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Anna Netrebko Shimmers In Beaver Creek Recital For Colorado

February 10, 2015, 5:40 am
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For more information, and an additional photo, click here. (Photo: Zach Mahone)

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San Francisco Opera Asks Stars About First Onstage Opera Kiss

February 11, 2015, 7:34 am
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Just in time for every lover's favorite holiday, Valentine's Day, San Francisco Opera has posted videos asking singers to recall their first onstage kiss in opera. Watch Heidi Melton, Brandon Jovanovich, Laquita Mitchell, Chauncey Packer, Eva-Maria Westbroek, and Charles Castronovo recount everything from enchanted to downright hilarious memories, after the jump.





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Sad News: Ailyn Pérez And Stephen Costello To Divorce

February 11, 2015, 8:01 am
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Soon to be a single lady: Ailyn Pérez talked recently about a new life (Photo: Paul Marc Mitchell)
Stephen Costello announces his pending divorce from wife, Ailyn Pérez, on his official website. Did the soprano hint about the news in a recent interview with Latin Post: "I'm about to start a new page. A different life but I don't know what it looks like. This one has been intense, I don't know how I am going to lighten it up but maybe I'll hang out with friends more, meeting new people, getting a hobby. I like dancing a lot. But I am going to figure it out. People just tell me to have fun and do the things that mean something to you." [Source] The last decade has seen divorces of other famous opera couples including Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu; Isabel Leonard and Teddy Tahu Rhodes; as well as the separation of Anna Netrebko and Erwin Schrott. See the news from the tenor after the jump.

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Renée Fleming Uses Longtime Photographer For Broadway Ads

February 11, 2015, 10:46 am
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Bubbly Broadway Diva: Renée Fleming as
 Raquel de Angelis (Photo: Andrew Eccles)
On April 1, 2015, soprano Renée Fleming will take up residency at the Longacre Theatre in Manhattan to perform in Joe DiPrieto's new comedic play Living on Love. The official website features a hilarious photo of the entire cast from the play. The photographer? Andrew Eccles. Fans of Ms. Fleming will recognize his name from her CD covers and liner notes for the Decca Classics label. The British-born photographer worked with Annie Leibovitz, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Steven Meisel before going solo in his career. He now shoots celebrities, models, athletes, politicians, musicians, and dancers. Get tickets to the performances of Living on Love by clicking here and visit the official website to learn more about the production here. A biography of photographer Andrew Eccles and memorable photos he has taken of Renée Fleming, as well as the full-page New York Times ad for the play, after the jump.
Photographer Andrew Eccles captures the play's plot marvelously in this full-cast image.
"The world's most famous opera singer Renée Fleming plays the world's most famous opera singer in the hilarious new screwball comedy Living On Love. Direct from a smash-hit run at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, this glamorous romp through the world of music, marriage and celebrity is written by two-time Tony Award® winner Joe DiPietro (Nice Work If You Can Get It), adapted from a work by Garson Kanin (Born Yesterday) and directed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes). Fleming stars alongside Tony nominee Douglas SIlls (The Scarlet Pimpernel) and Emmy® nominee Anna Chlumsky (Veep). When a demanding diva (Fleming) discovers that her larger-than-life maestro husband (Sills) has become enamored with the lovely young lady (Chlumsky) hired to ghostwrite his largely fictional autobiography, she retaliates by hiring her own handsome, young scribe to chronicle her life as an opera star. Sparks fly, silverware is thrown and romance blossoms in the most unexpected ways." [Source] 











