Fresh from her appearances in Lehár’s The Merry Widow at the Opéra National de Paris and Berlioz’s La mort de Cléopâtre with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, as well as a successful run of Australian recitals in Melbourne and Sydney, Susan Graham continues an action-packed 2012. After a European recital tour in June, “America’s favorite mezzo” returns to the United States for three important summer engagements: she opens Napa Valley’s Festival del Sole with a gala concert on July 13; she appears as Marguerite in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust on July 28 at Tanglewood; and she hosts “Susan Graham and Friends” at the Santa Fe Opera (August 4). Graham, who has received word that she is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award presented by San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, is gearing up for her return to the Met in December and for a recital tour with Renée Fleming that stops at Carnegie Hall in January.

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(via The Telegraph) – German baritone singer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, hailed as one of the greatest lyrical vocalists of the last century, has died at the age of 86, a close associate has announced..

AND ACCLAIMED LIBRETTIST GENE SCHEER TEAM

FOR THE FIRST TIME TO CREATE A MOVING ONE-ACT,

TDO WORLD PREMIERE—BASED ON A TRUE STORY!

~~~~

EVEREST

TAKING DALLAS BY STORM IN FEBRUARY 2015

~~~~

New Commission Announced This Evening at the Dallas Opera’s Latest “Composing Conversation,” Focused on the Work of Joby Talbot

DALLAS, MAY 15, 2012 – The Dallas Opera is tremendously proud to announce the commissioning of a new original one-act opera by renowned British composer Joby Talbot (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and the critically acclaimed American librettist Gene Scheer (Moby-Dick, Cold Mountain) in their first joint project.

EVEREST is expected to command center stage in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in February of 2015 (cast and specific dates to be announced at a later time).

This new commission, the first since the company announced that composer Jake Heggie and librettist Terrence McNally are at work on Great Scott, a rapid-fire new comedy slated to open the Dallas Opera’s 2015-2016 Season, will become the fifth world premiere work commissioned by the Dallas Opera for the new millenium: Thérèse Raquin, Moby-Dick, A Question of Light (song cycle in partnership with the Dallas Museum of Art) Great Scott, and now, Everest.

Based on a harrowing 1996 expedition (the subject of two films and at least five books thus far) to summit the world’s tallest mountain peak.  Everest will blend documented facts and contemporary recollections of the transformative journey experienced by Everest survivors, with flights of the imagination designed to keep audience members transfixed in this harshly beautiful place at the top of the world.

This project will mark composer Joby Talbot’s first foray into opera, after establishing himself as a significant composer of original works for the recording studio, stage and screen.  Among his best-known composition are the rapturously received ballet Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2011) commissioned by the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden and the National Ballet of Canada, and original film and British television scores including The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, based on the iconic science fiction of the late Douglas Adams, who also contributed the screenplay for the 2005 release.

“We thought it was vitally important to the success of this project to encourage Mr. Talbot to find a librettist with vast operatic experience and a collegial temperament,” explains Dallas Opera Artistic Director Jonathan Pell, who announced the new commission earlier this evening.  “Gene Scheer, who has worked with us on several important commissions in recent years, immediately sprang to mind.  We arranged for them to meet in Toronto and then again in New York,” Pell added, “and the composer and librettist evidently hit it off at once.”

“I’ve been intrigued by the idea of Joby Talbot composing for the opera stage since experiencing his brilliant work on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” says Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny.  “I was fortunate enough to attend the premiere, which made a strong impression on me.  It was clear that Joby’s score supported the ballet magnificently as it progressed through a wide range of scenes, characters, and stage effects.  I found myself taking a serious interest in his body of work and quickly realized that this was a composer ‘without borders’; who had proven successes in film, ballet, choral writing, chamber music, orchestral writing, and many other genres—so, why not opera?

“And it goes without saying,” Mr. Cerny added, “that I’ve been in awe of Gene Scheer’s tremendous abilities as both a lyricist and librettist—whether capturing the essence of an American classic like Melville’s Moby-Dick for a 21^st century audience, or creating the beautiful poetic language that flowed throughout our world premiere song cycle, A Question of Light—from the moment I arrived here in Dallas.

