By Afton Wooten
On August 21, 2022, Opera Orlando continues its summer concert series with “A Star Turn: Broadway to Opera” featuring soprano Kyaunnee Richardson.
Richardson and pianist Chevalier Lovett will present several arias and show tunes at the University Club of Winter Park in Winter Park, Florida.
In 2016 Richardson made her professional debut with Festival of the Arts Boca in the role of Papagena in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” Earlier this year she headlined Opera Orlando’s broadcast of Stella Sung and Marc Campbell’s “The Secret River.” Also with Opera Orlando Richardson has performed leading roles such as Adele in “Die Fledermaus,” Gretel in “Hansel and Gretel,” and Frasquita in “Carmen.”
Opera Orlando will present one more concert this summer featuring soprano Susan Hellman Spatafora.
By Francisco Salazar
The Teatro Principal in Las Palmas, Spain has announced its 2022-23 Season.
The season will open with Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” in a production by Yves Lenoir. Federico Sardelli conducts soloists Irene Mas, Anna Bonitatibus, Joan Martín-Royo, and Albert Miguélez Rouco.
Performance Dates: Oct. 21 & 23, 2022
Tomeu Bibiloni, Manuel Fuentes, and Jorge Tello star in Puccini’s “La Boheme“ with Andrea Cigni directing and Matteo Beltrami conducting.
Performance Dates: Feb. 20-24, 2023
Lucía Marín conducts a production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” with Joan Miquel Muñoz, Begoña Gómez, Joan Laínez, and Gabriel Mas. Principal performers are set to be announced at a later date.
Performance Dates: June 17-21, 2023
By Francisco Salazar
Arizona Opera has announced Dr. Phil Woodmore as the Veterans Chorus Master and Outreach Specialist for “The Falling and The Rising.”
Woodmore is a composer, music educator, and vocal coach, who has written several works including “Antigone in Ferguson,” “The Drum Major Instinct,” and music for one of Frederick Douglass’ speeches.
He recently served as artistic director of “Requiem of Light,” an event in St. Louis where he contributed several original compositions as well.
“The Falling and The Rising” is set to open the season and was conceived by Sergeant First Class Benjamin Hilgert. The work was originally commissioned by the US Army Field Band and Soldiers Chorus, Opera Memphis, Seattle Opera, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, and TCU.
The work opens on Oct. 14 in Phoenix and will run through Oct. 23 where it will also be performed in Tucson.
By Francisco Salazar
The Young Artists Singing Competition of Opera Festival Scotland will take place on Sept. 25, 2022.
The finalists for this year’s competition are Ted Black, Julieth Lozano, Suzie Gibbons, and Jacobo Ochoa and will perform in front of a high-profile panel of judges.
Among the panelists include international soprano and Chair of Voice at the Royal College of Music Janis Kelly, Head of Casting for English National Opera Michelle Williams, Head of Casting for Scottish Opera Sarah-Jane Davies, Scottish soprano and educator Linda Ormiston, and General Director for Opera for Peace Julia Lagahuzere.
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conducted by John Frederick Hudson will accompany the four finalists who will sing some of the most challenging music in the opera world.
By Francisco Salazar
The Pittsburgh Opera has announced its 2022-23 Resident Artists.
This season the artists are Brandon Bell, Darius Gillard, Julia Swan Laird, Evan Lazdowski, Daniel O’Hearn, Jazmine Olwalia, Emily Richter, and Haley Stamats.
The Resident Artist Program is one of the country’s leading training programs for young singers.
The program received more than 500 applicants from around the world and is a program that furthers the careers of artists under the guidance of the opera world’s leaders and innovators, including master classes with opera legends. Artists study languages, diction, movement, and acting, while developing their vocal skills, expanding their repertoire, and performing on stage in Pittsburgh Opera productions.
Notable alumni include Marianne Cornetti, Audrey Luna, Eric Ferring, Sean Panikkar, Kevin Glavin, Craig Verm, Alexandra Loutsion, and Rolando Villazón.
By Francisco Salazar
Spain’s Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias has announced its 2022-23 season.
The season will include collaborations with such artists as violinist Roman Simović, the Quiroga Quartet, Fleur Barron, pianist Javier Perianes, violist Sara Ferrández, Pablo Ferrandez, and composer Francisco Coll.
Nuno Coelho conducts Verdi’s Requiem with soloists Adriana González, Silvia Tró, and Matthew Rose.
Performance Dates: March 30 & 31, 2023
Carlos Mena and José Antonio López team up for a concert of music by G. P. Telemann, J. Ibert, M. Ravel, and H. Purcell.
Performance Dates: April 20 & 21, 2023
Luis Toro Araya conducts an operatic program with music by Wagner, Dukas, Verdi, and Gounod.
Performance Date: Nov. 4, 2023
By Francisco Salazar
The Anchorage Opera in Alaska has announced its 2022-23 season. The season will celebrate its 60th anniversary and will see three productions.
