment present “The Golden {…}
(Kia Caldwell Photography) Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced that Karen Slack will be the Lyric Unlimited’s newest Artist-in-Residence. In her new role, the soprano will perform during the annual “Sunday in the Park with Lyric” concert on August 25, 2024 and will also host the program “KiKi Konvos” as part of the Opera Insights series. She will also be {…}
Illinois’ Ravinia Festival has announced its 2024 edition. Here is a rundown of the vocal works on offer. First up is a concert featuring the Chicago Symphony Orchester under Marin Alsop. Soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha performs Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915.” Also on the program are works by Copland, Gershwin, and James P. Johnson. Performance Date: July 12, 2024 The Chicago {…}
Opera Philadelphia will present Karen Slack in “To Sit and Dream” as part of its Sounds of America series. The concert will be held on March 17, 2024 at Philadelphia’s Tindley Temple United Methodist Church. Appearing in this program alongside the Philadelphia Opera Chorus in partnership with Wharton-Wesley Faith Ensemble, Slack is featured in a program of music by Black {…}
Karen Slack has been named Artist in Residence at Babson College in Wellesley. The soprano will appear in a series of workshops, class visits, and speaking engagements with the theme “Who I am Beyond My Voice.” In a statement, Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. said, “Karen is a world-renowned performer, collaborator, curator, and artistic advisor who embodies the entrepreneurial spirit {…}
The Bravo! Vail Music Festival has announced its 37th Season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Fabio Luisi conducts “The American Songbook” with soloists Karen Slack and Issachah Savage and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The concert features Gershwin, Ornadel, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Johnson, and Dawson. Performance Date: June 28, 2024 Puccini’s “La Bohème” is set to star Nicole {…}
(Photo credit: Kia Caldwell Photography) Soprano Karen Slack will present “To Sit and Dream,” a concert comprised of the poems of Langston Hughes on March 17 in Philadelphia. In partnership with the Wharton-Wesley Faith Ensemble and Philadelphia soprano Slack will give a program of music by Black composers centered on four choral settings of Hughes’ poetry. Composers included on the {…}
(Credit: Kia Caldwell Photography) Karen Slack is set to perform in two Detroit concerts in October. The first concert will be on Oct. 14 with the renowned Pacifica Quartet at Michigan’s Seligman Performing Arts Center/ The program will include new work by Baltimore-based composer James Lee III, written for the quartet and Slack through a co-commission from Carnegie Hall, Shriver Hall, {…}
On May 26, 2023, the Portland Opera will celebrate the work of Terence Blanchard with “Absence.” The one-night showcase will feature such artists as Karen Slack and Will Liverman. They will be joined by the Portland Opera Orchestra, the E-Collective, the Turtle Island Quartet, and conductor Damien Geter. “What an honor to share the stage with my dear friend the {…}