Need to escape reality? Enter into the magical world of composer David Hertzberg

Swans welcomes guests to The Wake World at The Barnes Foundation © Dominic Mercier

Over a few days in early March, concert halls, opera houses and theaters went dark around the world in an attempt to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Countless works of music, both new and old, could not be performed, among them the premiere of a symphonic piece by the American composer David Hertzberg. Hertzberg gave the piece the working title Madig, a German word that may translate to worm-eaten but has a range of meanings in colloquial usage.

Read more

Opera Philadelphia announces Digital Festival O

Opera Philadelphia’s Digital Festival O

We Shall Not Be Moved © Dave DiRentis

Opera Philadelphia will stream five operas in May 2020 as part of its Digital Festival O. Southeastern Pennsylvania, where Philadelphia is located, has been hit hard by the coronavirus, but at present there is hope that the peak of the epidemic has passed.

Read more

Remembering George London’s life and legacy on the 100th anniversary of his birth

For a singer whose career was cut short in the 1960s by illness, Canadian-American bass-baritone George London’s presence still looms large in the opera world. His magnificent voice can be heard on recordings, including a 1960 Tosca with Renata Tebaldi that for many remains a definitive version of the Puccini opera, but it is the work of The George London Foundation for Singers that is his true legacy. Each year the Foundation awards tens of thousands of dollars to young American and Canadian singers who are in the early stages of their careers.

Read more

All the colors of the rainbow in Louis Langrée’s debut with the New York Philharmonic

United StatesUnited States Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin: Isabel Leonard (mezzo-soprano), Women’s Chorus from The Juilliard School, New York Philharmonic / Louis Langrée (conductor). David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, 5.3.2020. (RP)

Louis Langrée conducting the New York Philharmonic © Chris Lee

Read more

Ann Hallenberg and the Venice Baroque Orchestra pay tribute to Jenny Lind at Carnegie Hall

United StatesUnited States Various composers – The Swedish Nightingale: Ann Hallenberg (mezzo-soprano), Venice Baroque Orchestra / Gianpiero Zanocco (concertmaster and leader). Carnegie Hall, New York, 27.2.2020. (RP)

Ann Hallenberg and Venice Baroque Orchestra © Stephanie Berger

Read more

Glorious, triumphant Ninth Symphony caps the ORR’s Beethoven series at Carnegie Hall

United StatesUnited States ORR Beethoven Cycle [3]: Lucy Crowe (soprano), Jess Dandy (contralto), Ed Lyon (tenor), Matthew Rose (bass), Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique / Sir John Eliot Gardiner (conductor). Carnegie Hall, New York, 23 & 24.2.2020. (RP)

ORR and Sir John Eliot Gardiner (conductor) at Carnegie Hall © Chris Lee

Read more

An operatic take on The Halloween Tree delights at InsightALT 2020

United StatesUnited States Theo Popov, The Halloween Tree (concert version): Soloists, American Lyric Theater Chamber Orchestra, MasterVoices / Geoffrey McDonald (conductor). American Lyric Theater, Ailey Citigroup Theater, New York, 23.2.2020. (RP)

The Halloween Tree (c) American Lyric Theater

Read more