Joseph Calleja, Amanda Echalaz, Phillip Rhodes, Erika Grimaldi & Simone Piazzola Lead New Zealand Opera’s 2022 Season

The Kansas City Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2023-24 season. For the purpose of this article, we will only focus on vocal performances. Eduardo Strauser conducts Verdi and Schumann with the Kansas City Chorus. Performance Dates: Nov 17-19, 2023. Michael Stern conducts Joyce DiDonato in a program that includes Chen...

Glyndebourne has announced that three artists will be part of the organization’s Jerwood Young Artists Programme in 2023. The three singers include mezzo-soprano Annabel Kennedy, bass-baritone Michael Ronan, and bass Jamie Woollard. Ronan performed with Glyndebourne in a production of “Les Mamelles de Tirésias” and covered roles in “La...

(Credit: Mart Sohl/ Metropolitan Opera ) Fathom Events is set to present encore screenings of Verdi’s “La Traviata” from the Metropolitan Opera on Feb. 15, 2023. The opera stars Nadine Sierra, Stephen Costello, and Luca Salsi with Daniele Callegari conducting Michael Mayer’s production. Renée Fleming hosts the performance.

Houston Grand Opera has announced a cast change for its production of “Salome.”. The company said that Laura Wilde will now sing the title role, replacing Amanda Majeski. Wilde is currently in a production of “Tosca” at Arizona Opera and will reprise the role at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis this summer. She recently made her Met debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Ellen Orford in “Peter Grimes.” She has also performed at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Scottish Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra national de Paris, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Music of Remembrance has started streaming Lori Laitman’s “Wertheim Park” as part of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The video showcases the work’s world premiere on Oct. 30, 2022 at Benaroya Hall. It features soprano Alisa Jordheim as the soloist as well as an instrumental ensemble featureing Laura De Luca (clarinet), Mikhail Shmidt (violin), Jonathan Green (double bass), and Mina Miller (piano).

The Jette Parker Artists are set to present Händel’s “Arminio” this April. The work will open on April 20 at the Linbury Theatre. Mathilda du Tillieul McNicol will direct a production starring Gabrielė Kupšyte in the title role; Sarah Dufresne as Tusnelda; Josef Jeongmeen Ahn as Segeste, Michael Gibson as Varo, and with guest artists, Isabelle Peters as Sigismondo, Kamilla Dunstan as Ramise, and Kamohelo Tsotetsi as Tullio. André Callegaro conducts the Early Opera Company.

Films based on opera often feel inadequate. They are frequently an attempt to introduce reality into art, and this concept is flawed. Directors fail to realize that what it should be is the other way around: bringing art into reality, making opera about human beings and their everyday trials. Luckily, some directors do know what they’re doing, and Italian director Francesco Rosi was one of them. In 1984, the year that Steve Jobs launched the first personal computer and the Challenger Space Shuttle embarked on its’ tenth mission, Rosi gave to the world his version of Georges Bizet’s beloved opera “Carmen.”

Listeners can refer to her however they wish, but Stephanie Blythe has always resisted categorizing herself as a mezzo-soprano, an alto, a contralto, or any other voice type. In her mind, she is a “vocalist.”. Considering her upcoming appearances at San Diego Opera, her second foray into a role...

The Royal Philharmonic Society Awards has announced its 2023 shortlists. For the purposes of this article, our focus will only be on vocal or opera-related topics and nominations. Among those shortlisted for the Ensemble award, supported by Wise Music Group, are BBC Singers, Ensemble 360, and Manchester Collective. The English...

An Unflinching Account of Crisis & Cruelty from Brian Irvine & Netia Jones. “Least Like The Other” continues the Royal Opera House’s partnership with Irish National Opera in Covent Garden’s Linbury Theatre, following last year’s “Bajazet.” This new work is centuries away from Vivaldi’s pasticcio and a world apart stylistically, but what binds them both is the unerring pursuit of bracing theatrical intensity.

Guild Opera Company has announced that it will present Puccini’s “Tosca” on Jan. 27 and 28, 2023 at River of the Valley in Canoga Park, California. The opera will be headlined by Emma Berggren as Floria Tosca, Felipe Prado as Mario Cavaradossi, Carlos Oliva as Scarpia, Haocheng Sun as the Sacristan, Adam McCrory as Cesare Angelotti, Carlos Gomez as Spoletta, Alexei Helmbock as Sciarrone, and Lily Berthold as the Shepherd.

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,...

The Nationaltheater Mannheim has appointed Alistair Lilley as its chorus director. Lilley is expected to begin this role in the summer. He will succeed Dani Juris, who will be going to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. Currently the choir director at the Theater Regensburg, Lilley studied piano, organ, and conducting at the Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio in London. He has served on the staff of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Scottish Opera, Opera North, and more.

Juan Diego Flórez has canceled his recital at the Kennedy Center. The tenor took to social media and said, “I am so sorry to announce that regrettably, I have to cancel my concert tomorrow at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC due to a sudden throat infection. We are already looking for a replacement date, and I hope to be back in Washington very soon. Now I need to rest and I hope to get better for my upcoming concerts. Thank you for your understanding!”

Opera San José (OSJ) is set to conclude its 2022-23 season with a production of Puccini’s “Tosca.”. The production will be led by OSJ Music Director Joseph Marcheso and OSJ’s Resident Director Tara Branham will make her California Theatre debut. Maria Natale will sing the title...

Stage Access is set to present 18 operas from the Rossini Opera Festival with a new introduction to the acclaimed festival by performer Kelsey Grammer. The Stage Access collection from the Rossini Opera Festival covers a wide and fertile creative ground that includes such works as “La Scala di Seta (presented in 2009),” “Zelmira (2009),” “Le Comte Ory (2009),” “Demetrio e Polibio (2010),” “Sigismondo (2010),” “Adelaide di Borgogna (2011),” “Mosè in Egitto (2011),” “Ciro in Babilonia (2012),” “Il Signor Bruschino (2012),” “Matilde di Shabran (2012),” “Guillaume Tell (2013),” and “L’Italiana in Algeri (2013).”

Terrance McKnight, commentator, curator, writer, author, pianist, and the weekday evening host of New York’s classical station WQXR will present a new podcast series, “Every Voice with Terrance McKnight.” The series will feature 16 episodes and debut on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. The series highlights voices, histories,...

Opera Orlando has announced that it received an NEA Grant for an upcoming production of Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s “Frida.”. The company is set to showcase the work during the 2023-24 season. “Opera Orlando has a commitment to presenting works that truly speak to our audience, said Opera Orlando’s...

Haymarket Opera Company has unveiled its 2023 season. It all kicks off with Scarlatti’s 1693 oratorio “La Giuditta.” The work will star Emily Birsan, Sophie Michaux, Sarah Brailey, William Dwyer, and David Govertsen. Craig Trompeter leads a chamber ensemble. The performance will take place at Gannon Concert Hall at DePaul University’s Holtschneider Performance Center.

Italian conductor Michele Spotti has been nominated as Music Director of Marseille’s Opera House and Philharmonic Orchestra. Marseille’s Mayor Benoît Payan and the General Manager of the Opéra de Marseille Maurice Xiberras announced the news and noted that Spotti will start in his new role during the 2023-24 season, succeeding the current Musical Director, Lawrence Foster.