“We wouldn’t be enlisting Gene’s services for the fourth time if he didn’t have something very special to bring to the table.”

Composer Joby Talbot and Librettist Gene Scheer were on-hand for the announcement this evening in Nancy B. Hamon Hall.  Work on the project will commence later this summer.  Mr. Scheer is currently crafting the libretto for the 2015 Santa Fe Opera world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s opera, Cold Mountain, based on the best-selling 1997 Civil War novel by Charles Frazier, which won the National Book Award for Fiction and became an Academy Award winning film.

“I am thrilled to be working with Joby Talbot on this exciting new project for the Dallas opera,” says librettist Gene Scheer.  “About a year ago, Jonathan Pell, the artistic director of the Dallas Opera, arranged for me to see Joby’s stunning ballet based on ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in Toronto.  In addition to being so impressed with the brilliance of the score, Joby and I got to spend quite a bit of time together.  With each conversation it became more and more clear that Joby is someone who, in addition to his great musical gifts, has keen theatrical instincts and that an opportunity to collaborate with him would be a privilege indeed.

“As we discussed a number of subjects, the idea of doing a piece about the people who experienced the tragedy on Mount Everest in 1996 sparked both of our imaginations. The story, which captured the world’s attention when it happened, offers a wonderful chance for music to explore aspects of the human spirit.  There is clearly one common theme that emerges from the stories of those who endured that storm over Everest.  They all felt that their lives were profoundly changed by the tragedy and by the acts of heartbreaking heroism and love that they all experienced on the top of the world.”

Adds Mr. Scheer: “I look forward to working with Joby to find ways to illuminate those transformations and to bring this thrilling story to the Dallas opera.”

