By Francisco Salazar
On Oct. 12, The Festival Verdi is set to present a concert conducted by Sebastiano Rolli.
Rolli will conduct the Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana and Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma. The concert will also showcase soprano Anna Pirozzi.
The program will include scenes from many Italian operas including “Don Carlo,” “Ernani,” “Otello,” “I Vespri siciliani,” and “Messa per Rossini di Giuseppe Verdi.” Additionally, opera lovers will also get to hear excerpts from “Amleto” by Franco Faccio, “La Wally” and “Loreley” by Alfredo Catalani, “Mefistofele” by Arrigo Boito, and “Assassinio nella cattedrale” by Ildebrando Pizzetti. There will also be orchestral compositions by Giovanni Bottesini and Giacomo Puccini.
In a statement, Rolli said, “The inheritance that Giuseppe Verdi left to the Italian school invests the experimental character of the scores born from the 1860s and continues to shape the paths traced with the latest sacred compositions right into the current of the historical twentieth century.”
By Logan Martell
The Royal School of Church Music has just announced the launch of “Hympact!” a subscription-based digital resource for primary schools and churches.
The platform will provide hymns and liturgical music to serve as a bridge between the hymnal programs in schools to the range of works traditionally performed in church.
Subscribers will be able to access features such as hymns and songs for numerous occasions, lyric videos with full orchestration, performance and instrumental tracks to practice alongside, PowerPoint Slides, and sheet music for multiple versions of songs.
Founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson, the RSCM is a Salisbury-based, independent charity which is dedicated to the support and advancement of church music. The RSCM supports thousands of affiliated churches in the UK and across the globe in their mission, as well as numerous schools and individual members, and is itself sustained by thousands of Friends, Regular Givers, and other donors.
By Logan Martell
(Photo: © Musacchio, Ianniello, & Pasqualini)
The Cleveland Orchestra has announced the third season of “In Focus,” the organizations digital concert-streaming series on adella.live and the Adella digital streaming app.
The new season will be comprised of ten episodes premiering from October through June, and is available with a subscription to Adella Premium. Among the performances are:
Conductor Franz Welser-Most will lead TCO and soloists soprano Lauren Snouffer and contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2.
Digital Premiere: November 12, 2022.
John Adams’ “El Nino” features the composer himself conducting TCO and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Children’s Chorus, joined by Snouffer, mezzo Josefina Maldonado, bass-baritone Davone Tines, and countertenors Daniel Bubeck, Brian Cummings, and Nathan Medley.
Digital Premiere: December 23, 2022.
Finally, Mozart’s “Requiem” stars soprano Siobhan Stagg, alto Avery Amereau, tenor Ben Bliss, and bass Anthony Schneider.
Digital Premiere: April 22, 2023.
By David Salazar
Edmonton Opera has announced the finalists and judges for its inaugural Rumbold Vocal Prize.
The finalists include soprano Lauren Margison, bass-baritone Vartan Gabrielian, mezzo-soprano Madison Montambault, and tenor Spencer Britten. Additionally, mezzo-soprano Alla Slakhova has been invited to participate as part of a partnership between the organization and the University of Alberta, which allows for the selection of one artist from the University’s voice program.
The jurors include soprano Karen Slack, conductor Simon Rivard, chorusmaster Shannon Hiebert, artistic director Joel Ivany, and soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, who will also conduct a masterclass for the finalists during Rumbold Vocal Prize Celebration Day on Oct. 29, 2022. There will also be a final recital at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on that day.
The award will be presented annually to emerging opera singers.
By Afton Wooten
The Royal Opera House will present Robert Carsen’s new production of Verdi’s “Aida” live in cinemas on Oct. 12.
The live broadcast from Covent Garden will reach over 1,000 cinemas in 34 countries around the world. Carsen’s large-scale production of Verdi’s political drama is set within a modern totalitarian government and explores public duty versus private passions. He is joined by set designer Miriam Buether, costume designer Annemarie Woods, and video designer Duncan McLean.
Antonio Pappano conducts soprano Elena Stikhina as Aida. Stikhina was seen earlier this year in cinemas in the live broadcast of “Tosca.” They are joined by Italian tenor Francesco Meli as Radames, Polish mezzo-soprano Agnieszka Rehlis as Amneris, French baritone Ludovic Tézier as Amonasro, American bass Soloman Howard as Ramfis, and Korean bass In Sung Sim as the King of Egypt.
The production will be sung in Italian with English supertitles provided. Encore screenings will run until Oct. 16. The official trailer can be viewed here.
By David Salazar
The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama has announced the Sir Geraint Evans Centenary Scholarship.
The scholarship will be given to one student every year at the David Seligman Opera School for the next 10 years. The £150,000 fund is supported by The Mosawi Foundation and The Linbury Trust.
The first recipient of the scholarship is South Korean baritone Edward Kim who joined the school in 2021.
