The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Kimmel Center will present a special Great Stages Gala on May 16, 2023. The event, which kicks off at 8 p.m., will be led by conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He will be joined by soprano Renée Fleming and singer Angélique Kidjo. Former 6abc Action News anchor Jim Gardner is set to host the performance. There will {…}
Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer’s “Champion” made its Met Opera premiere on April 10, 2023 to a nearly sold-out crowd. Just entering the main lobby, you were met with a 10-minute line to pick up tickets. But most importantly, you could feel the buzz in the space, a massive, diverse audience, ready to take in what is undeniably a major {…}
The Philadelphia Orchestra has announced a conductor change for its upcoming concerts. The orchestra said that Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is sick and will not lead the world-premiere performance of a John Luther Adams piece in Verizon Hall and Carnegie Hall. As a result, three conductors will split the podium. The Thursday premiere performance of Adams’ “Vespers of the Blessed Earth” {…}
Photo Credit: Ken Howard The Met Opera presented Wagner’s “Lohengrin” with tenor Piotr Beczała, Wagnerian sopranos Tamara Wilson and Christine Goerke, under the direction of François Girard, and Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, for the 2023 season opening on February 26th. “Lohengrin” was first performed in Weimar, Germany, in 1850 at the Staatskapelle Weimar, under the direction of Franz Liszt. However, the {…}
The Philadelphia Orchestra has extended Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s contract to 2030. In a statement, the organization said, “we are thrilled to share the news that Yannick Nézet-Séguin has extended his contract through 2030, with a newly expanded title of the music and artistic director. We look forward to the continuation of the extraordinary partnership between Yannick and The Philadelphia {…}
The Philadelphia Orchestra has announced its 2023-24 season. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on vocal performances. Nicholas McGegan conducts Händel’s “Messiah.” Performance Date: Dec. 21, 2023 Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Gil Shaham in the Bates Violin Concerto. The concert also includes Peña Laguna’s Oraison, for chorus and orchestra and Brahms’ A German Requiem. Performance Dates: Jan. 26-28, 2023 {…}
The Rotterdam Philharmonic has announced a conductor change for “The Nutcracker.” The orchestra said that “unfortunately, we have to announce that conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin will not be with us on the 22nd and 23rd of December due to illness. We deeply regret this and wish him a speedy recovery. We have found a replacement in Vasily Petrenko.” The performance will {…}
SPOILER & CONTENT WARNING: There will be a lot of spoilers for the plot details of this opera. There are also references to self-harm and suicide. In 2012, Kevin Puts’s “Silent Night” won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. And following that victory, the opera, which premiered in Minnesota in 2011, seemingly toured all over the country getting performances at Arizona {…}
The Grammy Awards have announced their nominations for 2023 with the Metropolitan Opera leading the field in the classical categories. In the Best Opera Recording category Matthew Aucoin’s “Eurydice” was nominated alongside Terrence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut up in my Bones” and Anthony Davis’ “X – The Life And Times Of Malcolm X” “Eurydice” features Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Barry Banks, Nathan Berg, {…}
(Photo Credit: Todd Rosenberg) Following a concert performance at the Philharmonie de Paris on Sept. 7, 2022, conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin received the distinction of Officer of Arts and Letters. He was given the distinction by Laurent Bayle of the Philharmonie de Paris, following a concert performance with violinist Lisa Batiashvili; that concert followed one on a previous night that the {…}
This week a conductor releases the complete Beethoven symphonies and there is a rerelease of a Don Giovanni production. Here is a look at this week’s new releases. Beethoven: The Symphonies Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe present Beethoven’s nine symphonies in what is the very first recorded cycle to be based on the recently concluded New Complete Edition of the composer’s works. {…}