OPERA NEWS COVERAGE

13th Annual Mario Lanza and Elaine Malbin Vocal Competitions Set for 5/26

Legendary opera star, Elaine Malbin, will be among a panel of experts judging the 13th Annual Mario Lanza and Elaine Malbin Vocal Competitions which will be held on the main stage at Broadway and 86th Street from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. Other judges will include Bill Ronayne, President of the Mario Lanza Society; Lewis Ehlers, noted opera agent and an associate with Robert Lombardo and Associates; and Cristina Necula, an opera singer and author of My Life in Opera. A total of 29 singers -- nine tenors and 20 sopranos - have registered as of this date and will compete for prizes. The competitions are the largest outdoor competitions in the country. (more...)

The Largest Creative Industry Mixer Opens Today with Over 800 Guests - All Proceeds Benefit ALS

Rain or shine, in addition to the main studio we have 10 hospitality tents by Apex Event Production and plenty of free off street parking! (more...)

WNO Presents Opera in the Outfield Performance of SHOW BOAT at Nationals Park Tonight

Washington National Opera (WNO) celebrates its fifth season of free opera simulcasts at Nationals Park with the M&M'S Opera in the Outfield performance of the American classic Show Boat tonight, May 18. (more...)

Jonathan Estabrooks to Create Role of Alan Turing in American Lyric Theater's THE TURING PROJECT, 5/30

Jonathan Estabrooks was selected from over 20 baritones heard by composer Justine F. Chen, librettist David Simpatico, and producing artistic director Lawrence Edelson to create the role of Alan Turing in American Lyric Theater's upcoming workshop of The Turing Project - a historical fantasia based Turing's life, which imagines the man inside the legend, the unique perspective he had on the universe, the public and unashamed view he had of his own homosexuality, and the impact he had upon the future of civilization. (more...)

BWW Reviews: 'And the Winners Were...' A Report Card for the Metropolitan Opera's 2012-2013 Season

The regular season just ended for the Metropolitan Opera--all that's left is a series of HD rebroadcasts on Lincoln Center Plaza and a couple of low profile concerts in New York City parks--and it's time for a look back at what kind of season it was. With seven new productions and 21 other operas in rep during a season that ran from the end of September to mid-May, the Met was nothing if not far-reaching in its repertoire. And that's the way it should be. But how did its ambitions work out? (more...)

Christopher Maltman, Dorothea Roschmann and More Set for LA Phil's MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Beg. Tonight

The LA Phil's Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy continues with The Marriage of Figaro with sets designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel and costumes by legendary couturier Azzedine Alaia. Joining Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in this fully staged production is a stellar cast of internationally renowned soloists: (more...)

Morningside Opera to Bring FIGARO! (90210) to The NSD Theater, 6/11 & 16

After a sold-out premiere in November 2012 at Dixon Place, Figaro! (90210) returns for a limited run between June 11 and 16, 2013. Morningside Opera will present the show in concert performances at The NSD Theater (151 Bank Street, west of Hudson) in the West Village. (more...)

Washington National Opera to Premiere APPROACHING ALI, 6/8-9

Washington National Opera (WNO) will present the world premiere of Approaching Ali on Friday and Saturday, June 8-9, 2013 in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Approaching Ali features music by composer D.J. Sparr and a libretto by Mark Campbell and Davis Miller, based on Miller's own autobiographical novella. This new work is the first hourlong opera created under the auspices of the American Opera Initiative, WNO's new commissioning program for contemporary American opera, and will be directed by Nicole Watson in her WNO debut. (more...)

Soprano Angela Meade Named Washington National Opera's Artist of the Year

Angela Meade has just been named Artist of the Year by the Washington National Opera (WNO). The May 13 announcement comes on the heels of the soprano's triumphant company debut, in which she "thrilled WNO devotees with her nearly mind-blowing mastery of Bellini's most challenging music" (Washington Times) in the title role of Norma. Previous recipients of the Artist of the Year award, which carries a $5,000 cash prize, include mezzo-sopranos Frederica von Stade and Denyce Graves, tenor Jerry Hadley, and conductor John Mauceri. (more...)

