By Nicolas Quiroga
Haymarket Opera Company and classical music label Cedille Records have partnered to produce the first-ever recording of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George’s ‘L’Amant Anonyme.”
Haymarket Opera recently presented a new production of “L’Amant Anonyme” on June 17 -19, 2022 at Jarvis Opera Hall in Chicago, Illinois. The production starred Nicole Cabell, Geoffrey Agpalo, Erica Schuller, Michael St. Peter, David Govertsen, and Nathalie Colas. Per Cedille Records’ official website, in June 2022, following the run of performance, this cast was assembled for a few sessions to record the piece. Craig Trompeter conducts an orchestra of period instruments.
“This recording will showcase the virtuosity of the Haymarket Opera Company in a highly researched and beautifully articulated production,” Cedille President and Founder Jim Ginsburg said in an official press statement. “Cedille is excited to create the definitive recording of this opera — one we hope will serve as a reference for opera companies around the world as they stage their own future productions.”
Cedille, a Grammy Award-winning record label that has worked with such artists as violinists Rachel Barton Pine and Jennifer Koh, harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, and vocalists Nicole Cabell, Will Liverman, Patrice Michaels, and such organizations as Third Coast Percussion, Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Pacifica Quertet, Lincoln Trio, and Eighth Blackbird, previously released an album dedicated to violin concertos by Black composers, including Bologne. This will be the company’s first opera release since 2022 when it recorded Robert Kurka’s “The Good Soldier Schweik.”
By Nicolas Quiroga
On July 23, the Los Angeles Master Chorale will host “Big Sing 2022: With A Little Help From Our Friends.”
The event, which is open to the public for free, will take place at The Music Center’s Grand Park.
The repertoire will feature well-known songs by the Beatles, Ben E. King, Quirino Mendoza and Cortés, Alan Menken and many more. The showcase will be directed by Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director Grant Gershon and Associate Director Jenny Wong.
“Big Sing is a beautiful opportunity for all of us to connect through the joy of singing together,” said Gershon in an official press statement. “Communal singing strengthens our feelings of togetherness and uplifts our spirits. No experience is necessary: all voices are welcome!”
Big Sing is an annual sing-along that welcomes people of all ages to experience the joy of singing for free, performing well-known songs, so people are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the event.
By David Salazar
Famed baritone Željko Lučić has joined GoDirect Management’s roster.
Lučić also changed management in 2021 when he signed on with Mirshak Artists Management to represent him in North and South America; he had been previously represented by IMG for his North and South American engagements.
Lučić is one of the leading baritones in the world, having appeared with such companies as the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, and Salzburg Festival among many others.
One of his major projects this past season was the role of Baron Scarpia in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of “Tosca.”
GoDirect Management recently announced the additions of Luis-Ottavio Faria and Leonor Bonilla to its roster.
By David Salazar
(Credit: Ribalta Studio)
MITO SettembreMusica has announced its 16th edition, which will feature 116 concerts.
For the purposes of this article, we will focus solely on the vocal performances, which will take place in Milan and/or Torino.
Francesca Aspromonte will team up with violinist and conductor Boris Begelman and the Academia Montis Regalis for music by Scarlatti and Händel.
Performance Date: Sept. 7 & 8, 2022
Soprano Marcella Orsatti Talamanca, contralto Alessandra Visentin, tenor Mirko Guadagnini, and bass Sergio Foresti will perform music of Purcell as transcribed by Britten. Pianist Emanuele Delucchi will join them.
Performance Date: Sept. 14, 2022
The Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri, under conductor Giulio Prandi, will perform music by Pergolesi and Caldara.
Performance Date: Sept. 15, 2022
Soprano Barbara Hannigan will conduct and perform music by Haydn and Mahler with the Santa Cecilia National Academy Orchestra.
Performance Date: Sept. 16 & 17, 2022
Matthias Goerne, the Camerata RCO, and musicians from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will perform lieder transcriptions by Alexander Schmalcz.
Performance Date: Sept. 17 & 18, 2022
The Italian youth Choir and the Wind Ensemble of the Youth Orchestra of Italy will perform music by James MacMillan, Einojuhani Rautavaara, and Anton Bruckner.
