Opera Philadelphia and the Crossing are among the grantees from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. The grants awarded a total $10.2 million to 39 Philadelphia-area cultural organizations and artists, including $3.5 million to help ensure the future of several of the most prominent institutions in the city and $1 million in unrestricted fellowships to 12 local artists. The {…}
Opera Philadelphia has announced that it will celebrate its 50th anniversary in the 2024-2025 Season with two new company commissions composed by women with strong ties to the company and the city of Philadelphia. Making its U.S. Premiere at the Academy of Music is “The Listeners,” the latest opera from composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek. “The Listeners” is a {…}
Opera Philadelphia Channel has announced its third season. First up is “Black Lodge” by David T. Little, librettist and poet Anne Waldman, with the story and screenplay directed by Michael Joseph McQuilken blends opera, classical music, and goth rock. The surrealist cinematic opera pays homage to David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks.” “Black Lodge” is produced by Beth Morrison Projects and stars Jennifer {…}
Opera Philadelphia has announced its 2022-23 season which will see the return of the season-opening Festival O. Festival O22 (Sept. 21-Oct. 2) The season will open with Rossini’s “Otello” starring Opera Philadelphia Artistic Advisor Lawrence Brownlee as Rodrigo. He is joined by fellow tenors Khanyiso Gwenxane in the title role and Alek Shrader as Iago, with mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as Desdemona. {…}
Marquee TV has announced that Opera Philadelphia’s “Soldier Songs” is now streaming on its platform. The new addition comes in time for Veteran’s Day. The operatic film is David T. Little’s exploration of the Soldier’s life and is based on interviews with veterans of five wars. The piece originally premiered on Opera Philadelphia Channel and is directed and stars baritone {…}
Caroline Shaw’s “We Need to Talk” is set to premiere on the Opera Philadelphia Channel on April 16. The composition, based on a poem by celebrated poet Anne Carson, will feature Ariadne Greif in a film by award-winning director Maureen Towey and Philadelphia-based Four/Ten Media. The voice of Greif, singing live to camera, will be accompanied by and in conversation {…}
(Credit: Dominic M. Mercier) Opera Philadelphia is set to stream “Cycles of My Being,” by composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey. The piece, which features lyrics by poet Terrance Hayes, will be streamed in a new film presentation featuring tenor Lawrence Brownlee on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020, on the Opera Philadelphia Channel. Sorey and Brownlee will be joined by violinist Randall {…}
Lawrence Brownlee will take a starring role this fall in the debut of the Opera Philadelphia Channel, a global platform that will bring a robust 2020-2021 season into opera lovers’ homes via their television screens and streaming devices. The tenor will take center stage in the first performance created for the channel, “Lawrence Brownlee & Friends in Philadelphia.” The recital and {…}
This month’s Off the Beaten Track explores the newly released recording of “The Wake World: A Tale for Babes and Sucklings,” a one-act opera composed by Los Angeles-based composer/librettist David Hertzberg and inspired by Aleister Crowley’s work of the same name. The recording is the first opera released under the Tzadik label. Founder and executive producer of Tzadik, John Zorn {…}
Opera Philadelphia has announced Week four of its Digital Festival O. The company will feature the broadcast premiere of the 2018 chamber opera “Sky on Swings,” premiering on Friday, May 22, at 8:00 p.m. on YouTube and operaphila.org. The opera will be available to stream on-demand through Monday, August 31. The work is composed by Lembit Beecher with a libretto {…}
(Credit: Ryan Donnell) Opera Philadelphia has announced its 2020-21 season with the theme Fortune & Might. O20 Festival Jennifer Higdon and Jerre Dye’s “Woman with Eyes Closed” makes its world premiere opening the Opera Philadelphia’s festival. German director Christian Räth helms the production which is set to star Meredith Arwady, Kevin Ray, Fleur Barron, and Wei Wu Performance Dates: Sept. {…}