Met Opera to Stream 'NICO MUHLY, TWO BOYS, AND OTHER WORKS' Live from Le Poisson Rouge, 5/14

The Metropolitan Opera announced that 'An Evening with Nico Muhly, Two Boys, and other works' will be available for live video streaming on both NPR Music (www.npr.org/music) and WQXR's Q2 Music online contemporary classical station (www.wqxr.org/q2music) this Tuesday, May 14, beginning at 10 p.m. The concert, which takes place at Le Poisson Rouge, is curated by Muhly, who will appear as host and performer. Metropolitan Opera singers Jennifer Zetlan and Paul Appleby will be joined by the composer on piano. Muhly will also perform selections for piano and viola with featured artist Nadia Sirota, his frequent collaborator. Special guests will include violin duo Angela and Jennifer Chun. (more...)

BWW Blog: Leah Edwards - Evolving Art

On January 13, 1910, the first American public radio broadcast aired, featuring Enrico Caruso live from the stage of The Metropolitan Opera. On April 15, 1923 came the first commercial screening of a motion picture with sound-on-film. Although it was not the original intent of either, these events made the concept of "popular music" possible. (more...)

Utah Opera's 2012-13 Season Closes with Rossini's THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, Now thru 5/19

'Figaro, Figaro, Figaro!' sung by the witty and mischievous town barber, Figaro himself, is one of the most recognizable musical tunes in operatic history. Audiences have the opportunity to hear this famous music live and in its original context when Utah Opera presents Giachino Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville.' Utah Opera performs Rossini's comic masterpiece 'The Barber of Seville' tonight, May 11, 13, 15 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. and May 19 at 2:00 p.m. at Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City (50 West 200 South). (more...)

TELL-TALE HEART and VAN GOGH Set for Long Beach Opera Double Bill, Now thru 5/19

Long Beach Opera's new double bill explores creative minds on the border between genius and madness. Former rocker Stewart Copeland delves into the twisted psyche of Edgar Allan Poe's manic murderer in the US premiere of Tell-Tale Heart and Bang on a Can composer, Michael Gordon, observes the anguished spirit of a brilliant artist in the West Coast stage premiere of Van Gogh. Featuring music at the edge of rock, jazz and classical modernism, this double bill of delusion and illusion, paranoia and inspiration begins tonight, May 11 and continues on May 18 and 19, 2013 at theEXPO Art Center, 4321 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA. (more...)

TOSCA, NABUCCO and More Set for Lyric Opera Baltimore's 2013-14 Season

The Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric's Artistic Director James Harp has announced the third annual opera season at the new Modell Lyric. Two grand operas will be featured-Puccini's Tosca and Verdi's Nabucco-and Toujours L'Amour, the third in our gala concert series celebrating French grand opera. (more...)

BWW Blog: Leah Edwards - Small Changes

I love to set out on walks when I'm in a new place. It helps me to familiarize myself with my surroundings and feel more at home when I'm uprooted. But as I approach my 10-year anniversary of living in New York, I realize how little I walk around my own city and take advantage of all it has to offer. I know this is a pretty common problem for most people-when you arrive in a new place you take time to explore and get to know it, but soon enough you settle in to your daily routine and rarely have the time or interest to head out and learn more. In my defense, though, I do travel a significant amount, so when I am in New York, I just want to feel settled and relaxed and comfortable at home. Generally, my last priority is to be a tourist in my own city. (more...)

Indianapolis Opera Opens THE FLYING DUTCHMAN Tonight

Indianapolis Opera is set to present Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, tonight, May 10 & the 12th, 2013 at Clowes Memorial Hall in Indianapolis. The Flying Dutchman, a three-act opera, captures legends of a ghostly ship and a cursed sea captain in search of true love. See director/designer Joachim Schamberger's stunning vision come to life through the use of cutting edge projection technology and world-class singing. (more...)

