Morris Robinson, Angel Blue & Erika Grimaldi Lead The Washington Chorus’s 2024-25 Season

The Washington Chorus has announced its 2024-25 season. Dr. Eugene Rogers conducts Morris Robinson in music by Jessie Montgomery, Aaron Copland, and Carlos Simon/Dan Harder. rs. Performance Dates: Sept. 14, 2024 Dr. Eugene Rogers conducts Suzzette Ortiz. Performance Dates: Dec. 14-22, 2024 Dr. Eugene Rogers conducts Damian Norfleet and Monique Holmes-Spells in music by Leonard Bernstein, Nkeiru Okoye, Eugene Rogers, {…}

Apr 5, 2024

Lyric Opera of Chicago 2023-24 Review: Aida

Though the most iconic grand opera in the art form’s canon, Verdi’s “Aïda” shouldn’t challenge a house of Lyric’s caliber too strenuously. The work requires four good-to-great singers, but we expect a top-five American opera house to arrange them. Though “Aïda” lends itself to maximalist stagings, smaller companies pare it down successfully by foregoing equestrian participants, or downshifting parades to {…}

Feb 6, 2024

Lyric Opera of Chicago 2023-24 Review: Terence Blanchard’s ‘Champion’

(Photo: Michael Brosilow) Fresh from a Metropolitan Opera premiere last spring (and its subsequent Grammy Award victory), Terence Blanchard’s first opera in jazz, “Champion,” enjoyed its Lyric Opera of Chicago premiere in James Robinson’s vivid and effective staging, a co-production on January 27th, 2024. A dazzling cast led by Justin Austin as Emile Griffith made a powerful case for repeated {…}

Mar 21, 2023

J’Nai Bridges, Ailyn Pérez, Russell Thomas & Luca Pisaroni Lead Houston Grand Opera’s 2023-24 Season

The Houston Grand Opera has announced its 2023-24 season, which will feature a world premiere. Jamie Barton, Janai Brugger, J‘Nai Bridges, Caitlin Lynch, Nicholas Newton, Michael Mayes, and Joshua Blue star in Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s “Intelligence.” Kwamé Ryan conducts the production by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Performance Dates: Oct. 20-Nov. 3, 2024 Reginald Smith, Jr. sings the title role of Vedi’s “Falstaff” with Nicole Heaston, Blake {…}

Mar 14, 2023

Lise Davidsen, Lisette Oropesa & Tomasz Konieczny Lead Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2023-24 Season

The Lyric Opera of Chicago is set to open its 2023-24 season. Here is a look at the season. Tomasz Konieczny leads Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Holländer” alongside Tamara Wilson, Robert Watson, and Mika Kares. Enrique Mazzola conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 23, 2023 – Oct. 7, 2023 Audra MacDonald will perform in one evening. Performance Date: Oct. 6, 2023 Donizetti’s “La {…}

Nov 21, 2022

Review: Richard Tucker Gala 2022

Photos: Dario Acosta The Richard Tucker Award and Gala came back in full force after two years with no awards. A galaxy of operatic stars was on hand for the event held in the newly renovated David Geffen Hall, which was designed to remedy the venue’s seemingly intractable issue with—of all things—acoustics. (Geffen Hall is the home of the New {…}

May 1, 2022

Cincinnati Opera Announces Discussion and Preview Concert of Tracy K. Smith and Gregory Spears’ ‘Castor and Patience’

Former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith and composer Gregory Spears will hold a discussion and present a preview concert featuring excerpts from their new opera, “Castor and Patience,” at Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium on May 12, 2022. The work is set to have its world premiere at Cincinnati Opera beginning on July 21, 2022, and running through July {…}

Mar 30, 2022

Julia Bullock, Golda Schultz & Ian Bostridge Lead San Francisco Symphony’s 2022-23 Season

The San Francisco Symphony has announced its 2022-23 season and will feature numerous vocal performances. Here is a look at the vocal performances of the season. Golda Schultz and Michelle DeYoung will perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting. A work by Trevor Weston will have its world premiere. Performance Dates: Sept. 29-Oct. 2, 2022 Esa-Pekka Salonen {…}

Mar 2, 2022

Angel Blue, Sasha Cooke, Isabel Leonard & Nahuel di Pierro Highlight Houston Grand Opera’s 2022-23 Season

The Houston Grand Opera has announced its 2022–23 season featuring operatic productions. Here is a look. Verdi’s “La Traviata” opens the season with Angel Blue and Cecilia Violetta López sharing the title role. They are joined by Bryan Hymel, Ricardo Garcia, Andrei Kymach, and Anthony Clark Evans. Matthew Aucoin conducts the production by Arin Arbus. Performance Dates: Oct. 21-Nov. 8, 2022 Dame Ethel Smyth’s {…}

Oct 1, 2021

Cincinnati Opera to World Premiere ‘Castor and Patience’

The Cincinnati Opera has announced the world premiere of “Castor and Patience” by Gregory Spears in July 2022. The opera, written by librettist Tracy K. Smith, centers on two cousins from an African American family who find themselves at odds over the fate of a historic parcel of land they have inherited in the American South. Deeply relevant to ongoing {…}

Jun 27, 2021

Michelle Bradley, Stephanie Blythe, Arturo Chacón-Cruz, Gihoon Kim, Pene Pati Headline San Diego Opera’s 2021-22 Season

San Diego Opera has announced its 2021-22 season. The California-based opera company’s season will kick off with “Stephanie Blythe in Concert” at the Balboa Theatre. The mezzo will perform music from the operatic and Broadway repertoire. Performance Date: Oct. 23, 2021 Soprano Michelle Bradley will perform at the Baker Baum Recital Hall in the Conrad Performing Arts Center. She will {…}

Reginald Smith Jr.