Sarah Kirkland Snider’s ‘Hildegard’ Wins Music Critics Association of North America’s Best New Opera for 2026

(Photo credit: Maria Baranova) Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “Hildegard” has been named the winner of the 2026 Award for Best New Opera, conferred by the Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA). The award, which recognizes both musical and theatrical excellence, is given annually to an operatic world premiere presented in North America the previous calendar year. The Award is determined {…}

Oct 7, 2025

‘Hildegard’ to Make World Premiere in New York & Los Angeles

Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider is set to premiere her first opera, “Hildegard,” in LA and New York. The work, which she also wrote the libretto for, will be presented in world premieres by Los Angeles Opera on Nov. 5-9, 2025 and PROTOTYPE Festival in New York on Jan. 9-17, 2026, with subsequent performances at the Aspen Music Festival and School {…}

Apr 28, 2025

Ryan Speedo Green & Amanda Forsythe Star in The Wallis’ 2025-26 Season

The Wallis has announced its 2025-26 season. This article only features opera-related performances. The world premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “Hildegard” marks LA Opera’s 17th innovative collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects. Elkhanah Pulitzer directs. Performance Dates: November 5 – 9, 2025 The second installment of LA Opera and The Wallis recital series showcases bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green with pianist Adam {…}

Sep 28, 2020

Q & A: Sarah Kirkland Snider on Composing & Recording ‘Mass for the Endangered’

On Sept. 25, Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider released her latest album “Mass for the Endangered,” a celebration of, and an elegy for, the natural world—animals, plants, insects, the planet itself—an appeal for greater awareness, urgency, and action. The piece is a six-movement Mass for the Endangered and is a rumination on the concept of the traditional Catholic Mass. It features {…}

Sep 25, 2020

Ermonela Jaho, Ricky Ian Gordon & Sarah Kirkland Snider Highlight New CD/DVD Releases

This week audiences will get to hear the debut album of one of today’s greatest divas and two new pieces in world premiere recordings. Anima Rara Ermonela Jaho releases her debut recital disc “Anima Rara.” Recorded in Valencia in November 2019 with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana and Andrea Battistoni, this recording brings together music championed by the Italian {…}

Aug 18, 2020

Amanda Majeski, Jonathan Johnson, Karim Sulayman Headline Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago 10th Anniversary Season

Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago is set to celebrate its tenth anniversary season with digital programming that includes recitals, workshops, and the company’s annual Collaborative Works Festival. This year’s Collaborative Works Festival will exclusively feature women composers, as they commemorate the 100th anniversary since the ratification of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave women the right to {…}