Performance Date: Sept. 17 & 18, 2022
The Teatro Regio Choir and the Milano Symphony Orchestra, under Patrick Fournillier, will perform music by John Adams and Beethoven.
Performance Date: Sept. 18 & 19, 2022
The Stefano Tempia Academy Choir will perform music by Lorenzo Perosi alongside conductor Luigi Cociglio and organist Luca Benedicti.
Performance Date: Sept. 18, 2022
Tenor Ian Bostridge will pair up with Giampaolo Pretto and the Torino Philharmonic Orchestra string section for music by Tchaikovsky and Britten.
Performance Date: Sept. 21 & 22, 2022
Mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron and pianist Julius Drake will present music by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Gabriel Fauré, Henri Dutilleux, Charles Ives, Cole Porter, Chen Yi, and Huang Tzu.
Performance Date: Sept. 22 & 23, 2022
By David Salazar
VOCES8 Foundation has announced the return of its LIVE from London series, which kicks off on July 23, 2022.
The series kicks off with Apollo5, which will world premiere its new album “Invocations” alongside pianist and associate composer Fraser Wilson.
Streaming Date: July 23–Sept. 18, 2022
I Fagiolini will join forces with the Choral Scholars of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the HeartEdge Manchester Choral Scholars, and the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble to present “Super-Choral, Super-Excellent.” Robert Hollingworth conducts.
Streaming Date: July 24–Sept. 18, 2022
Singer Nicki Wells joins forces with musicians Sukwinder “Pinky-Ji” Singh, Matthew Barley, and Adrian Freedman for “Mantra.”
Streaming Date: August 1–Sept. 18, 2022
The Phoenix Chorale will present “Unclouded Day,” a presentation filmed by tenor Andrew Staples as he follows chorale members as they balanced life during the COVID-19 shutdown.
Streaming Date: August 13–Sept. 18, 2022
Chineke! Voices will celebrate the music of Portuguese composer Vicente Lusitano, one of Europe’s earliest composers of African descent. The ensemble will be joined by St. John the Divine Kennington Children’s Choir, lutist Andrew Maginley, and conductor Joseph McHardy.
Streaming Date: August 20–Sept. 18, 2022
VOCES8 and VOCES8 Scholars will present Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G Minor.
Streaming Date: August 21–Sept. 18, 2022
VOCES8 and Tuks Camerata will present “Hope,” a program comprising music by Byrd and Bach as well as traditional songs from South Africa, among many others.
Streaming Date: August 28–Sept. 18, 2022
By David Salazar
Justin Vivian Bond and Anthony Roth Costanzo’s “Only An Octave Apart” is set to make its London premiere this fall at Wilton’s Music Hall.
The performances kick off on Sept. 28 and run through Oct. 22.
The showcase will feature music supervision by Thomas Bartlett, arrangements by Nico Muhly, and costume design by Jonathan Anderson. Zack Winokur directs the show.
“Only An Octave Apart” premiered in New York City in September 2021 and ran through Oct. 3, 2021.
The duo met over 10 years ago when the countertenor caught a performance featuring Bond at Joe’s Pub. He would later perform as a guest in Bond’s subsequent show. Since then, the two have sought ways to combine their distinct styles into a unique concert experience. This opportunity presented itself during the COVID-19 lockdown and they put together a unique program of repertoire than includes arrangements of such works as Purcell’s famed “Dido’s Lament,” among others.
By Francisco Salazar
Spain’s Teatro Villamarta de Jerez has announced its 2022-23 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances of the season.
The season opens with “La Tabernera del Puerto” by Sorozabel in a production by the Universidad de Cádiz. Juan Manuel Perez Madueno conducts the production by Miguel Cubero.
Performance Date: Oct. 1, 2022
Ruth Rosique and Juan Carlos Garbayo sing music with texts by Manuel de Fallas, Maria Rodrigo, Joaquin Turina and Federico Garcia Lorca.
Performance Date: Oct. 21, 2022
Orff’s Carmina Burana will be performed by the chorus of Villamarta and many more.
Performance Date: Dec. 22, 2022
Vive’s “Doña Francisquita” wll star Rocio Perez, Jose Manuel Zapata, Leonardo Sanchez, Cristina del Barrio, Enric Martinez, Castignani, Cesar San martin, and Lucia Millan. Jesus Ruiz directs the production by Carlos Aragon.
