By Francisco Salazar
Opera San José is set to present Alma Deutscher’s “Cinderella,” from November 12-27, 2022.
The company will present the work in association with the Packard Humanities Institute and will showcase Deutscher in her conducting debut.
The landmark work is based on the classic fairytale and will be revived after an acclaimed 2017 production at the California Theatre. The production represented the American premiere and was sold-out. Director Brad Dalton will return to revive his original production.
Opera San José will be presenting a Cinderella Family Day for the performance 2:00 pm, Saturday, November 19, for which children’s tickets are “Pay Their Age.”
The opera will star Natalia Santaliz as Cinderella, Joey Hammod-Leppek as The Prince, Ben Brady as The King, Stacey Tappan as Griselda, Julia Dawson as Zibaldona, Rena Harms as The Stepmother, Megan Esther Grey as Fairy, and Lance LaShelle as The Minister.
The work will be sung in English, with English supertitles.
By David Salazar
(John Matthew Myers Photography)
New Jersey’s Symphony in C is set to present “Totally Mozart” on Dec. 3, 2022.
The concert, which will take place at the Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts in Camden, NJ, will feature Mozart’s “Exsultate Jubilate,” K. 165 as well as his 23rd piano concerto and 40th Symphony.
Soprano Alexandra Nowakowski will be the soloist for the “Exsultate Jubilate” and will appear courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera where she is covering roles in “Don Carlo” and “The Hours.” The soprano recently released a new album entitled “Kraina,” which features Polish art songs. She has performed with such organizations as the Brooklyn Art Song Society and the Academy of Vocal Arts, among others.
Joshua Hong will conduct the performance and Clayton Stephenson will perform at the piano.
By Francisco Salazar
The Sinfónica de Galicia has announced a new Music Director.
Inés Rey announced the news at the Palacio de la Ópera and noted that Roberto González-Monjas will be the Music Director for three seasons, 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-2026.
González-Monjas is the Music Director of the Orquesta del Musikkollegium Winterthur in Switzerland and is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Belgium National Opera.
He recently conducted with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg and Camerata Salzburg, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Lahti Symphony, Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, and Orchestre Nationale Capitole Toulouse, among others. The conductor began his careers as a solo violinist, orchestral leader and chamber musician and frequently collaborates with Ian Bostridge, Yuja Wang, Rolando Villazón, Hilary Hahn, Lisa Batiashvili, Fazil Say, Reinhard Goebel, Thomas Quasthoff, András Schiff and Kit Armstrong.
By Francisco Salazar
The Palau de la Música has named Álvaro Albiach as Principal Guest Conductor for the Orquesta de Valencia during the 2022-23 season.
The Palau’s president Gloria Tello announced the news noting that Albiach has all the requirements for this designation as he is one of the most recognized and well-trained Valencian conductors of his generation. He has also conducted the Orquesta de València on several occasions.
Albiach will take over the position that Enrique García Asensio once had. The conductor is set to perform in a January concert and will conduct the finals of the Concurso Internacional de Piano “José Iturbi.”
The conductor has performed with the Teatro Real de Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Rossini Festival in Pesaro, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Teatro Comunale de Treviso, Schleswig Holstein Festival, Festival of Granada, Festival of Peralada, Summer Festival of El Escorial, Teatro Campoamor of Oviedo, Villamarta de Jerez Theater and the Teatro de la Zarzuela of Madrid, among others
By David Salazar
PBS has announced that it will begin broadcasting the Metropolitan Opera’s performance of “Hamlet” on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. It will then be available for viewing in the New York Metro area on Nov. 13, 2022, on THIRTEEN.
The opera by Brett Dean stars Allan Clayton, Sarah Connolly, Rod Gilfry, Brenda Rae, and conductor Nicholas Carter. Neil Armfield directed.
Of the production, OperaWire’s review raved about Clayton in the title role. “Clayton is a revelation in his Met debut,” the review said. “Even if his characterization is questionable (for me at least), from the hushed and haunting ‘or not to be…’ that opens the opera, there’s no denying that he’s fully immersed in every microscopic detail attached to it. Not for one second do you even consider that this is an opera singer interpreting a character. He is the character.”
“Hamlet” is the final opera from Met’s 2021-22 season set to be broadcast on PBS.
By Nicolas Quiroga
(Credit: Frances Marshall)
Classical Everywhere will present a unique interpretation of Händel’s “Messiah,” on December 6, 2022 at the Theater Royal Drury Lane.
The event will immerse audiences in a powerful and theatrical new stage, featuring world-class musicians and innovative and imaginative lighting design, visual effects, choreography and staging, under director Neil Connolly.
Händel’s timeless oratorio will feature an internationally acclaimed group of soloists such as Danielle de Niese, Nicky Spence, Iddunu Münch and Cody Quattlebaum, along with the English Chamber Orchestra and the London Symphony Choir. Artistic director Gregory Batsleer conducts.
“We will actively challenge preconceived ideas about what a concert should be. We are bringing classical music back to the masses and making sure that all music lovers can come and enjoy an extraordinary night with the highest quality creation,” said Batsleer in an official press statement.
By David Salazar
(Credit: Marty Sohl)
The Metropolitan Opera is set to take Cherubini’s “Medea” to movie theaters around the world on Oct. 22, 2022.
