By Francisco Salazar
(Credit: Karli Cadel)
The Washington National Opera is set to present the D.C. premiere of “Blue.”
The production, which is set to be performed from March 11 to 25, 2023 at the Eisenhower Theater, is inspired by contemporary events and Black literature, including Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “Between the World and Me” and James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time.”
Written by Jeanine Tesori and librettist and director Tazewell Thompson, the the opera was commissioned by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and premiered at the Glimmerglass Festival in 2019. WNO was scheduled to perform the work in 2020, when the global pandemic postponed its D.C. premiere.
For the DC premiere, the three principals will be portrayed by Kenneth Kellogg (former WNO Cafritz Young Artist) and Aaron Crouch leading the cast as Father and Son. Mezzo-soprano Briana Hunter will portray the Mother.
In a statement, Washington National Opera Artistic Director Francesca Zambello said, “When I commissioned this work in 2019, I had no idea that America would face civilization-shifting events that included a pandemic and an insurrection or that the Black Lives Matter movement would galvanize change around the globe. We must harness the power of great art to foster empathy, fuel progress, and bring healing. I believe that America needs Blue’s message of hope and humanity now more than ever.”
By David Salazar
(Credit: Fay Fox)
Tenor Russell Thomas will perform a recital on Feb. 25, 2023 at the Los Angeles Opera’s Zipper Concert Hall.
Thomas, who is also the company’s Artist-in-Residence, will present a program of new music created by three Black composers. The works include “Love and Light” by Jasmine Barnes, based on text by Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton; Damien Geter’s “Annunciation” with text by Joshua Banbury; and “To Harlem with Love” by David Ragland, featuring texts by James Weldon Johnson, Helene Johnson, Gwendolyn Bennett, and Arna Bontemps.
He will also showcase music by Adolphus Hailstork and H. Leslie Adams.
“My goal for this program was to expand the vocal chamber repertoire by Black composers, to increase representation in this corner of recital music,” said Thomas in an official press statement issued by LA Opera. “I commissioned texts that focus on themes close to my own heart: queer sensuality, romance, and the beauty of the Black male form. Damien Geter, Jasmine Barnes, and Dave Ragland have created moving new works that celebrate the Black experience across gender, sexuality and religious lines.”
Thomas will perform alongside a chamber ensemble comprised of members of the LA Opera Orchestra.
By Francisco Salazar
The Metropolitan Opera is set to revive Bellini’s “Norma” with Sonya Yoncheva.
Yoncheva will make her Met role debut after performing the role at the Royal Opera House, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, and the Bayerische Staatsoper. The cast will also include mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova as Adalgisa, tenor Michael Spyres as Pollione, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Oroveso.
Maurizio Benini conducts David McVicar’s production, which opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2017-18 season.
Performances of “Norma” will be broadcast on Feb. 28, March 8, and March 25 performances on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM Channel 355. The March 25 performance will also be broadcast over the Toll Brothers–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.
“Norma” will be presented from Feb. 28 through March 25, 2023.
By Logan Martell
On February 16, 2023, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale’s alternative concert series “SESSIONS” will return for its eight year of performances.
PBO Assistant Conductor David Belkovski will be joined by company Creative Partner Davóne Tines, and soprano Nola Richardson for a program of early music and modern works.
Selections include Purcell’s Evening Hymn,” Monteverdi’s “Lasciatemi morire,” Geminiani’s “Cello Sonata in D minor,” as well as music from Tyshawn Sorey’s “Were you there,” Katherine Balch’s “these intervals matter,” and Belkovski’s own “Tombeau for the Artist as a Young Man.”
The program will end with an open rehearsal where the audience can watch a different work take shape on both nights. “SESSIONS” will run on Feb. 16 and 17, held at San Francisco’s ODC Theater. Tickets are currently available for purchase at $25.
By Francisco Salazar
(Credit: Paola Kudacki / Met Opera)
The Metropolitan Opera is set to present Wagner’s masterpiece “Lohengrin” for the first time in 17 years.
The company will present a new production by renowned director François Girard, who created productions for “Die Fliegende Hollander” and “Parsifal” for the Met.
The new production will see Girard collaborate with artist and designer Tim Yip who won an Oscar for art direction on the 2000 movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and is also known for his work on the 2004 Athens Olympics closing ceremony. Yip has created sets and costumes for the new production.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin will return to the Met for the second time this season and will lead a cast that includes Piotr Beczala in the title role, sopranos Tamara Wilson and Elena Stikhina sharing the role of duchess Elsa, and soprano Christine Goerke as Ortrud.
Bass-baritone Evgeny Nikitin will sing the role of Telramund, and bass Günther Groissböck will sing King Heinrich.
“Lohengrin” will open on Feb. 26 and will be performed through April April. The March 18 performance will be transmitted to cinemas worldwide as part of the company’s The Met: Live in HD series while the March 2 and 18 performances of Lohengrin will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM Channel 355.
By Francisco Salazar
This week audiences will get a chance to hear a recording of Auber’s neglected opera, Rachmanioff’s music, and Vivaldi’s sacred works. Here is a look at this week’s new releases.
All-Night Vigil
The Clarion Choir releases its fourth recording, Rachmaninoff’s the All-Night Vigil on PENTATONE. The new recording comes following a lifelong dedication to the repertoire.
The new album features Rachmaninoff’s “The Bells” and the “All-Night Vigil,” both large-scale choral works.
The Beauty of Innuendos
Navona releases a new album by Frank Felice, an eclectic composer celebrated for his postmodern mischievousness. The new album explores his own brand of “consonant adiatonicism” and sets a variety of texts to music, ranging from the antiphons of 9th-century Christian mystic Hildegard of Bingen to the modernist poetry of Wallace Stevens. Featured in these recordings is mezzo-soprano Mitzi Westra, who commissioned two of the works.
