By Afton Wooten
Grammy Award-winning ensemble The Crossing Choir will make the world premiere of Caroline Shaw’s “Ochre” at its annual Crossing @ Christmas concert.
Donald Nally will conduct Shaw’s new work and Mason Bates’s “Mass Transmission” for organ and electronics. Scott Dettra joins on the organ.
In The Crossing tradition, these holiday concerts explore relationships, humanity, sorrow, treatment of the earth, and overall hope.
In a press statement, Shaw said, “Ochre obliquely references how we consider and care for the ground beneath our feet. Our Earth, ourselves, our histories, our sense of the scale of our lives in the context of geological history.”
“Mass Transmission” explores how radio technology brought humanity closer together, yet magnified our distances and loneliness. The piece draws on 1920s radio communication between parents in the Netherlands and their children in Java, who were sent there to work for the Dutch government.
The performances will take place on Dec. 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Rittenhouse Square (co-presented by Penn Live Arts) and on Dec. 18 at 5:00 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill.
By David Salazar
(Courtesy of Aksonas Holt )
The Royal Choral Society will present a Christmas concert on Dec. 12, 2022, at the Royal Albert Hall.
The showcase, which marks the ensemble’s 150th anniversary, will be conducted by Richard Cooke and will also feature fanfare trumpeters of the British Imperial Military Band. This celebration also coincides with the 150th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ birth. To commemorate this birthday, audiences will hear “Wassail;” also on the program will be Gustav Holst’s arrangement of “In the Bleak Midwinter,” a poem by Christina Rossetti, which is also celebrating the 150th anniversary of its first publication.
Soprano Mary Bevan will appear as a soloist performing music from Händel’s “Messiah,” Dvorak’s “Rusalka,” and other favorites.
The concert will also feature two Ukrainian carols arranged by Roxanna Panufkin and Mykola Leontovych’s “Carol of the Bells.”
By David Salazar
Artful Narratives Media has launched “Speaking Soundly,” a new podcast featuring Met Opera Orchestra Principal Trumpet David Krauss as its host.
The podcast’s first episodes feature conversations with such artists as opera star Isabel Leonard, violinist Ray Chen, trombonist Joseph Alessi, oboist Spencer Rubin, famed composer and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, percussionist Evelyn Glennie, bassist Christian McBride, and Met Opera Orchestra trombonist Denson Paul Pollard.
Coming up are episodes featuring Joyce DiDonato and Anthony Roth Costanzo.
“Hear how an accidental trip to Carnegie Hall ignited Emanuel Ax’s fantasy to perform on that very stage, whose music got Christian McBride through some tough times and how Isabel Leonard gets into character,” said Artful Narratives Media Co-Founder Jessica Handelman in an official press statement announcing the new launch. “Speaking Soundly gives audiences new perspectives and never-heard-before stories from renowned musicians, conductors, singers, and more.”
The podcast launches weekly on Tuesdays.
By Francisco Salazar
Soprano Karoline Podolak took home both First Prize and Audience Choice Award at the Canadian Opera Company’s Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition.
The finale, which was held on Nov. 3 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
Podolak, a Toronto native, won a $7,500 award, as well as the Audience Choice Award, which was matched on this night and increased to $2,000 by an audience member.
Meanwhile, soprano Hannah Crawford, also from Toronto, won the Second Prize of $5,000 while tenor River Guard of Hamilton, Ontario and tenor Wesley Harrison of Windsor, Ontario shared the Third Prize of $3,000.
In a statement, COC General Director Perryn Leech said, “The incredible talent, dedication and commitment of Canada’s young opera voices continues to astonish me. These seven, highly talented young artists should be so proud of what they were able to achieve in reaching this level of artistry–especially considering the many challenges the last few years have presented for gaining live performance experience.”
The evening saw seven finalists selected from a pool of nearly 100 applicants and 64 live auditions nationwide. The finalists performed two arias, accompanied by the COC Orchestra led by conductor Jacques Lacombe.
This year’s competition jury comprised COC General Director Perryn Leech; COC Director, Artistic Planning Roberto Mauro; American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges (who sings the title role in the COC’s current production of Carmen); and Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka.
By Nicolas Quiroga
Finnish composer, conductor, and oboist Kari Juhani Tikka passed away on Oct. 17, 2022.
Born on April 13, 1946 in Siilinjärvi, he received conducting classes from Jorma Panula and studied musical composition under the direction of Joonas Kokkonen and Einojuhani Rautavaara at the Sibelius Academy. Tikka specialized in various musical fields encompassing chamber music, orchestral music, church music, choral and solo songs, and operas.
One of his most outstanding works was an opera on the life of Martin Luther, which has been performed in various parts of the world such as the United States, Finland and Germany, and even in Luther’s own church in Wittenberg.
Tikka was also an outstanding oboist in the Helsinki City Orchestra between 1965 and 1969; he also performed with the Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Finnish National Opera. He was a conductor at the Tampere Theatre, the Finnish National Opera, the Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Stockholm Opera.