Kate Bass, Curt Olds, Andy Papas, Christabel Sosa, Cady Lynn O’Brien, Charlie Tingen, Jenni Bank, Kyle Gantz, Kathryn Strock, and Phil Cheasebro star in “The Pirates of Penzance.” Brian DeMaris conducts the production by Allison Grant.
Performance Dates: Oct. 21-23, 2022
Kira Neta Apaachuaq Eckenweiler, Kate Bass, Marion Newman, Zaide Manzano, Luke Honeck, Evan Korbut, and Camille Sherman star in Marie Clements and Brian Current’s “Missing.” Timothy Long conducts and Rhiana Yazzie directs.
Performance Dates: March 10-12, 2023
The season closes with Bizet’s “Carmen” starring Benjamin Werley as Don José and Catalina Cuervo as Micaëla. Brian DeMaris conducts with Laura Alley directing.
Performance Dates: May 5-7, 2023
By Francisco Salazar
Spain’s Ex-minister of Culture José Guirao has died at the age of 63.
Guirao died on July 11 from cancer.
Born on June 9, 1959 in Pulpi, Spain, he became Minister of Culture in 2018 and stayed in the position until 2020 when he was substituted by José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes.
Before he took on the position of Minister of Culture, Guirao was the director of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and was also the director of La Casa Encendida. He was also the director of the Montemadrid Foundation.
After 2020, he was re-appointed Chief Manager of Fundación Montemadrid and in that position, worked on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and worked on the renovation of the Palacio de la Música de Madrid. He would step down as director of the foundation at the end of 2021.
In 2021, he published the book that he coordinated together with the academic Magdalena Cantero entitled “Aún hay tiempo” and the minister of Culture Miquel Iceta appointed Guirao commissioner for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso, as president of the National Commission created to organize the events of that ephemeris.
By Francisco Salazar
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis has announced three creative teams for the inaugural year of the New Works Collective.
The new initiative pioneers a ground-breaking commissioning model that inverts the traditional power dynamics of the classical art world by allowing a panel of community leaders, rather than the organization itself, to choose where to award financial compensation for the creation of new operas.
The company noted that five artists and one stage director have been identified to create, workshop, and premiere three new chamber operas in March 2023.
The three teams are made up of composer Del’Shawn Taylor and librettist Samiya Bashir, co-composers and librettists Simon Tam and Joe X. Jiang, and composer/librettist Tre’von Griffith. All three teams will begin working closely with OTSL and stage director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj in the coming months to develop and workshop their operas, which will then be performed for a public audience on March 16–18, 2023.
In a statement Andrew Jorgensen, General Director, said, “We’re excited to better serve the voices of our artists and our community through this new initiative. I am grateful to each of these artists for seeking out this opportunity and to the ten members of our New Works Collective who spent hundreds of hours poring over more than ninety applications to select this inaugural cohort.”
One of the 2023 New Works Collective premieres will feature music by composer Del’Shawn Taylor and a libretto by poet Samiya Bashir and will mark their first artistic collaboration.
The other original work in the 2023 New Works Collective will be co-created by Simon Tam and Joe X. Jiang and the third work will be by Tre’von Griffith who is an advocate for the Black LGBTQIA+ community and an active member of the region’s vibrant art scene.
By David Salazar
Opera Festival Scotland has announced its 2022 slate.
The season will open with an Opera Highlights concert presented by the Scottish Opera.
Performance Date: Sept. 22, 2022
Next up will be a seminar entitled “Opera in Scotland before 1962,” which will feature Iain Fraser, Peter Fraser, and Stephen Fraser.
Performance Date: Sept. 23, 2022
Julia Lagahuzere of Opera for Peace will host a discussion on young artist development.
Performance Date: Sept. 23, 2022
There will be a concert performance of “Aida” starring Susan McNaught, Shaun Dixon, and Simone Ibbett-Brown.
Performance Date: Sept. 23, 2022
There will be a “Non-Professional 30+ Singing Competition” which aims to provide singers who did not study music at an earlier stage in their career and have been unable to pursue a musical career. Participants include Simon Willshire, Rosamund Sutherland, Joanne Whalley and Holly Slater.
Performance Date: Sept. 24, 2022
Opera Bohemia will put on “Le Nozze di Figaro” starring Catriona Clark, Andrew McTaggart, Charlie Drummond, and Arthur Bruce, among others.
Performance Date: Sept. 24, 2022
There will be a Master Class with soprano Janis Kelly.
Performance Date: Sept. 25, 2022
The festival draws to a close with the Young Artists Singing Competition. Finalists include Ted Black, Julieth Lozano, Suzie Gibbons, and Jacobo Ochoa, with judges featuring Janis Kelly, Michelle Williams, Sarah-Jane Davies, Julia Lagahuzere, and Linda Ormiston. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra will be conducted by John Frederick Hudson.
Performance Date: Sept. 25, 2022
