Matthew Polenzani, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Samantha Hankey, Matthias Goerne, Karen Slack Headline Ravinia Festival’s 2024 Season

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 {…}

Mar 7, 2024

Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Catalina Cuervo & Jennifer Johnson Cano Lead Cincinnati Symphony’s 2024-25 Season

The Cincinnati Symphony has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances on offer. Larisa Martínez and Peter Dugan join Joshua Bell for an evening of Mendelssohn, Bernstein, Puccini, and more. Performance Date: Oct. 6, 2024 Marin Alsop conducts the May Festival Chorus in a Shostakovich and Bernstein program. Performance Dates: Nov. 16 & 17, 2024 {…}

Jan 31, 2024

Royal Philharmonic Society Awards Announces Shortlist

A shortlist of this year’s Royal Philharmonic Society Award recipients has been released. For the purposes of this article only opera related nominees are included. The full list can be found here. Chamber-Scale Composition Nilufar Habibian – “Az nahāyate tāriki” (“From the deep end of darkness”) Conductor Alice Farnham; Alpesh Chauhan; François-Xavier Roth Ensemble BBC Singers; Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective Impact {…}

Jun 9, 2023

Benjamin Appl, Miah Persson, Dame Sarah Connolly, Roderick Williams, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha Headline Oxford International Song Festival 2023

The Oxford International Song Festival has unveiled the schedule for its 2023 season. Kicking off the festival will be “Quiet Music: A Draw-Along,” featuring mezzo-soprano Bethany Horak-Hallet, pianist Natalie Burch, and Julia Thaxton. The program includes works by Schubert, Clara Schumann, and Hildegard von Bingen, among others. Performance Date: Oct. 13, 2023 Soprano Soraya Mafi will be joined by such {…}

May 17, 2023

Corinne Winters, Louise Alder, Elina Garança & Barbara Hannigan Lead Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia’s 2023-24 Season

The Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia has announced its 2023-24 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Concerts Jakub Hrůša conducts Corinne Winters, Richard Samek, and Roman Hoza in a Smetana and Dvořák program. Performance Dates: Oct. 19-21, 2023 Matthias Goerne performs selections from Mahler’s “Des Knaben Wunderhorn” under Manfred Honeck. The program also includes {…}

Apr 25, 2023

Lise Davidsen, Thomas Hampson, Jeanine De Bique & Magdalena Kožená Lead BBC Proms’ 2023 Season

The BBC Proms has announced its 2023 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Paul Lewis, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Dalia Stasevska perform the first night of Proms. Performance Date: July 14, 2023 Early music vocal ensemble Stile Antico explores the many facets of William Byrd. Performance Date: July 15, 2023 Soprano Rainelle {…}

Apr 12, 2023

Lise Davidsen, Benjamin Appl, Magdalena Kožená & Regula Mühlemann Lead Wigmore Hall’s 2023-24 Season

The Wigmore Hall has announced its 2023-24 season headlining some of the greatest recitalists and vocalist in the world. Opera Rara: present Donizetti and Friends with Lawrence Brownlee, Etienne Dupuis, and Carlo Rizzi. Performance Date: Sept. 9, 2023 Asmik Grigorian and Lukas Geniušas perform Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky. Performance Date: Sept. 9, 2023 Ensemble Modern and George Benjamin perform music by {…}

Apr 6, 2023

Renée Fleming, Christina Nilsson, & Janai Brugger Lead Atlanta Symphony’s 2023-24 Season

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2023-24 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances of the season. Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Orchestra in a program of music by Brahms, Dvořák, Rachmaninov, and Brahms. Performance Dates: Nov. 2-4, 2023 Norman Mackenzie conducts a Christmas concert with the Morehouse College Glee Club, Atlanta Symphony {…}

Mar 21, 2023

Royal Opera House 2022-23 Review: Turandot

Photo: Marc Brenner Having an unequivocal passion for Puccini, this reviewer must confess to being somewhat conflicted over his final work. These concerns, though, have always been assuaged with the knowledge that many others have also been plagued with such uncertainty, not least with the original work itself, for, of course, the maestro died before the completion of “Turandot.” After {…}

Mar 21, 2023

Masabane Cecilia Rangwanash, Asmik Grigorian & Barbara Hannigan Lead London Symphony Orchestra’s 2023-24 Season

The London Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2023-24 season. For this article, here is a look at the vocal performances. Barbara Hannigan and Fleur Barron lead a concert that includes music by Haydn, Strauss, Ligeti, Luigi Nono, and Claude Vivier. Performance Dates: Sept. 14 & 17, 2023 Igor Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella” will be conducted by Barbara Hannigan. The concert will also {…}

Mar 16, 2023

Royal Opera House 2022-23 Review: Turandot

Photo: Marc Brenner/ROH Somnific fiction is the stuff of bedtime stories starring beasts and feasts of the absurd: displays of madness only children could endure pre-slumber. Lumbering imaginations with beguilement, it refrains from the revilement of base villains, wrapping them instead in tangible entrancement. This enhancement of surrealness makes the fairytale the tender tooth’s apéritif: a nightly dose of magical {…}