FUNNY GIRL, PINK SKIES, Marcia Ball and More Set for Napa Valley Opera House, May 2013

The Napa Valley Opera House today announced the following schedule of performances taking place throughout the month of May 2013. (more...)

Bronx Opera Performs LA BOHEME in English in the Bronx and Long Island, Beg. Tonight

La boheme presented by The Bronx Opera, will come to the Bronx and Long Island this summer, sung entirely in English. (more...)

BWW Reviews: GOTTERDAMMERUNG Brings Another Twilight to the Met's RING

Katarina Dalayman is one of a handful of top Wagnerian sopranos in the world, but for the first act of the Met's GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG, the climax of the Met's second 'Ring' cycle of the season, she didn't seem very heroic. Neither, for that matter, did tenor Jay Hunter Morris, who caused quite a stir when he jumped into GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG's premiere season a year ago. Who knows what was wrong? In any case, they recovered vocally for Act 2 and excitingly sailed through the rest of the mammoth, exhausting work. (more...)

FUNNY GIRL, PINK SKIES, Marcia Ball and More Set for Napa Valley Opera House, May 2013

The Napa Valley Opera House today announced the following schedule of performances taking place throughout the month of May 2013. (more...)

BWW Reviews: The Met's Stirring Production of Poulenc's DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES is 'the Anti-Machine'

What would the Metropolitan Opera (and its audiences) do without its production of Francis Poulenc's DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES, which opened for the season with Saturday's matinee, May 4? As created in 1977 for its Met premiere by director John Dexter, this CARMELITES is unlike anything else in the company's repertoire--simply designed and a showcase for a brilliant ensemble of female voices. It is a reminder that opera productions can be moving, effective and, yes, thrilling in the most understated ways. (more...)

NYC Opera Accepting Submissions for 2013-14 VOX

Today New York City Opera announced that it is accepting submissions for the 2013-14 VOX, the company's workshop for new American operas, presented in conjunction with OPERA America's New Works Forum. Composers can submit an excerpt of either a completed work or a work-in-progress. The selections cannot run longer than fifteen minutes. VOX is the only program in the country that provides full-instrumental and vocal performance to unpublished works. The submission deadline is June 30, 2013 and the selected pieces will be performed at the NYU Skirball Center on January 14, 2014. (more...)

Joshua Benevento, Melanie Goerlitz and Liora Michelle Perform at Enrico Caruso Room Tonight

Tenor Joshua Benevento, who joined the Metropolitan Opera Chorus this season, will perform operatic arias with sopranos Melanie Goerlitz and Liora Michelle at the Enrico Caruso Room in Little Italy's famed Grotta Azzurra, 177 Mulberry Street, tonight, May 7, 2013 at 7:30 PM. They will be supported on keyboard by David Maiullo. (more...)

Verdi's JERUSALEM and More Set for Sarasota Opera's 55th Season

Sarasota Opera has announced its 2013 - 2014 Fall and Winter programming which will mark the company's 55th consecutive season of performing grand opera on the Florida gulf coast. Highlights will include the return of some of Sarasota Opera's most acclaimed productions, the Sarasota Opera premiere of Verdi's Jerusalem as part of the ongoing Verdi Cycle, and the debut of new concerts to the Sarasota Opera Concert Series. (more...)

STAGE TUBE: First Look at Ashley Brown, John Cudia and More in Highlights of Lyric Opera's OKLAHOMA

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! premiered at Lyric Opera of Chicago Saturday, May 4. The new production, which includes the original choreography by the legendary Agnes De Mille, will have 16 performances (including seven matinees) May 4 -19 at the Civic Opera House, with tickets ranging from $32 to $153. BroadwayWorld has a first look at highlights from the production below. (more...)