By Francisco Salazar
The Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano has announced its 2022-23 Season.
Here is a look at the vocal highlights of the season.
Ian Bostridge and Michele Mariotti team up for a Mahler program.
Performance Dates: Oct. 14 & 16, 2022
Giovanni Veneri conducts the 15oth anniversary concert of the corpo nazionale degli alpini.
Performance Date: Oct. 15, 2022
Verdi’s Requiem will be conducted by Claus Peter Flor and will star Carmela Remigio, Anna Bonitatibus, Carlo Allemanno, and Fabrizio Beggi star.
Performance Dates: Oct. 27-30, 2022
Ruben Jais conducts Händel’s “Messiah.”
Performance Date: Dec. 1, 2022
Thomas Guggeis conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
Performance Dates: Dec. 29, 2022-Jan. 1, 2023
Ruben Jais conducts Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.
Performance Date: Jan. 6, 2023
Benjamin Appl and Claus Peter Flor perform a program of music by Mahler and Mozart.
Performance Dates: Jan 26-29, 2023
Alex Potter and Jaume Santonja perform Shakespeare in Music featuring pieces by Strauss, Colasanti, and Prokofiev.
Performance Dates: Feb. 24 & 26, 2023
Robert Trevino conducts Britten’s War Requiem.
Performance Dates: March 10 & 12, 2023
Ruben Jais conducts Bach’s “Saint Matthew Passion.”
Performance Dates: April 4 & 7, 2023
Andrea Barizza conducts Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with Coro i Giovani.
Performance Date: May 13, 2023
By Afton Wooten
Mezzo-soprano Shannon Keegan was announced the winner of the 2022 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition.
Keegan offered “Wie du warst” from Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier,” “Séguidilla” from Bizet’s “Carmen,” and “Cara speme” from “Giulio Cesare” by Händel.
The preliminary judges included Kirsten Chambers, Ben Leaptrott, Jr., and Oliver Worthington. Maestro Gregory Buchalter, Francesca Condeluci, and Dr. Carleen Graham were the finalist judges.
Of the first $15,000 first prize award, Keegan stated, “The grant will enable me to commission a song cycle with an up-and-coming composer, a project I have long been passionate about pursuing. New music is the life blood of our art form, and I am excited to start work on this collaboration.”
Taking home the second place prize of $10,00 was soprano Nicole Haslett. Coming in third with an award of $7,000 was soprano Maureen Barbec. Lisa Marie Rolgali received the $3,000 Munday Encouragement Grant.
By David Salazar
The Celebrity Series of Boston has announced the appointment of Artistic Director Nicole Taney.
She will commence her new role during the 2023-24 season.
Taney, who is currently the Director of Artistic Planning and Operations at the Spoleto Festival USA, will oversee artistic strategy and programming with the Celebrity Series.
“To join an organization such as Celebrity Series, with its internationally recognized reputation, is a privilege. Having watched the Series’ work from afar, I am delighted for the opportunity to contribute my curatorial perspective and administrative experience to the team. Returning to Boston and engaging with an organization committed to diverse programming and meaningful community connections makes this decision one filled with incredible excitement and anticipation,” Taney said in an official press statement issued by Celebrity Series of Boston.
In addition to her work for Spoleto Festival USA, Taney has also collaborated with such organizations as Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, New York City Ballet, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Carnegie Hall, and Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
By David Salazar
Jérôme Brunetière has been named the new director of the Opéra de Toulon.
Brunetière, who has been the secretary general of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence since 2007, will commence his duties starting on September 1, 2022 and step in for Claude-Henri Bonne, who headed the institution for 20 years.
Per Olyrix, the decision was announced by the Conseil d’Administration de l’Opéra Toulon Provence Méditerranée in a unanimous vote on May 19, 2022.
Brunetière did his musical studies in Denmark and Switzerland and has collaborated with such organizations as the Grand Théâtre de Genève and the Opéra de Lausanne before becoming director of commerce and marketing at the Opéra National de Paris. Between 2015 and 2017, he advised David Devan of Opera Philadelphia on the creation of the O Festival.
During his tenure, Brunetière will be tasked with managing the performances at different venues as the company’s main house undergoes renovations for three years.
By Francisco Salazar
The NYC-based Clarion Orchestra and Choir has a one-of-a-kind marathon event throughout the Met Cloisters galleries on June 8 and 9.
The event, which was originally set for June 8, was expanded due to audience demand.
On June 8 from 3-8 p.m., the choir will perform in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the death of Josquin des Prez. Recorder, brass, viol, and vocal consorts from Clarion will tell his story with early works representing his time as a chorister in Aix-en-Provence. There will also be Italian madrigals and frotolli from his time at Milan Cathedral and from Rome, grand works from Ferrara, and late works from the final period at the Fuentidueña Chapel.
On June 9, the Clarion Choir & Orchestra will perform at the Fuentidueña Chapel at the Met Cloisters. The performance will feature highlights of the previous day’s marathon, including the masterful large scale mass “L’homme armé sexti toni”, motets, and works for brass.
By David Salazar
Baton Rouge-based Opéra Louisiane has announced that Kathryn Frady will be its new General Director.
Frady will commence her tenure part-time in June 2022 and will take over full-time in August 2022.
Frady started her work as an arts administrator in 2013 when she founded Marble City Opera, where she has been Executive Artistic Director for 10 years.
Additionally, Frady has worked as a director with such companies as New Orleans Opera, Opera Carolina, Wichita Grand Opera, Knoxville Opera, Cleveland Opera Theater, Ft. Worth Opera, and North Carolina Opera.
