On Friday, October 26, tenor Paul Appleby was joined by pianist Natalia Katyukova for an evening of lieder and songs from Benjamin Britten, George Frederic Handel, Franz Schubert, and more. This night also saw the world premiere of “Songs of Imagined Love,” a new cycle from composer Hannah Lash, which drew inspiration from the works of Schubert. While most of {…}
Leonard Bernstein is the composer’s seminal theatrical work, a work that has suddenly become ever-present around the United States. Almost every major company or concert hall has mounted some iteration of the work in the last year or so to celebrate the composer’s centennial birthday. And this was the case at the legendary Carnegi Hall, which held a benefit concert {…}
The New York Festival of Song has announced its 30th Anniversary Celebration, which will feature a star-studded cast. The performance is slated for April 24, 2018, at Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center. The concert is slated to include a wide range of songs from such composers as Vaughn Williams, Blitzstein, Bolcom, Dvorak, Grieg, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Granados, Eubie {…}
Carnegie Hall announced its 2018-19 season featuring some of the world’s greatest singers and musicians. To stick with opera, we will only be highlighting the singers who will be featured in the season. Orchestras Mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardot will be featured with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique under the direction of Sir John Eliot Gardiner in an all-Berlioz program. The program will feature {…}
Carnegie Hall has announced a performance of Bernstein’s “Candide” for one night only on April 18, 2018. In celebration of Bernstein’s centennial, Carnegie Hall has lined up an all-star cast that will include Paul Appleby in the title role, Erin Morley as Cunegonde, Patricia Racette as the Old Lady, William Burden as Governor, and Lithgow as Voltaire/Dr. Pangloss. Remaining cast members {…}
What better way to celebrate America in the midst of moral decay? What better offering than a paean to the quest for independence, human dignity, the chance for actual freedom? Meet “Girls of the Golden West,” John Adam’s brand new opera, given its world premiere last night in San Francisco. A collaboration with the renowned artist and visionary, Peter Sellars, {…}
The famed New York Festival of Song will celebrate its 30th anniversary in style. The event, founded three decades ago by Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, will feature four major concerts, all showcased at the Merkin Concert Hall in New York. The first of these performances will be one dedicated to Leonard Bernstein on Nov. 7, 2017. Entitled “Take Care {…}
This week we see two DVDs from last year’s European festivals. One comes from Macerata, while the other comes from Glyndebourne. One of the works on display is a repertory staple while the other is not as famous. Both DVDs star established and up and coming singers. A New Trovatore Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” is arguably one of the most popular {…}
“The Rake’s Progress,” an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky, was one of the six operas performed at this year’s Festival International d’art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence. Although relatively modern, compared to the classical opera repertoire (it premiered on 11 April 1951), Simon McBurney’s visually striking and infinitely creative staging gives it an additional innovative edge. English actor, {…}
It’s a quiet weekend in the opera world with many companies down to their last productions, while others continue their festivals. That said, many of the leading artists will be performing including Angela Gheorghiu, Ramón Vargas, Diana Damrau and Paul Appleby. Czech Republic In Prague, the music festival kicks on July 14, 2017, with a concert starring Angela Gheorghiu and {…}
A few years ago, tenor Paul Appleby made headlines for a potent and powerful showcase in Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress.” Little did he know that that role debut would turn out to be a major calling card in his career. He is now heading into his third major production of the opera at the Festival Aix-en-Provence and is finding the {…}
