“You gotta disturb the earth to make it grow.” Uttered by Charles Blow’s uncle Paul in Act one of “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” that line means so much in the context of this work, our world, and on Sept. 27, 2021, the opening of the Met Opera’s 2021-22 season. First up, this was a historic night. Terence Blanchard {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to open its 2021-22 season with the company premiere of “Fire Shut up in my Bones.” The production marks the first time the Met presents an opera written by a black composer; the work will be co-directed by James Robinson and Camille A. Brown. The opera was first performed {…}
(Credit: Karli Cadel Photography) This review for a performance on August 7, 2021 For the past few years, I have been a big fan of the Glimmerglass opera festival. Taking place in Cooperstown — a significant three and a half hour drive from New York City, and set on a lake — this jewel of a festival consistently presented powerful {…}
(Credit: Ticanda Thompson) 12-year-old, Caleb Thompson will understudy the role of “Char’es Baby” in Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in my Bones” at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2021-22 season. Thompson is a voice student at Stax Academy in Memphis, Tennessee. Here, he has also been a part of an opera class that started after the cancelation of Opera Memphis’s {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced its next two weeks of nightly streams. The first week will center on operas featured in the “Aria Code” podcast. The second week will focus on reimagined settings of classic operas. Week 64 – Aria Code: The Operas Behind the Podcast Monday, May 31 – Puccini’s Turandot Starring Christine Goerke, Eleonora Buratto, Yusif Eyvazov, and James Morris, {…}
The Cleveland Orchestra has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purposes of this performance, our focus will be mainly on operatic and vocal performances. It all starts with Andrea Carroll’s Severance Hall debut alongside bass-baritone Dashon Burton as the two perform a two-piano arrangement of Brahms’ “Ein Deutsches Requiem.” Lisa Wong conducts the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. Performance Date: Oct. 28, {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced its 2021-22 season. It all kicks off with a new production of Verdi’s “Macbeth” starring Luca Salsi, Sondra Radvanovsky, Joshua Guerrero and Christian Van Horn. Enrique Mazzola conducts the production by Sir David McVicar. Performance Dates: Sept. 17- Oct. 9, 2021 Enrique Mazzola will conduct “L’Elisir d’Amore” in a production by Daniel Slater. {…}
The Austin Opera has announced that the company will return to live performances staging Puccini’s “Tosca” at Germania Insurance Amphitheater at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), the city’s Formula 1 racetrack located just 15 miles outside the downtown core. The work, which will be performed twice on April 29 and May 1, will feature the Austin Opera Orchestra and Chorus {…}
The Glimmerglass Festival has announced that it will be moving forward with its 2021 season. The upstate New York festival, which typically performs in its intimate, 915-seat theater, will take place outdoors on a new stage built on the Festival grounds. In a press release Francesca Zambello, Festival Artistic & General Director said, “We have re-imagined the Glimmerglass experience for {…}
With the Dallas Opera canceling its 2020-21 season, the company has announced its 2021-22 season starting in February of 2022. The official grand opening of The Dallas Opera 2021-22 Season will feature Puccini’s “Madama Butterly” starring Latonia Moore as Cio Cio San and Evan LeRoy Johnson as Pinkerton. Emmanuel Villaume, TDO’s Mrs. Eugene McDermott music director, will conduct a cast {…}
Fort Worth Opera (FWO) has announced an expansion of its 2021 spring lineup that comprises a film festival in partnership with the Metropolitan Opera, a virtual celebration of Black History Month, a collaboration with Opera San José, drive-in events, and more. For the first time in FWO’s 74-year history, the company will collaborate with the Metropolitan Opera to create an {…}