In 1986, he founded the Vivo Symphony Orchestra and was its director until 1996. Between 2006 and 2011 he stood out as artistic director of the Organ Night Festival and Aaria. His quality and his love for his work earned him several awards, including the Cultural of the Church in 2000 and recognition from the Lutheran Culture Foundation in 2013.
By David Salazar
The Seattle Symphony will present “The Snowman” on Dec. 3, 2022.
The showcase will feature classic children’s films along with a number of other holiday favorites including “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Hanerot Halalu,” “Jingle Bells,” “Carol of the Bells,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
Audiences will see the orchestra under the musical direction of Sunny Xia. Performing with the ensemble will be the Northwest Boychoir Apprentices, which features performers ages 7-11. The ensemble has performed regularly with the Seattle Symphony as part of its Family Series, Holiday Pop Concert, and Holiday Musical Salute.
Xia was recently appointed as the Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor of the Seattle Symphony. She was also the Conducting Fellow at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music during the 2021-22 season. She will lead the Seattle Symphony in a program of music by composers Katy Abbott, Chen Yi, Quinn Mason, Angelique Poteat, Gabriella Smith, and Tan Dun during the 2022-23 season.
By David Salazar
On Nov. 9, the San Francisco Opera will drop the latest episode of its “In Song” series.
This time, the company will showcase an episode featuring soprano Pretty Yende. The showcase is filmed in Piet Retief and cape Town and shines a spotlight on Zulu culture that Yende grew up with. There are performances of “Iqhude,” a Zulu folk song as well as Donizetti’s “L’amor funesto” with pianist José Dias, among other works.
Yende also recounts her childhood and the start of her journey that would eventually transform her into one of the world’s leading opera stars.
Yende is set to star in San Francisco Opera’s upcoming production of “La Traviata,” which opens on Nov. 11, 2022 and runs through Dec. 3. Yende is joined by Jonathan Tetelman and Simone Piazzola in the roles of Alfredo and Giorgio Germont, respectively The opera will be simulcast as part of the company’s “Opera at the Ballpark” series.
By David Salazar
Soprano Julie Fuchs will headline a concert by Les Grands Voix / Les Grandes Solistes at the Théâtre Champs-Élysées on Nov. 21, 2022.
The showcase will feature the soprano alongside Les Siècles and concertmaster Kati Debretzeni.
As part of an all-Mozart program, Fuchs will perform arias from “Le Nozze di Figaro” and the “Cantata per la recuperate salute di Ofelia.” She will also interpret “Ach, ich liebte” from “Die Entführung aus dem Serail.”
The program will also include the overture to “Le Nozze di Figaro,” and Mozart’s Symphony 25 (split up by the “Serail” aria).
Fuchs is coming off a production of “I Capuleti e I Montecchi” at the Opéra National de Paris and is set to present a concert at the Grand Théâtre de Provence on Nov. 19. Following this Champs-Élysées performance she heads ot the Mozarteum in Salzburg to perform the composer’s Requiem on Dec. 5 before participating in a production of “Giulio Cesare” at the Dutch National Opera & Ballet.
By Francisco Salazar
(Credit: Anna Barbera)
The Washington Concert Opera is set to open its new season with Donizetti’s “Roberto Devereux.”
The opera, which will be shown at the Lisner Auditorium on Dec. 4, 2022, is arguably the best opera from Donizetti’s dramatic “Tudor trilogy” and focuses on the Earl of Essex during his service to Queen Elizabeth.
The cast will showcase René Barbera in the title role after appearing with WCO in 2012’s “La Sonnambula,” and 2021’s “I Puritani.”
He will be joined by Italian soprano Roberta Mantegna as Queen Elizabeth, mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne as Sara, Duchess of Nottingham, and baritone Ricardo José Rivera as The Duke of Nottingham.
The work will be preceded by a pre-concert lecture led by WCO’s Founder, Peter Russell. There will also be a post-concert Cast Party.
The season will include a performance of Verdi’s “Nabucco” starring Lester Lynch.
By Francisco Salazar
Italy’s XXI Festival di Musica e Arte Sacra has announced its 2022 event.
The festival opens with the Santa Messa celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in the Basilica di San Pietro in the Vatican. The Coro del Vicariato della Città del Vaticano conducted by Temistocle Capone will perform the Missa Secunda Pontificalis and il Magnificat e Tu es Petrus.
Performance Date: Nov. 12, 2022
The second concert of the festival will be at the Basilica di San Paolo and will showcase the Bamberger Symphoniker alongside the Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Jakub Hrůša conducts soloists Christina Landshamer and Konstantin Krimmel in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem.
Performance Date: Nov. 12, 2022
The Basilica di San Paolo will also showcase Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 with the Bamberger Symphoniker under the direction of Jakub Hrůša.
Performance Date: Nov. 13, 2022
The festival will see the world premiere of Vespro Universale based on a text by Pope Francis. The orchestra L’Appassionata will be conducted by Claude Villaret and will feature soloists Carlotta Bellotto e Nadina Calistru.
Performance Date: Nov. 14, 2022
The festival closes with the Orchestra e Coro della Cappella Ludovicea. Ildebrando Mura conducts a program of music by Vivaldi and Handel.
Performance Date: Nov. 15, 2022