A similar sentiment was echoed by the composer, Joby Talbot, who writes: “I am enormously excited at the prospect of working with Gene Scheer and the Dallas Opera on Everest.  I have been keen to write an opera for some years now.  Many of my recent projects have been narrative pieces and I’ve found that I very much enjoy the challenge of communicating a story through music.  In its breadth of scale and emotional drama, Everest seems to have all the ingredients for a wonderful collaboration.”

~~~~

Full season subscriptions are now on sale (three performances) for the 2012-2013 “Pursuits of Passion” Season range from $75 to $1,020 through the Dallas Opera Ticket Services Office at 214.443.1000 or online at www.dallasopera.org.  Single tickets will become available September 10^th.  Student Rush best-available tickets are available for $25 (one per valid Student I.D.) at the Winspear box office, ninety minutes prior to each performance.  Inner Circle seating may be higher.

Alan Pierson, Artistic Director

ends its 2011-12 relaunch season with the orchestral culmination

of the Brooklyn Phil’s 3-part Bed-Stuy Series:

YASIIN BEY (MOS DEF), LENA HORNE, AND THE BED-STUY TRADITION

Saturday, June 9, 8:00PM

Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton Street

Free

Featuring:

Alan Pierson, conductor & artistic director

Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), hip-hop artist

Leslie Uggams, voice

Linda Twine, conductor

Christopher Rountree, assistant conductor

Student string players from the Noel Pointer Foundation, under the direction of Jesse Henkensiefken

Nate Smith, drummer

Carlos Homs, keyboard

Darryl Small, a.k.a. DJ Eddie Marz, DJ

Andrew Norman, composer & orchestrator

Derek Bermel, composer & orchestrator

Program:

Beethoven: Symphony no. 3, Finale; Remix by DJ Eddie Marz, Arr. Andrew Norman

Lena Horne tribute
Linda Twine and Leslie Uggams, arr. Gordon Goodwin:

Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane: Love

Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein: Can’t Help Lovin Than Man

Fats Waller and Andy Razaf: Honeysuckle Rose

Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler: Stormy Weather

Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def), Arr. Derek Bermel

Yasiin Bey: Life in Marvelous Times

Yasiin Bey: Revelations

Tony Williams: Something Spiritual

Yasiin Bey: Climb

Derek Bermel: Migration Series, “Landscapes”

Beethoven: Symphony no. 7, 2nd mvmt. (Allegretto)

Yasiin Bey: Casa Bey

A profound and authentic lover of language, renowned Bed-Stuy native Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) is one of the most influential hip-hop stars of all time. He joins Artistic Director Alan Pierson and the Brooklyn Philharmonic in bringing together the energy and charged lyrics of American hip-hop, the classic ballads of legendary Bed-Stuy singer and activist Lena Horne, and the revolutionary music of Beethoven, remixed anew by Beethoven Remix Project winner, DJ Eddie Marz.

Grammy-nominated composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel has arranged Yasiin Bey’s original songs, including his 2008 single “Life In Marvelous Times.” Bey returns to the stage as 2011-12 Artist in Residence with the Brooklyn Phil, following this season’s preview concert in October, which New York Times writer Zachary Woolfe noted took place “in front of the most diverse crowd I’ve ever seen at a ‘classical music’ concert.” Watch the videos here and here.

Conductor Linda Twine and vocalist Leslie Uggams honor the influential Lena Horne, who passed away in 2010, presenting songs by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, Fats Waller, and Harold Arlen.

The concert will also feature the winning remix from the Brooklyn Philharmonic’s community-based Beethoven Remix Project. DJ Eddie Marz’s selection was chosen from five finalists who were asked to remix the finale of Beethoven’s Third Symphony (the Eroica), following an open application process with Brooklyn-based artists. Marz’s remix has been adapted by acclaimed contemporary composer (and 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist) Andrew Norman. WNET’s MetroFocus posted this report on the Remix Project.

The 16-year-old opera listed assets of just $1,500 in office equipment and furniture and debts of $893,677, mainly to season-ticket holders, musicians and numerous San Antonio businesses.

Among the creditors in the filing is famed tenor Plácido Domingo, who is listed as being owed $50,500. Domingo performed with the San Antonio Opera Orchestra last June at the AT&T Center.

San Antonio Opera founder Mark Richter, who left the organization in November, said Wednesday he had no comment on its demise and bankruptcy. But he did comment on some of the listed debts.

“The great, great majority of (Domingo’s) fee was paid,” Richter said without disclosing the overall fee. The $50,500 debt “was just a fraction of it.”

Richter himself is listed as a creditor for his $23,000 severance pay. “I wish I had it,” he said with a short laugh.

Another creditor, Mexican orchestra conductor Enrique Patrón de Rueda, is listed as being owed $16,325. “That was for contracts for events that never happened,” Richter said. “It’s not like Enrique conducted and wasn’t paid. That didn’t happen. … A lot of (the debts) are like this.”