The broadcast, which kicks off at 12:55 p.m. Eastern time, is conducted by Carlo Rizzi and stars Sondra Radvanovksy in the title role. She is joined by Matthew Polenzani, Janai Brugger, and Michele Pertusi. David McVicar directs with Joyce DiDonato hosting the transmission.
“Even if the darkness of the opera might not have been apt for the celebratory mood of opening night, you couldn’t ask for more from the creative team the Met put on its stage,” said OperaWire’s review of the opening performance. “Radvanovsky was in peak form. The supporting cast was solid. The orchestra, under Rizzi, sounded as good as it has in ages. And the production did enough to elucidate the drama while allowing space for the music to come to the fore. “Medea” is the first must-see production of the Met Opera’s 2022-23 season.”
Find out which theaters in your local area are transmitting the simulcast by clicking here.
By Francisco Salazar
The Royal Opera House has named Jakub Hrůša as its new Music Director.
The company said that Hrůša will assume the position of Music Director Designate with immediate effect and will begin his tenure as Music Director in September 2025.
In a statement, the conductor said, “I have been privileged to work on two wonderful Royal Opera House productions as a guest conductor, and the recent Lohengrin was one of the highlights of my artistic life to date. I have always dreamt about a long-term relationship with a house where one can reach the highest standards in opera, and I realized very quickly that I adored the whole team of artists and staff at Covent Garden. I am thrilled to accept the position of Music Director, and I feel immensely excited about the future collaboration. London is not just a place I have loved living and working but will now be precious to me as my true artistic home in the field of opera. I feel blessed that I can devote my skills and energies to the future of this extraordinary opera house.”
Oliver Mears, Director of The Royal Opera added, “Jakub has proven himself to be one of today’s most exciting conductors in both the symphonic and operatic repertoirery. We have been hugely impressed by not only his superlative music and theatre-making, but also by the generosity and warmth of his personality: Jakub is a true collaborator, able to get the very best from his colleagues. As a musician of high intellect, thoughtfulness, and a deep conviction in the power of music to change us, he is the perfect fit for Covent Garden.”
Hrůša will succeed Antonio Pappano who steps down from his post at the end of the 2023-24 Season, after 22 years. Hrůša will become The Royal Opera’s seventh Music Director following on from Karl Rankl, Rafael Kubelík, Sir Georg Solti, Sir Colin Davis, and Bernard Haitink.
Pappano, the Royal Opera’s longest serving Music Director, will become Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in September 2024. In the 2024/25 Season, Hrůša and Pappano will share House responsibilities, and both will appear as special guest conductors across the ROH Season.
Hrůša has conducted “Carmen” and “Lohengrin” at the Royal Opera House and is set to conduct works by Puccini, Prokofiev, Britten, and Janáček in coming seasons. During the 2027-28 Season, Hrůša will be reunited with Barrie Kosky to conduct the new full cycle of Richard Wagner’s epic Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Hrůša is currently Chief Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, a position he has held since 2016, and he is also the Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He has conducted at the Salzburg Festival, Vienna State Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Zurich Opera, Frankfurt Opera, and Glyndebourne Festival among others.
The appointment comes following an extensive international search which was led by Sir Simon Robey, Roger Wright CBE, Sir Lloyd Dorfman CVO CBE, Janis Susskind OBE, Alex Beard CBE, and Oliver Mears.
By David Salazar
San Francisco Opera will host a free community open house on Oct. 23, 2022.
The event will feature a wide range of activities and workshops for families including giveaways, scavenger hunts, onstage performances, “from the archives” display, instrument show and tell, conducting lessons, and the opportunity to snap a stage selfie, among others.
There will also be “Opera in an Hour” screenings of “Cinderella,” “The Magic Flute,” “The Barber of Seville,” and “The Elixir of Love.” The event will run from 9:30 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. local time.
The San Francisco Opera is currently presenting productions of “Eugene Onegin” and “Dialogues of the Carmelites.” That will be followed by productions of “La Traviata” and “Orpheus and Eurydice” in November
By Francisco Salazar
(Credit: Matthew Placek)
The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and Odyssey Opera are set to present the East Coast premiere of John Corigliano and Mark Adamo’s new opera “The Lord of Cries.”
Considered to be one of the major operatic events of the new decade, “Cries” tells the story of the dangers that result from the repression of our darkest desires, told through a plot that combines elements of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and Euripides’s “The Bacchae.”
The BMOP orchestra will perform alongside Anthony Roth Costanzo (Dionysus), and several rising vocalists under conductor Gil Rose. A world premiere recording will follow on Pentatone.
In a statement, John Corigliano explained, “I felt that Dracula needed to have an androgynous, unearthly sound, and of course to me that was the countertenor.”
Meanwhile, Costanzo noted, “The character of Dracula is a very complex one. In many ways, he is vulnerable and human, and in other ways he is incredibly violent and full of rage. What you can’t take for granted is that fearsome quality.”
The opera is set to be performed on Nov. 19 at Boston’s Jordan Hall with a cast that also includes Kathryn Henry, David Portillo, Jarrett Ott, Matt Boehler, Will Ferguson, Leah Brzyski, Rachel Blaustein, Felicia Gavilanes, and Matthew DiBattista.