Performance Dates: Jan 27 & 29, 2023
The chorus of the Teatro Villamarta will give a concert.
Performance Date: March 18, 2023
Maria Rey Joy and Antonio Comas perform an evening dedicated to Maria Callas.
Performance Date: April 28, 2023
The season concludes with Ainhoa Arteta taking on the title role of Bizet’s “Carmen.” The legendary soprano will sing alongside Marcelo Puente, Simon Orfila, and Berna Perles. Francisco Lopez directs with Enrique Patron de Rueda conducting.
Performance Dates: June 23 & 25, 2023
By Francisco Salazar
The Detriot Opera has announced its 2022-23 season.
The season opens with Wagner’s “Die Walküre: Act III.” Yuval Sharon directs the act with Sir Andrew Davis conducting. The production will feature a high-tech treatment of the most famous act in Wagner’s Ring Cycle with Christine Goerke starring.
Performance dates: Sept. 17-20, 2022
Valerio Galli conducts Gounod’s “Faust” in a production by Lileana Blain-Cruz which restores Gounod’s original version – with newly-discovered scenes and music. The production is set to star Talise Trevigne and Jonathan Johnson star as Marguerite and Faust, with Robert Pomakov as Méphistophélès.
Performance Dates: Nov. 12-20, 2022
Verdi’s “Aida” will be performed in concert with Christine Goerke and Angel Blue making role debuts. Jonathon Heyward conducts.
Performance Date: Dec. 30, 2022
Handel’s “Xerxes” will be conducted by Jane Glover. Tazewell Thompson’s production will be revived with countertenor Key’mon Murrah and soprano Lauren Snouffer.
Performance Dates: March 4-12, 2023
Golijov and David Henry Hwang’s “Ainadamar” will be performed. The work fuses Flamenco, rumba rhythms, and classical singing together in a work that tells the story of Federico García Lorca. Deborah Colker directs with Paolo Bortolameolli conducting.
Performance Dates: April 8-16, 2022
By Francisco Salazar
The Teatro San Carlo di Napoli is set to present a revival of Filippo Crivelli’s classic production of Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.”
The production, which premiered in 1998 features set designs by Lele Luzzati and costumes by Santuzza Cali.
Riccardo Frizza wll conduct the work and said, “conducting what is perhaps the best-loved opera buffa in the repertoire is always a challenge. The dramaturgical and musical complexity of this masterpiece is almost ‘hidden’ by the immediacy with which it is received and enjoyed by audiences. I’ve been exploring this treasure by Rossini for almost 20 years and each time I discover new ideas, always aware that bringing out the work’s dazzling beauty requires an excellent orchestra and chorus, singer/actors who can perform acrobatics but never just for the sake of it, stage set and direction that never give way to the temptation of cheap comedy, which would almost certainly turn into vulgarity, something that couldn’t be further from the great elegance of ‘Il barbiere.'”
The production will star Xabier Anduaga, Carlo Lepore, Jessica Pratt, Davide Luciano, and Riccardo Fassi.
For the upcoming production, Pratt has announced that she will sing a different aria for the lesson scene going back to the traditions of Rossini and using the critical edition by Alberto Zedda.
“Il Barbiere di Siviglia” opens on July 6 and runs through July 16, 2022.
By Logan Martell
The Royal Opera has announced the participants of the Jette Parker Artists for the 2022-23 season. The program offers apprenticeships to promising artists for training and professional development.
This season’s artists are soprano Sarah Dufresne, mezzo Gabrielė Kupšytė, tenor Michael Gibson, and baritone Josef Jeongmeen Ahn; they will join current artists such as conductors Andre Callegaro and Edward Reeve, stage directors Eleanor Burke, Harriet Taylor, and Mathilda du Tillieul McNicol, and ballet conductor Edo Frenkel.
The cohort will work with international artists and experts to prepare repertory for staged performances, concerts, and cover roles, as well as receive coaching and mentoring.
“We are delighted to welcome this international group of extraordinary artists: our first auditioned cohort since pre-pandemic times,” said JPA Head Elaine Kidd in an official press statement. “They arrive with some incredible experience under their belts and will spend the next year immersed in work across all the Royal Opera’s stages. There should be no doubt about how central their talent is to the success of our productions.”
