(Photo credit: Daniel Barsotti) Richard Gaddes, the founder and General Director of Opera Theatre of St. Louis passed away Dec. 12. Gaddes was an alum of Trinity College of Music in London. After college he worked as concert promoter and formed his own artist management company. John Crosby invited him to come to Santa Fe as the company’s artistic administrator. {…}
The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is set to present Damien Sneed‘s concert “Our Song, Our Story.” The concert will highlight well-known operatic arias, art songs, and spirituals. The solo and duet performances will pay homage to two iconic Black singers, Marian Anderson and Jessye Norman. Repertoire includes works by Händel, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Strauss, Gershwin, Margaret Bonds, Harry T. {…}
Race and ethnicity continue to vex the opera world in the same manner as they do the rest of society. If events at last week’s Opera America Conference are indicative of the industry, it’s a topic that requires further discussion at future conferences with no easy answers in sight. There were no fewer than five panels related to race and {…}
There is only one point in which the character of Private Danny Chen leaves the stage in composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang’s “An American Soldier,” seen in its world premiere this past weekend at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. It is near the end when the soldier dies and his final words when alive are as such: {…}
It is easy to see why Marc Blitzstein’s “Regina” is rarely performed. It’s a demanding work that tackles issues of greed, race relations and other seedy elements of humanity head-on while fusing many musical styles that make it hard to characterize. Because there are so many elements to this opera that includes 10 major characters, it is difficult to mount {…}
It’s popular to make year-end lists, and I saw between 30-35 performances during the calendar year. Much of what I saw was terrific and, of course, there were many more outstanding performances that I didn’t see. These are the five that I will remember the most from what I saw; they are not necessarily the best but will remain in {…}