Andrew Eccles was born in England, grew up in Toronto, moved to Hawaii, went to high school in Vancouver, and spent time in Texas all before settling in New York City in 1983. It was there that he decided to pursue photography seriously. Within 3 months Andrew landed an apprenticeship with Annie Leibovitz lasting three years. That was followed by brief stints working alongside Robert Mapplethorpe and Steven Meisel. In 1987, Andrew became a professional photographer himself and has been shooting celebrities, models, athletes, politicians, musicians, and dancers ever since. Over the past 25 years his work has appeared on the covers of countless magazines worldwide. He has also created an abundance of advertising images for the film, television, Broadway, and music Industries for use domestically and abroad. Throughout his career Andrew has received numerous awards from both the Society of Publication Designers and Communication Arts. American Photography Magazine named Andrew, “One of the 100 Most Important People in the Industry” in 1998 and his iconic portrait of Robin Williams for the cover of the New York Times Magazine taken in the year 2000 is housed in a time capsule installed behind the Museum of Natural History in New York City, not to be reopened until the year 3000. Andrew’s first book Ailey Ascending, published in 2008, celebrates The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 50th Anniversary and solidified Andrew’s longtime collaboration with the Company. Andrew’s other longstanding relationship merges photography with his obsession for Ice Hockey. He has been photographing the New York Rangers for the past 13 years. However, no subject matter compares to Andrew’s favorite of all and love of his life, daughter Isabel.

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"60 Minutes" Correspondant, And Opera Lover, Bob Simon Dies

February 11, 2015, 10:33 pm
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Bob Simon arriving at The Metropolitan
Opera's Opening Night in September 2007.
"On February 11, 2015 Simon was killed in a car crash in Manhattan, New York City. The New York Police Department said the accident occurred around 6:45 p.m. at 30th Street and 12th Avenue. He was a passenger in a Lincoln Town Car when it struck the driver's side of a 2003 Mercedes Benz that was stopped at a red light. 'He swerved into me,' said the driver of the Mercedes 'He hit me and he looked like he lost control of the car.' Simon's vehicle then veered off and collided with a metal barrier separating the two lanes of traffic. Simon went into cardiac arrest and was taken to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, where he died. Simon is survived by his wife, Françoise, and their daughter, Tanya, who is a producer for 60 Minutes." More information about the late television personality is after the jump. Watch Bob Simon's report on 60 Minutes, "Reinventing Opera at the MET," by clicking here. 



Robert David "Bob" Simon (May 29, 1941 – February 11, 2015) was an American television correspondent for CBS News. During his career, he covered crises, war, and unrest in sixty-seven countries. Simon reported the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam, the Yom Kippur War in in 1973, and the student protests in China's Tiananmen Square in 1989. During the Persian Gulf War in 1991, he and four of his TV crew were captured and imprisoned by Iraq for forty days, about which experience he wrote a book, Forty Days. He became a regular correspondent for CBS's 60 Minutes in 1996 and, in 1999, for 60 Minutes II. Simon was born to a Jewish family in the Bronx, New York. In 1962, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University with a degree in history. From 1964 to 1967, Simon served as an American Foreign Service officer and was a Fulbright Scholar in France and a Woodrow Wilson scholar. From 1969 to 1971, he served in the CBS News London bureau. From 1971 to 1977, he was based in the London and Saigon bureaus, where he served as a Vietnam War correspondent. From 1977 to 1981, he was assigned to the CBS News Tel Aviv bureau. From 1981 to 1982 Simon spent time in Washington, D.C., as the CBS News State Department correspondent. From 1982 to 1987, Simon served as a New York-based CBS News national correspondent. In 1987, Simon was named the CBS News Chief Middle Eastern correspondent. During the opening days of the Gulf War in January 1991, Simon and his CBS News team were captured by Iraqi forces and spent 40 days in Iraqi prisons; he later chronicled the experience in the book Forty Days. In 1996 Simon joined 60 Minutes as a correspondent, and in 1998 he was named a 60 Minutes II correspondent. Notable stories he filed in recent years include the first profile of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan and an exclusive interview with Iraqi Shiite insurgency leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Most recently, he had served as the senior foreign correspondent for 60 Minutes. Simon won an Emmy Award for his report on the world's only all-black symphony orchestra in Central Africa in 2012. He would win yet another Emmy Award with his reporting about an orchestra in Paraguay whose poor members constructed instruments from the trash retrieved from a local landfill. Over his career, he won 4 Peabody Awards and 27 Emmy Awards. Recipient of the Edward Weintal Prize given by Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy in recognition of distinguished reporting on foreign policy and diplomacy. He also was the recipient of the following awards: 27-time Emmy Award winner; 4-time Overseas Press Club recipient; and winner of three George Foster Peabody Awards, including a Personal Award in 1999. [Source]