“I’m looking forward to continuing Opéra Louisiane’s long history of financial stability and musical excellence through culturally enriching performances and programming,” said Frady in an official press statement issued by Opéra Louisiane.
“OLI is very excited to have Kathryn join our Company as our new General Director to help guide us in our continued pursuit of bringing the wonderful world of opera to the residents of the Greater Baton Rouge area,” added David Kelly, who will be the company’s incoming Board Chair.
By Francisco Salazar
The Festival Vicenza in Lirica has announced its 2022 season, which will be themed “la Musica unisce.”
The season opens with “Ballo delle ingrate – Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda” with Gennaro Di Filippo, Antonia Salzano, Isabella De Massis, Marta Pacifci, Roberto Manuel Zagari, Jesus Hernandez, and Marta Pacifci.
Performance Date: June 17, 2022
The Concerto lirico Benefco will include the Coro e Orchestra di Vicenza, conductor Giuliano Fracasso, and Piero Guarnera.
Performance Date: June 18, 2022
Valentina Di Blasio will perform alongside the Ensemble da camera I Carissimi in a concert of music by Leo, Handel, Scarlatti, Rossi, and Vivaldi.
Performance Date: June 21, 2022
The Concerto finale della masterclass will include Renata Lamanda.
Performance Date: August 31 2022
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Mass in C Minor will include Nina Solodovnikova, Paola Leoci, Giuseppe Di Giacinto, and Giacomo Nanni. The Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto will be conducted by Luca Guglielmi.
Performance Dates: Sept. 2 & 3, 2022
“Actus tragicus: la Cantata Barocca” will be presented in collaboration with the Conservatorio “G. Verdi” di Milano. The concert will include music by Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach. The Ensemble vocale e strumentale dell’Istituto di Musica Antica del Conservatorio di Milano will be conducted by Stefano Bagliano
Performance Date: Sept. 4, 2022
The festival will present the book “Casa Ricordi. Una storia italiana” by Francesco Lodola.
Performance Date: Sept. 6, 2022
Matteo Mencarelli, Michele Gianquinto, Elvira Ketevan Sikharulidze,and Marcos Madrigal star in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” Mosè Edmondo Savio conducts with Marina Bianchi directing.
Performance Dates: Sept. 8-10, 2022
The teatro will showcase the presentation of Federico Longhi’s new album “VIE Voyage Vocal de la France à l’Italie.”
Presentation Date: Sept. 10, 2022
The season ends with the “Stabat Mater” by Luigi Boccherini with Soprano Silvia Frigato and Ensemble L’Arte dell’Arco.
Performance Date: Oct. 22, 2022
By Francisco Salazar
Spain’s Euskadiko Orkestra has announced its 2022-23 season.
Here is a look at the vocal highlights of the season.
M. Mussorgsky, G. Carpenter, Dvorak, and Tchaikovsky make up the program conducted by Roberto Fores and featuring Easo Gazete Easo Eskolania
Performance Dates: Oct. 28-Nov.4, 2022
Pablo Gonzalez conducts Orff’s Carmina Burana” with Jone Martinez, Carlos Mena, Javier Franco, and the Donostaiko Orfeoia and Orfeon Donostiarra. Richard Strauss’ Don Juan will also be performed on the program.
Performance Dates: Nov. 21-25, 2022
The season will also include performances by Roberto Trevino, Alena Baeva, Alexandre Tharaud, Roderick Cox, and Alexei Volodin.
By David Salazar
(Photo: Pix Talarico)
The Philadelphia Orchestra is set to present the Gala Organ Concert at St. Bartholomew’s Conservancy on May 24, 2022.
The showcase, which will honor Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and the Mutual of America Financial Group, will feature the orchestra under the music direction of David Robertson.
Audiences will get a chance to hear organist Paolo Bordignon performing St. Bartholomew’s Pipe Organ as well as countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. The concert will feature music by Gabrieli, Jongen, Duruflé, Bach, Saint-Saëns, Elgar, Fauré, Gigout, and Beach.
Costanzo is currently performing in a revival of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of “Akhnaten,” which opened on May 19, 2022. He is also the recipient of several major awards from cultural institutions around the world.
By Logan Martell
Athlone Artists has announced that mezzo-soprano Stephanie Sanchez has joined their roster of talent.
An alumnus of New Mexico State, Sanchez recently debuted with Austin Opera in a solo recital of works by Mexican and Latin composers, and sang the role of Ines in Francesca Zambello’s production of “Il Trovatore” at the 2021 Glimmerglass Festival. NMS’ choral director, Dr. Jerry Ann Alt, was the one who introduced Sanchez to the university’s newly-appointed opera studies director, tenor Andrew Zimmerman. Through Zimmerman, Sanchez was introduced to opera, being inspired by a production of “L’Elisir d’Amore,” and began attending young artist programs after receiving her master’s degree in music.
“Recently I started to venture into the bigger rep under the guidance of my current teacher, Braeden Harris,” Sanchez said in a statement issued by Athlone Artists. “When I got to sing Azucena a year ago that was my ‘aha!’ moment. It was the first time I got to dip my toe into that repertoire, and it was thrilling! While it may be a few more years before I sing my first Eboli, I’ll gladly take a Carmen, Charlotte, or ANY Valkyrie while I wait.”
Upcoming engagements for Sanchez include the role of Third Lady in “Die Zauberflöte,” with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and as the Mother in Mark-Anthony Turnage and Rory Mullarkey’s “Coraline” with West Edge Opera in August.