The vast majority of the creditors are season-ticket holders, with debts in the hundreds and thousands of dollars. One listing: “(Ex-) Mayor and Mrs. Phil Hardberger,” for $1,000 in tickets. Another: “Congressman Charlie Gonzalez,” for $507.

“This obviously is an upside-down entity,” said bankruptcy lawyer Raymond Battaglia, who is not connected with the opera’s filing. “If the asset values hold up, the likelihood is that creditors will not be paid anything.

“These are tough cases,” he added, referring to nonprofit arts groups that fail. “There are not a lot of assets, and passionate people are involved,” said Battaglia of Strasburger Price Oppenheimer Blend.

The opera staged its last production Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, with Gounod’s “Romeo & Juliet.” Several months later, the organization canceled its remaining two events for the current season, Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” which was scheduled for February, and Rossini’s “Barber of Seville” for June 29 through July 1.

San Antonio Opera Orchestra musicians are named individually, with “unknown” given for their debts. The American Federation of Musicians Local 23 last month filed a federal lawsuit over an unpaid amount in a settlement after a canceled opera performance in January 2010.

The bankruptcy filing shows that the American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund is owed $54,092.

Other creditors and their debts include:

• Grand Hyatt San Antonio hotel, $27,425

• Creative Civilization, $18,584

• Outside the Box Productions, $11,500

• City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs, $11,000 grant

• World Audio & Lights LLC, $10,987

• San Antonio Express-News, $5,399

“This is heartbreaking news,” said J. Bruce Bugg, president and chairman of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation. The foundation plans to open the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, now under construction downtown, in September 2014.

But with another opera company, Opera Theater San Antonio, in a formative stage, opera might not be dead in San Antonio.

“I believe opera will be successful in San Antonio,” Bugg said. “There is tremendous demand for opera in the performing arts. We are continuing to build the Tobin Center, and we have time blocked for opera.”

Opera Theater San Antonio plans to make its stage debut May 23, 2013, with the San Antonio Symphony at the Majestic Theatre, said Mel Weingart, the organization’s chairman.

Opera Theater San Antonio plans to stage its first productions in January 2015 at the Tobin Center. Between 2013 and 2015, “we will have a series of various events to increase excitement for the company,” Weingart said.

“San Antonio Opera was a good regional opera. It was what San Antonio needed,” said season-ticket holder and donor Mary Jane Howe, listed as a creditor owed $374.

Howe said she now attends opera in Austin, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth. “Those are all good opera companies. I think all opera companies are struggling, but not as much as ours did,” she said.

Shouldn’t You Be Fatter? (And Other Opera Singer Myths)

If I’m in a good mood, I’m one of those people who chats with strangers. Shop clerks, waiters, baristas, shoe salesmen, you name it — if I’m feeling friendly, I’ll start a conversation with any of them about the weather or what I’m buying or my favorite foods. And if the conversation lasts longer than five seconds, the question, “and what to you do for a living?” inevitably gets asked of me. And nine times out of 10, the person I’m chatting with, when learning that I’m an opera singer replies with confusion, “Aren’t you too skinny/small/thin to be an opera singer? Shouldn’t you be fatter?”

The question troubles me for a couple of reasons. I don’t blame them for thinking it, mind you — when opera singers are parodied in cartoons or commercials, they are generally large and wearing horns, and Pavarotti, the most famous opera singer from the past century, was not exactly a size 0. What bothers me about the question is the implication, that because everybody assumes that opera singers are fat, and because it’s still okay to openly mock and disregard overweight people in our society, there is really no reason to even imagine what it means to actually be an opera singer. If somebody tells you they are a violinist, you can probably imagine what they do, sitting there in an orchestra playing away, even if you’ve never been to a symphony concert. You know what it means to be a painter even if you don’t “get” modern abstract art, and when you meet a ballet dancer, you can certainly picture them onstage with their bun and their toe shoes. You don’t say to a chef when you meet them, “shouldn’t you be fatter?” — even though they spend all day cooking and tasting food, and frankly, they have every reason to be fat (and there are plenty of examples of non-size-0 chefs such as Mario Batali and Ina Garten). But I think most Americans don’t really get a picture in their head when someone says they are an opera singer of what that means, exactly, so they equate the profession with the extremes they have seen parodied, or they’re just talking about one particular singer — the only one they’ve ever happened to see.