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Blandine Staskiewicz Inked Up On Cover Of New Recording

February 12, 2015, 6:48 am
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French mezzo-soprano Blandine Staskiewicz releases a new recording in March 2015. The disc, Tempesta, features arias of Vivaldi (Andromeda liberata, La verita in cimento, Griselda, L'Olimpiade), Händel (Agrippina, Radamisto, Serse), Porpora (Carlo il Calvo), and Pergolesi (Adriano in Siria). On the cover, the artist displays her bare back with the title of the album tattooed on her skin. It's a very avant-garde approach for a Baroque recording. "With Tempesta, her first recital disc, mezzo-soprano Blandine Staskiewicz has chosen to venture into the emotional storms and calms beloved of Baroque composers notably Vivaldi and Handel which provided their operatic arias with that intense charge that captivates listeners still. As befits one raised on the tranquil, yet at times tempestuous, Belle-Île-en-Mer, lying off the Brittany coast, Staskiewicz is able to portray a fabulous array of moods to match her vocal beauty. If the Neapolitans Nicola Porpora and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi are each represented on this disc by a single burst of concentrated dramatic feeling, it is to the fiery and tempestuous music of Vivaldi and the more psychological and interiorised offerings of Handel that Blandine Staskiewicz directs her attention in these arie di tempesta. Staskiewicz s control of the depths and heights of the soul are matched by the instrumental accompaniment from Les Ambassadeurs and its director Alexis Kossenko. Blandine Staskiewicz, who has appeared on previous Glossa albums in Lully, Campra and Handel in the company of Hervé Niquet and Fabio Bonizzoni, herself contributes an intriguing note about the genesis of this programme complete with an alluring cover design but it is her wonderfully controlled singing (and expertise in Baroque repertoire) which characterises Tempesta so beguilingly." [Source] Read a biography of Blandine Staskiewicz after the jump. Listen to a sampling of the mezzo-soprano:

"Après un 1er Prix au Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris et un diplôme de perfectionnement, Blandine Staskiewicz débute dans Attalia (rôle-titre) d’Haendel au Festival d’Ambronay, Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte) avec Opéra Eclaté et Siebel (Faust, Gounod) à St Etienne. Lauréate du Concours Baroque international de Chimay et des Voix d’Or en 2001, elle participe au 1er Jardin des Voix (2002) dirigé par William Christie. Durant les saisons suivantes, elle chante les rôles de Medoro dans « Orlando Furioso » de Vivaldi (meilleur disque aux Victoires de la Musique 2005) et d’Ottone (Griselda, Vivaldi) au Théâtre des Champs Elysées à Paris (TCE) avec l’Ensemble Matheus, Frédérick (Mignon, Thomas) au Capitole de Toulouse et à Avignon, les rôles-titres dans Callirhoé de Destouches et Sémélé de Marin-Marais au Festival de Beaune et de Radio France, puis Aloès (L’Etoile, Chabrier) à l’Opéra-Comique avec John Eliot Gardiner. Elle se produit également en concert dans L’Enfant et les Sortilèges de Ravel à Montréal avec Kent Nagano, dans La Messe en Si de Bach avec les Musiciens du Louvres (enregistré chez Naive) et dans Piacere (Il Trionfo del Tempo, Haendel) avec Marc Minkowski, dans Elias de Mendelssohn avec Kurt Masur à Radio France et dans Enrico (Elisabetta, Rossini) à la Monnaie de Bruxelles. Au cours des dernières saisons, elle a interprété Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Mercedes (Carmen) et Siebel au Capitole de Toulouse, Marie (L’Enfance du Christ, Berlioz) à Toulon, Aloès (L’Etoile) à l’Opéra de Genève, Clotilde (Norma, Bellini) au Châtelet, Frédérick (Mignon) à l’Opéra-Comique et le Garçon de cuisine (Russalka, Dvorak) à Nancy. Elle a également participé aux enregistrements de Proserpine de Lully et du Carnaval de Campra avec Hervé Niquet. Plus récemment, elle a chanté Despina (Cosi fan tutte) à Avignon, Urbain (Les Huguenots, Meyerbeer) à la Monnaie de Bruxelles, Metella (La Vie Parisienne, Offenbach) à l’Opéra de Lyon, Gilade (Farnace, Vivaldi) au TCE, Lazuli (L’Etoile) à Bergen (Norvège) et le rôle-titre dans Cendrillon de Massenet à l’Opéra-Comique. Elle vient de sortir un disque de mélodies inédites de Massenet chez Erol et a enregistré le rôle de Galatea dans Aci, Galatea e Polifemo de Handel chez Glossa avec la Risonanza. Parmi ses engagements récents, citons une tournée de la Messe en Ut de Mozart au Japon avec les Musiciens du Louvre, Rossane dans « Alessandro » de Haendel à Wiesbaden (nominé meilleur opéra sur Mezzo), Versailles et Athènes, Dorabella (Cosi) et Mme Lek (Les Femmes vengées) à Washington, New-York et Versailles, Marie (L’Enfance du Christ) à Utrecht et L’Hymen dans Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour de Rameau à Versailles, Bruxelles et au Théâtre des Champs Elysées avec Le Concert Spirituel. Parmi ses projets : la sortie du disque solo « Tempesta » avec les Ambassadeurs chez Glossa, Metella dans La Vie Parisenne d’Offenbach à Metz et la reprise du rôle de Rossane (Alessandro) à Halle en Allemagne." [Source]
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Soprano Lella Cuberli To Preside Over Jury Of Vocal Competition

February 13, 2015, 9:55 am
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Lella Cuberli in the title role of
Semiramide at the Metropolitan Opera.
"Il soprano Lella Cuberli presiederà la giuria internazionale della Sessantanovesima edizione 2015 del Concorso 'Comunità Europea' per Giovani Cantanti Lirici, che si terrà al Teatro Nuovo di Spoleto dal 24 al 28 febbraio. Gli altri membri della giuria sono: Antonina Boneva (docente al Conservatorio di Sofia-Bulgaria), Carlo Donadio (rappresentante della Direzione Artistica del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma), Claudio Desderi (baritono), Enrico Girardi (critico musicale del 'Corriere della Sera' e docente di Storia della Musica all'Università Cattolica di Milano e Brescia), Karen Stone (sovrintendente del Teatro di Magdeburgo) e Michelangelo Zurletti (direttore artistico del Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto 'A. Belli'). " [Source] The competition will feature a new "Cesare Valleti Prize" of € 8,000.00. There are also prizes for 1st place (€ 4,000.00), 2nd place (€ 3,000.00), and 3rd place (€ 1,000.00). Learn more about the competition by clicking here. Watch a video of Lella Cuberli singing "A che il morir non è," from Rossini's Tancredi, after the jump.
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Kenneth Pigott, Lyric Opera Of Chicago President And CEO, Has Died

