California’s Music Academy, formerly known as the Music Academy of the West, has unveiled its 2023 season. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be solely on vocal performances. It all kicks off with an opening night gala “The Magic of Miraflores” featuring Michelle Bradley and Sing! children’s chorus. Pianist Natasha Kislenko also performs. Performance Date: June 3, {…}
The 2023 Aspen Music Festival has released its livestream lineup. All livestreamed performances are free and will be available on the AMFS virtual stage website. This article will focus solely on vocal performances. LA Opera’s James Conlon leads Sasha Cooke and Rodrick Dixon in “Conlon Conducts Mendelssohn, Mahler.” Cooke and Dixon present Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde.” Performance Date: July {…}
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 {…}
The Dallas Opera (TDO) has announced its 2023-24 Season, featuring a world premiere production of “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” Kicking off the season, opening with Puccini’s “Tosca” starring Ewa Płonka in the title role, Joseph Calleja as Cavaradossi, Gihoon Kim as Scarpia, Andrew Potter as Angelotti, Thomas Cilluffo as Spoletta, and Darren Drone as Sacristan in this Andrew {…}
(Credit: Svetlana Pasedko) Aspen Music Festival & School has announced its 2023 season. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be solely on vocal performances. There will be several editions of the “Opera Encounters” throughout the season. The showcase features the Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS faculty leading emerging talents in opera scenes, musical theater, and art songs. {…}
Famed mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke will appear at an upcoming concert presented by Music of Remembrance scheduled for March 19, 2023. The mezzo will perform Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s “Intonations: Songs from Violins of Hope.” She will appear alongside solo violinist Mikhail Shmidt, youth violinist Zoe Lonsinger. Other instrumentalists performing on this piece include violinists Artur Girsky and Elizabeth Phelps as {…}
Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and pianist and vocal coach John Churchwell have been appointed Co-Directors of the Music Academy’s Lehrer Vocal Institute. The duo will be charged with the long-term planning for the organization’s curriculum, performance, and teaching roster. They have already worked on the 2023 summer festival, which will include an industry day, a new studio artist program, an all-Spanish {…}
San Francisco-based Opera Parallèle has announced its 2022-23 season. The season kicks off with “Everest: An Immersive Experience.” The Talbot and Scheer opera will be conducted by Nicole Paiement and directed by Brian Staufenbiel. Sasha Cooke, Nathan Granner, Kevin Burdette, Hadleigh Adams, Charlotte Fanvu, Matt Boehler, Shawnette Sulker, Whitney Steele, and Kevin Gino. Performance Dates: Feb. 2-12, 2023 Paul Moravec {…}
The Kaufman Music Center in New York has announced its 2022-23 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances: VOCES8 perform Choral Dances: Wm. Byrd to V. Morrison. Performance Date: Oct. 13, 2022 VOCES8 will showcase “Underneath the Stars,” which includes music by Byrd, Britten, Gibbons, Smith, Schütz, Rheinberger, and Alfvén, among others. Performance Date: Oct. 14, 2022 Briana {…}
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe Vs. Wade, the opera world reacted on social media sharing their thoughts on the verdict which will affect millions of women around the United States. Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton took to twitter and said, “We knew this was coming, and it’s still horrifically gut-wrenching. Stay mad, y’all. You have every reason to be. {…}
The Music Academy of the West has announced its 2022 festival. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be solely on vocal events. There will be an opening night showcasing the members of the Vocal Institute. Performance Date: June 16, 2022 Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke will join forces with John Churchwell at Lobero Theatre for the world premiere of {…}