(Credit: Marty Sohl / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera has announced the premiere of “Yannick: An Artist’s Journey.” The new documentary by Oscar nominated filmmaker Susan Froemke tells the story of Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s path to becoming the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director. The film follows Nézet-Séguin on his journey from young conductor to being named the third music director in {…}
(Credit: Javier del Real/Salva Lopez) The Théâtre des Champs-Elysées has announced its 2021-22 season featuring some of the biggest stars in the world, staged operas, and concert operas. Staged Opera Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande“ will be conducted by François-Xavier Roth and directed by Eric Ruf. Patricia Petibon, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Sir Simon Keenlyside, Jean Teitgen, and Lucile Richardot star. Performance {…}
(Credit: Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to return to the stage on Sunday, May 16, at the Knockdown Center, the Queens performing arts space. Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, and soloists Angel Blue, Stephen Costello, Justin Austin, and Eric Owens, in “A Concert for New York.” The program will include {…}
The Philadelphia Orchestra has announced the first part of its 2021-22 season featuring several vocal performances and marking the orchestra’s first live performances since the pandemic hit. Here are the vocal highlights for the fall 2021 season. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Laurin Talese and Aaron Diehl in a program of music by Johnson, Gershwin, Still, and Price. Performance Date: Oct. 7-9, {…}
This week three of today’s biggest divas release new albums or DVDs. There are also a number of solo projects including a debut album by one of the most exciting baritones of his generation. Here is a look. Winterreise Joyce DiDonato releases her acclaimed version of Schubert’s “Winterreise.” The mezzo noted that the piece is one of “the masterpieces: those {…}
After writing my initial article at the beginning of January 2021 regarding the conflict at the Met, I found that a lot of readers had little understanding of what was actually going on. How come the Met workers have been deprived of their sources of livelihood for months, and then, why didn’t they want to accept General Manager Peter Gelb’s {…}
Yannick Nézet-Séguin is speaking out about the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra not being paid for nearly a year. In a letter sent to leaders at the Met including Peter Gelb, Nézet-Séguin noted that the lack of pay for the orchestra and chorus for the past months was “increasingly unacceptable.” In his letter obtained by the New York Times, the conductor wrote, {…}
Erato has announced the release of Schubert’s Winterreise. The new release feature Joyce DiDonato in a piece that is traditionally performed by tenors or baritones. DiDonato joins a rare group of female singers including Lotte Lehmann, Elena Gerhardt, Christa Ludwig, and Brigitte Fassbaender who have placed their stamp on the piece. For the new recording, DiDonato is joined by pianist {…}
(Photo: Kari Shea) Every Friday, Polina Lyapustina delivers a short essay on some of the most sensitive topics in the industry with the intent of establishing a dialogue about the opera world and its future. Almost five years ago, working on a social news media product concept, I wrote: “It starts with a whisper…” I remember, this single phrase won {…}
(Credit: Hans van der Woerd) Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera and Philadelphia Orchestra, has sent an open letter to incoming U.S. President Joe Biden, and incoming Vice-President Kamala Harris. In his letter, the famed Canadian maestro asked the new administration to take immediate action in order to save the embattled US cultural sector. “Artists need {…}
The MET Orchestra, one of the greatest in the world, is in jeopardy. Read that again. The MET Orchestra, one of the greatest in the world, is in jeopardy. That’s not just an opinion. As reported in multiple news outlets, including this one, none other than the iconic conductor, Maestro Riccardo Muti, unequivocally stated just that. In his letter dated {…}
