It was backstage at the Washington National Opera Gala after a star-studded evening. The stars standing outside their dressing rooms receiving backstage guests as they started to accumulate at the bottom of the stairs in their evening wear. That’s where we caught WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, who had, as she is known to do, watched the entire show from {…}
The Prague Summer Nights is underway and OperaWire will be providing extensive coverage of the showcase. Produced by Classical Movements, the festival seeks to promote young artists with John Nardilillo as its artistic director and conductor. Nardolillo has appeared with numerous orchestras including the Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, Atlanta, Dallas, National, Utah, Columbus, Oregon, Fort Worth, Alabama, North Carolina, Toledo, Vermont {…}
Carnegie Hall. One of the great artistic temples in the world. A place so rich in musical history and tradition that only the greatest artists get a chance to showcase their talents on that stage. “Carnegie is one of the halls I love performing in,” soprano Harolyn Blackwell told OperaWire. “It is just standing on that stage and you think {…}
It’s a big year at Caramoor for Will Crutchfield. For the last 20 years, Crutchfield has been a leader in reviving a number of Bel Canto works at the festival through his program “Bel Canto at Caramoor.” It is a program that has showcased some rarities and has shown the conductor’s expertise in the repertoire. However, this year Crutchfield is {…}
Eerie strings. Witches and a young protagonist constantly facing exclusion and a deep sense of fear. Throughout its two-plus hours, “Vireo: The Spiritual Biography of a Witch’s Accuser” plays on themes of oppression, fear, and marginalization with a score will haunt you long after. But audiences for this new opera by Lisa Bielawa won’t encounter these eternal themes in the traditional {…}
Heartbeat Opera wants to be a gateway drug. At least that is how Co-Artistic Director Louisa Proske views many of the initiatives that her opera company has undertaken since its inception just a few years ago. Not only does the company offer unique adaptations of some of the great operatic masterpieces this spring, but it offers other “hybrid events” in the fall, {…}
Does experimentation work? That is a question most artists ask in a time when the art world is insecure and ticket buyers are disappearing. However, for smaller opera companies, that seems to be their means of thriving, and this week Amore Opera will take a stab at experimenting with an unknown work, Donizetti’s rarely performed “La Zingara.” “We want to {…}
Neeta Helms is the founder and owner of Classical Movements, a premiere concert tour company for the world’s great orchestras and choirs, creating meaningful cultural experiences through music in 145 countries. During her 25 years with Classical Movements, Helms has worked with some of the most prestigious orchestras and concert artists in the world. She has traveled to 80 countries {…}
A few weeks ago, I sat in a small theater at the National Opera Center for a preview of some of the works being offered at this year’s New York Opera Fest. While there were both traditional and unique experiences showcased that evening, I was particularly drawn to a powerful moment during which three different people came onstage to perform {…}
Madame Tussaud’s. The Cotton Club. The Bronx Zoo. The West Side Community Gardens. The Museum of Natural History. What do all of these have in common? On Site Opera. The organization, which is the brainchild of Eric Einhorn and Jessica Kiger, has either performed at all of these venues, among others or is slated to showcase an opera in the {…}
Would you go to the opera if you knew it was being performed at a bar? That was the central questioning floating around in the mind of Anne Hiatt in 2005 as she hung out at Freddy’s Bar and Backroom, a locale in Brooklyn one night. She was watching a voice student perform and from talking with the bartender, she {…}