First of all, as a rule, opera singers are not fat. They come in all shapes and sizes, although lately, as the entertainment industry continues to whittle down the sizes of actors and models so much that drawing them as stick figures is actually quite representational, most famous opera singers are in fact quite thin and fit. Hot, even. Performing onstage can be a work out, and it helps if you’re in decent shape. But the fact that most people’s only association with opera singing is obesity suggests that we have a long way to go in educating people about what opera is, exactly, how it’s made, why it’s important, and why they should care.

Check out the rest of the article here.

Rossini’s Maometto II, a love story set against a backdrop of the Venetian colony of Negroponte, includes some show-stopping coloratura arias. See this YouTube interview for Pisaroni’s thoughts on the opera’s “very relevant” story for today, as it tells of an impossible love set amid struggles between the worlds of Christianity and Islam. He also talks about how “incredibly challenging vocally” the role of Maometto II is – and how his “jaw dropped to the floor” when he saw Samuel Ramey sing it at La Scala in 1994, which sparked Pisaroni’s desire to take up the part someday. Directed by David Alden, the Santa Fe Opera production of Maometto II (July 14-August 16) will see Pisaroni sing alongside Leah Crocetto (Anna) and Patricia Bardon (Calbo).

March was a great month for Pisaroni, beginning with his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Argante in a new production of Handel’s Rinaldo, reprising a role that he played to acclaim at the U.K.’s Glyndebourne Festival last summer. The Chicago Sun-Times confirmed that Pisaroni possessed all “the swagger, the deep sounds, the looks and the acting chops” to play the treacherous Argante, while the New York Times said that he made for “a virile-voiced, impetuous” Saracen king. The Chicago Tribune marveled over Pisaroni’s “strong, firm” bass-baritone voice, which “fairly shook the Ardis Krainik Theatre to its foundation.” Declaring Pisaroni “terrific,” the Huffington Post singled out a scene in which he and Elza van den Heever as Armida “sang a memorable duet rolling around on the floor in hot embrace while plotting their attack.” Chicago Classical Review concluded: “Luca Pisaroni as Argante was an inspired heavy, making a fiery and imposing entrance with “Sibillar gli angui d’Aletto.” The Italian bass-baritone has an ample yet elegant voice and impressive flexibility, able to get around the corners of virtuosic runs.”

Pisaroni also appeared alongside tenor Michael Schade in a recital as part of Lincoln Center’s “Art of the Song” series and for a similar program at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall. After describing Pisaroni as “an exciting young bass-baritone whose career is sharply in the ascendant,” The New York Times review singled out his four solo selections from Schubert’s Schwanengesang and three intense Liszt songs, lauding the performances for their “assurance, refinement and keen dramatic instincts.” The ConcertoNet review of the Toronto recital did the same, particularly taken with “the grandeur” of his way with the Liszt.

In March and April, Pisaroni joined his father-in-law, baritone great Thomas Hampson, for duo recitals. The first was in New York at a private performance benefiting Classical Action – their first U.S. appearance together. The two also teamed for a recital of Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and more at the Heidelberg Spring International Music Festival in Germany, the festival’s first concert to stream live on the Web.
Luca Pisaroni

Born in Venezuela and bred in Verdi’s hometown of Busseto, Italy, Luca Pisaroni established himself as one of his generation’s most captivating singers with his debut at the Salzburg Festival at age 26 with the Vienna Philharmonic under Nikolaus Harnoncourt. His 2010-11 season included being the Figaro of choice in productions of Le nozze di Figaro for three new music directors: Nicola Luisotti at San Francisco Opera, Philippe Jordan at Opéra de Paris and Franz Welser-Möst at the Vienna State Opera.

Gaining renown for his dramatic versatility, Pisaroni made his house and role debut last spring at Houston Grand Opera as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, this after more than 100 performances in Mozart’s opera as Figaro. About his performance as the Count, the Houston Chronicle said: “With his dashing looks and proud manner, Pisaroni exudes complete authority and magnetism. His potent bass-baritone unfurls with such grandeur and resoluteness that one can easily believe this is a fellow who has spent his entire life getting his way.”

Opera News got to the crux of the Italian singer’s talents, saying: “Pisaroni’s vocal personality is akin to the brewing of an inner storm that is then distilled into a well-articulated purity of emotion. The singer’s dramatic versatility cannot be overstated: his ability to execute written notes with consummate tone, translated directly into the essence of feeling.”