“I’m deeply honored to be the first recipient of the Sir Geraint Evans scholarship,” said Kim in an official press statement. “This support is really important to me as it gives me the opportunity to hone my skills and receive the training I require as a young opera singer. Sir Geraint Evans was an amazing inspiration to all singers, especially to us male voices. He had a wonderful voice and stage presence, and most importantly, he knew his instrument well. I hope to be the same and to use this support and trust given to me to be a better singer and to spread the love of this amazing art form we call Opera.”
Evans was a revered opera star who also served as President of the College until his death in 1992.
By David Salazar
Canadian Opera Company has announced that Cecilia Livingston will be its new Composer-in-Residence.
The residency will last for two years with Livingston set to work closely with the company’s executive, artistic, and community programming leaders. She will also work on a new project and will receive dramaturgical input, musical feedback, and critique all the way through production. She will also collaborate with the company’s Ensemble Studio.
“It means the world to me to come home to Canada and make an ambitious new work with our national opera company,” Livingston, a recent Composer-in-Residence at Glyndebourne from 2019-222, said in an official press release. “I admire the COC’s leadership in supporting Canadian artists on its international stage, and I’m thrilled to collaborate with the premiere presenter of live opera in this country.”
Livingston has also held fellowships with American Opera Project and Bang on a Can. She also joined the faculty of Banff Centre’s Opera in the 21st Century program. She composed the opera “Singing Only Softly” which won the inaugural Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes and received two 2020 Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Theatre, including “Outstanding New Opera.”
By Francisco Salazar
The Dutch National Opera is set to present the European premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s “Blue.”
The opera is a topical set in Harlem and about a black couple who anticipates the birth of its first-born son, with both hope and anxiety. The mother worries about her son’s future as she watches him become a young man and enter the world of activism. Meanwhile, the father tries to open his son’s eyes to the realities of 21st century America, whilst simultaneously struggling with his own identity as a police officer, a ‘Black man in blue’. When the parents’ deepest fears come true, they have to find a way to cope with reality.
The opera had its world premiere at The Glimmerglass Festival in July 2019 and has since been acclaimed. Tazewell Thompson is set to direct the production with Kenneth Kellogg, Aundi Marie Moore, Daius Gillard, Will Liverman, Vuvu Mpofu, Thembinkosi Magagula, Rehanna Thelwel, Thando Mjandana, Charles Williamson, and Martin Mkhize.
“Blue” opens on Nov. 7 and runs through Nov. 22, 2022.
By Nicolas Quiroga
Los Angeles Opera will present “Omar” starring on Oct. 22, 2022.
The new opera by composers Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels recounts American slavery written by a Omar Ibn Said who was kidnapped and forced to board a ship bound for South Carolina. Kazem Abdullah conducts and Kaneza Schaal directs.
Tenor Jamez McCorkle headlines the cast as Omar. He is joined by mezzo-soprano Amanda Lynn Bottoms as Fatima, Omar’s mother; bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch, in the dual role of Johnson and Owen; soprano Jackeline Echols, in the role of Julie; and tenor Barry Banks as Hades. The cast will include two young singers performing with the company for the first time: mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny and bass-baritone Alan Williams.
“This stunning opera follows the compelling journey of Omar Ibn Said, whose 1831 autobiography is the only known American slavery narrative written in Arabic,” said Christopher Koelsch, LA Opera’s president and CEO, in an official press statement. “The extraordinary cast and creative team we’ve assembled, many of whom are making their first appearances with the company, will bring to our stage a truly imaginative artistic vision for this powerful and important new work.”
The opera runs through Nov. 13, 2022 for a total of six performances. “Omar” had its world premiere on May 27, 2022 at the Spoleto Festival in South Carolina.
By David Salazar
Vancouver Opera and Vancouver Public Library are teaming up to launch “Opera Adventures.”
The program will invite audience members to get to know opera through a look at the art form’s history and its stories. Each event will feature performances as well.
The series kicks off on Oct. 5, 2022 with a preview for “The Pearl Fishers,” which opens at the Vancouver Opera on Oct. 22, 2022. The event will feature The Kettle Choir and the vocal ensemble musica intima. Sarah Kirsch, a singer/pundit/vocal researcher will also make an appearance.
“Opera should be for everyone,” said Vancouver Opera General Director Tom Wright in an official press statement. “This exciting new partnership with the Vancouver Public Library will give Vancouverites a chance to discover the incredible beauty of the human voice and the amazing power of Opera. We can’t wait to share with audiences the many steps it takes to build an opera, the skill and craftsmanship behind the sets, costumes, and props, and of course the incredible power of the singing.”
“The Pearl Fishers” will be directed by Rachel Peake and conducted by Kamna Gupta. It will star Miriam Khalil, Aaron Blake, Phillip Addis, and Vartan Gabrielian.
