The Grammy Awards Ceremony has been moved to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. Previously, the ceremony was scheduled to be on Jan. 31, 2022 at Crypto.com Arena (formerly known as the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California). Many artists and executives spoke up to postpone and relocate the show because of the COVID-19 {…}
(Credit: Fay Fox/Jaclyn Simpson/Lynn Lane) It’s been a tough 2021. After some hope settled into the opera world with the reopening of most companies around the globe, the end of the year seemed to revert to what we saw for much of 2020 – more lockdowns, more COVID, more cancelations. But despite what seems like a dark ending to the {…}
“You gotta disturb the earth to make it grow.” Uttered by Charles Blow’s uncle Paul in Act one of “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” that line means so much in the context of this work, our world, and on Sept. 27, 2021, the opening of the Met Opera’s 2021-22 season. First up, this was a historic night. Terence Blanchard {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to open its 2021-22 season with the company premiere of “Fire Shut up in my Bones.” The production marks the first time the Met presents an opera written by a black composer; the work will be co-directed by James Robinson and Camille A. Brown. The opera was first performed {…}
(Credit: Jaclyn Simpson) Virginia Opera has announced that Will Liverman will be the company’s Creative Partner and Advisor during the 2021-22 season. In this new position, he will work with the Virginia Opera Artistic and Civic Engagement teams to develop programming, activities, and community partnerships that will develop several initiatives for the long-term. He will also meet regularly with the {…}
Vocal Arts DC has announced its 2021-22 season, which will take place in person and virtually. Soprano Golda Schultz opens the season with a recital alongside pianist Jonathan Ware. The concert will include music by Clara Schumann, Nadia Boulanger, Rebecca Clarke, and the premiere of Kathleen Tagg and Lila Palmer’s “This be her verse.” Streaming Dates: Sept. 17-28, 2021 Joshua {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced plans to perform Anthony Davis and Thulani Davis’ “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” during the 2023-24 season. The opera will feature the directing debut of Robert O’Hara, making him the second Black director in Met history. Audiences will see Will Liverman in the title role alongside Leah Hawkins as Louise and Malcolm’s {…}
On Oct. 10 and 11, Will Liverman is set to perform at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. The baritone will give solo recitals alongside pianist Myra Huang and will spotlight the works of Black composers and writers, in addition to works from the traditional classical music canon including three Strauss pieces, “Wie sollten wir geheim sie halten,” {…}
The Kennedy Center is set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s famed “Mass” on Sept. 8, 2021. The piece, which inaugurated the brand-new John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts with its world premiere on Sept. 8, 1971, will be presented in a new fully staged production starring Will Liverman as the Celebrant. The work was commissioned by {…}
(Credit: Ticanda Thompson) 12-year-old, Caleb Thompson will understudy the role of “Char’es Baby” in Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in my Bones” at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2021-22 season. Thompson is a voice student at Stax Academy in Memphis, Tennessee. Here, he has also been a part of an opera class that started after the cancelation of Opera Memphis’s {…}
Credit: (Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera) August 8, 2021, saw the return of the Metropolitan Opera’s SummerStage Recital for a single evening of operatic favorites from acclaimed artists. Opera lovers new and old gathered in Central Park amid the fog and rain with their spirits mostly undamped. The artistic lineup was comprised of tenor Paul Appleby, soprano Leah Hawkins, and {…}