Luca Pisaroni: upcoming engagements

May 3, 6, 11, 13

Munich, Germany: Bavarian State Opera

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro (Figaro)

Dan Ettinger, conductor

Dieter Dorn, director

June 3, 6, 9, 13

Vienna, Austria: Vienna State Opera

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro (Figaro)

Louis Langrée, conductor

Jean-Louis Martinoty, director

June 19

Paris, France: Festival de Saint-Denis

Schubert: Mass in E flat

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France

Daniel Harding, conductor

July 14, 18, 27; August 2, 7, 16

Santa Fe, NM: Santa Fe Opera

Rossini: Maometto II (Maometto II) – world premiere of new critical edition

Frédéric Chaslin, conductor

David Alden, director

July 21

Santa Fe, NM: Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

J.S. Bach: Cantatas “Amore traditore” (BWV 203) and “Ich habe genug” (BWV 82)

Kathleen McIntosh, harpsichord

July 22, 23

Santa Fe, NM: Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

Schubert: Four songs from Schwanengesang: “Der Atlas,” “Aufenthalt,” “Ihr Bild,” “In der Ferne”

Jon Kimura Parker, piano

August 4

Santa Fe, NM: Santa Fe Opera

Gala Concert

With Susan Graham & Friends

August 23

Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh International Festival

Recital: songs and arias by Schubert, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Liszt

Justus Zeyen, piano

When Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello came together to sing Puccini’s ill-fated lovers in Cincinnati Opera’s La bohème, it was a match made in opera heaven. The Enquirer called Pérez’s Mimì “radiant” and Costello’s Rodolfo “wonderfully sung,” and praised the “warmth of tone and effortless high notes” of their duet; likewise, Music in Cincinnati reported: “The two singers made an attractive and emotionally appealing couple, with fresh young voices that soared… . The chemistry between Costello and Pérez was potent.” Now – in the first of three collaborations together this spring – the lyric soprano and tenor dubbed “America’s fastest-rising husband-and-wife opera stars” (Associated Press) reprise the same roles at Los Angeles Opera, where they headline the company’s signature production of Puccini’s masterpiece. Marking Costello’s house debut, the revival opens for six performances on May 12.

Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello: upcoming joint engagements

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Chicago, IL –

The opera received its world premiere in Berlin in 1922, but by the time it made its only other appearance, in New York in 1925, portions of the original score were already missing and the gaps filled in by music from other composers. After that performance the orchestrations disappeared for 80 years, until an original set of instrumental parts was discovered in 2005 at Yale University, where they had been stored in the wrong safe after being deposited there by Boritsch’s widow. This set was used to create the Kurt Weill critical edition that received its world premiere at Covent Garden in London last December.

Unlike the Covent Garden performance in London which featured dance, the new pantomime production for the Ravinia Festival of Weill’s Magical Night is being written and directed by Artistic Directors and Mime Masters, T. Daniel and Laurie Willets. This musical story will explore the imagination of children and adults and will be based upon the original concept of ‘toys coming alive’. In this way, T. Daniel Productions lends a visual element to the wonderful array of musical moods and rhythms in the score created by Weill. There will be a minimal set to allow the audience to see the pantomime and feel the aura of the live music.

http://flaniganis50again.eventbrite.com or at www.operaprojects.org. Proceeds go towards American Opera Projects’ Composers & the Voice program that commissions, develops, and presents contemporary opera.

Lauren Flanigan has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera. Her association with American Opera Projects (AOP) began in 2003 with the world premiere of Deborah Drattell’s Marina, directed by Anne Bogart (recent recipient of the Doris Duke Artists award). Using the “Viewpoints” acting tools popularized by Bogart, Ms. Flanigan created and led a training program for opera singers with AOP, focusing on character development and performance. In 2008, she created the role of Myra during AOP workshops of Séance on a Wet Afternoon by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Wicked). Séance premiered with Ms. Flanigan at Opera Santa Barbara in 2009 and had a ten performance run with New York City Opera in 2010. Ms. Flanigan inaugurated AOP’s partnership with Opera New Jersey in 2011 with a workshop of the opera-in-development The Family Room, written for her and soprano Catherine Malfitano by composer Thomas Pasatieri and librettist Daphne Malfitano.

Settepani’s menu will include selections chosen by Lauren and restaurant founder Leah Abraham, with a birthday cake baked on the premises featuring somewhere between one and fifty-four candles (with pending approval of Fire Marshal).