Le Philtre
Naxos releases Auber’s obscure “Le Philtre,” based on Eugène Scribe’s scenario of 1831 involving a prosperous country girl, the endearing bumpkin who carries a torch for her, the swaggering sergeant who pursues her, and the itinerant quack who disrupts their lives. The work is the predecessor to Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore.” This recording comes from the summer of 2021, with Luciano Acocella leading the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. Soprano Luiza Fatyol plays Térézine, baritone Emmanuel Franco (a Wildbad favorite) is Joli-Coeur, basso Eugenio Di Lieto is Fontanarose, and as Guillaume is tenor Patrick Kabongo.
Sacroprofano
Countertenor Tim Mead releases a Vivaldi album on Alpha. Mead alternates samples of Vivaldi’s secular output with examples of the composer in his spiritual mode—“two worlds. Arcangelo under Jonathan Cohen accompanies the countertenor on the album.
By David Salazar
Indiana University is set to present the world premiere of “Anne Frank.”
The opera, which was commissioned by the Jacobs School of Music, was created by an all-Jewish team comprised of composer Shulamit Ran, librettist Charles Kondek, and conductor Arthur Fagen.
Fagen, who is a professor of music and chair of the Jacobs School of Music Department of Orchestral Conducting, is the son of Holocaust survivors. His mother Rena was a prisoner in Auschwitz concentration camp and was saved thanks to German industrialist Oskar Schindler.
Fagen’s family kept in touch with Schindler after the war and Schindler even helped Fagen when was 21-year-old commencing his career at the Frankfurt Opera.
“As a son of Holocaust survivors, part of my mission as a musician has been, whenever it was in my power, to create events that reminded us of the Holocaust,” Fagen said in an official press statement issued by the UNiversity. “It’s something that I hope to continue to do as long as I’m working. I think of all the events that I’ve been involved with, in some ways, this is the biggest one.”
“Anne Frank” opens on March 3, 2023 and runs for four performances, the final one coming on March 10, 2023. The opera will feature Kate Johnson and Anne Slovin in the title role. Other performers including Sylvester Makobi, Catarine Hancock, Shir Ordo, Lexi Taylor, Olivia Gronenthal, Marcus Timpane, Aaron Murphy, Jenna Kreider, Lillie Judge, Cassie Glaeser, Madeleine Gotschlich, Benjamin Czarnota, Skyler Schlenker, Jeremy Do, and Charles Vega.
By Francisco Salazar
The Teatro dell’Opera di Roma has announced a cast change for its new production of “Aida.”
The company said that Fabio Sartori will no longer sing the role of Radames due to illness. As a result, the role will be sung by Gregory Kunde on Jan. 31, Feb. 3, 9, and 12, 2023.
Kunde has sung the role of Radames at the Wiener Staatsoper, Cincinnati Opera, and Arena di Verona, among others. The tenor is currently performing in Nice for a production of “Fidelio.” This season he is also set to perform at the Teatro Regio di Parma and the Semperoper Dresden.
Kunde joins a cast that includes Krassimira Stoyanova, Ekaterina Semenchuk, and Vladimir Stoyanov. Michele Mariotti will conduct the new production by Davide Livermore. “Aida” will also star Vittoria Yeo, Luciano Ganci, and Irene Savignano in an alternate cast.
By Francisco Salazar
The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra has named Julian Rachlin its new Music Director.
The organization said that the orchestra will launch its 85th Anniversary celebrations with the announcement and that Rachlin will begin his tenure in October 2023.
Ofer Amsalem, JSO CEO said, “Julian Rachlin is the right man at the right time. I am certain that as the Music Director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra Julian will have the positive influence on the Classical music landscape in Israel, we are already planning our next season and our concert tours abroad.”
Of his new position, Julian Rachlin added, “I’m immensely grateful and excited to take on this new role. Having performed regularly in Israel over the last 35 years, the trust the musicians and the City of Jerusalem have placed in me is particularly meaningful. I’m incredibly fortunate to work with such highly skilled artists and such a highly motivated team in a city where I feel very much at home, and can’t wait to embark on this joint musical journey.”
Over the years Rachlin has become widely recognized as one of the most eminent violinists and orchestral conductors of his generation. Rachlin has shared the stage with the world’s greatest soloists, orchestras, and conductors. He is set to take on to become Chief Conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra (Norway) beginning in the 2023-24 season, and is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra (Finland), and Artistic Director of the Herbstgold Festival at the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt (Austria).
He has also guest conducted with the English Chamber Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in England, as well as with the Moscow Virtuosi, Moscow Philharmonic and the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation.
By Francisco Salazar
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 role of Tosca. The soprano has appeared with such companies as Tulsa Opera, Opera Maine, and Sarasota Opera in such operas as “Turandot,” “Madama Butterfly,” and “La Traviata,” among others. She previously performed with Opera San José in “Pagliacci,” “Madama Butterfly,” and “Die Fledermaus.”
Joining her will be Adrian Kramer as Cavaradossi and Kidon Choi as Scarpia. The cast will be rounded out by Chance Jonas-O’Toole as Spoletta, Robert Balonek as Angelotti, Igor Vieira as Sacristan, Joshua Hughes as Sciarrone, and Andrew Fellows as A Jailer.
“Tosca” will run between April 15 and 30, 2023 at the California Theatre.
This season, OSJ has already performed “Falstaff,” “Cinderella,” and “The Marriage of Figaro.”