February 13, 2015, 9:01 pm
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Kenneth G. Pigott is seen in the upper right with 
singers Renée Fleming and Anna Netrebko, as well
 as Anthony Freud and Sir Andrew Davis of the LOC 
(Photo: Todd Rosenberg)
"Kenneth G. Pigott, Lyric Opera of Chicago's president and CEO, died Friday afternoon, according to a statement from Lyric opera. A cause of death and other details were not immediately available. Pigott was a member of the Lyric Opera's board of directors for 13 years before becoming president and CEO in 2011, according to the statement. 'We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn and to share the news of the death of Ken Pigott, president and CEO of Lyric Opera. In the few hours since his passing, we have only begun to grasp the depth and breadth of this unimaginable loss,' Anthony Freud, Lyric Opera's general director, said in the statement. 'Ken was a truly unique man. He was a visionary whose wisdom and passion transformed the lives of everyone at Lyric, and at the many organizations with which he was associated. He is irreplaceable.' The statement said Pigott was 'instrumental' in discussions leading to Renee Fleming's appointment as the company's creative consultant in 2010 and led the search for the company's general director in 2011." [Source] Watch a recent video of the Lyric Opera of Chicago that gives an insider view of the tight community, and Renée Fleming invites you to the new season, after the jump.




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Vienna Opera Ball 2015 Shows No Political Bias To Sopranos

February 14, 2015, 10:29 am
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Dominique Meyer, Director of the Vienna State
Opera, flanked by Olga Bezsmertna (left)
 and Aida Garifullina (right)
Two sopranos from political hotbed countries performed for the 2015 Wiener Opernball: Ukranian Olga Bezsmertna (singing "Dove sono" from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro) and Russian Aida Garifullina (singing "Je veux vivre" from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette). "The Crimean crisis was an international crisis in 2014 that instigated the ongoing dispute involving Russia and Ukraine over the control of the Crimean Peninsula, culminating in its annexation by the Russian Federation and incorporation as two separate federal subjects. The crisis was part of the wider 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine which also includes the Donbass region of Ukraine. The current international status of Crimea and Sevastopol as federal subjects of the Russian Federation is only explicitly recognized by five UN member states, other than Russia. All other countries recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine....On 17 April 2014 Russian president Vladimir Putin confirmed Russian involvement in Crimea, remarking that 'of course, Russian servicemen backed the Crimean self-defense forces.' In an interview on 22 January 2015 Igor Girkin, one of the major 'Russian self-defence' commanders in Crimea at that time, explained that the 'overwhelming national support for
Aida Garifullina singing Juliette's Waltz
the self-defence' as portrayed by the Russian media was fiction, and they actually had to 'forcibly drive the deputies to vote [to join Russia].' Majority of the law enforcement, administration and army did not support the 'self-defence' (one notable exception being Berkut) and only the presence of regular Russian army in Crimea 'made the whole thing work.'" [Source] Politically-neutral Spanish baritone Carlos Álvarez also sang, "Fin ch'han dal vino" from Mozart's Don Giovanni, at the Opera Ball. See more photos of the performances, as well as other opera attendees including Angelika Kirschlager, Isabel Leonard and Naomi Campbell, after the jump.
Aida Garifullina, Carlos Álvarez, Olga Bezsmertna

Dominique Meyer, Aida Garifullina

Aida Garifullina in rehearsal

Aida Garifullina

Angelika Kirschlager

Carlos Álvarez

Naomi Campbell

Olga Bezsmertna

Olga Bezsmertna

Isabel Leonard


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Soprano Susan Bullock Bestowed With Order Of The British Empire

February 14, 2015, 11:41 pm
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"Opera singer Susan Bullock holds her Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) medal which was presented to her by The Princess Royal, for services to opera, during an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, 13 February 2015." [Source] Read more about the soprano after the jump.




(Photo: Christina Raphaelle)
"Susan Margaret Bullock CBE (born 9 December 1958 in Cheshire) is a British soprano. She has performed dramatic soprano parts at major opera houses, and also sung in concert and recital. Bullock was educated at Cheadle Hulme School, and further at Royal Holloway College, University of London, the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio. Her talent was first recognised after she received first prize in the 1984 Kathleen Ferrier Award, which led to her being offered roles by the English National Opera. She developed an international career in the mid-1990s as she moved increasingly into late-Romantic and 20th Century German opera repertoire, with engagements at the Frankfurt Opera and Garsington Opera, where she sang Helen in the first British performance of Richard Strauss'Die Ägyptische Helena in 1998. Her assumption of Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in productions at Opera North, Leeds and the English National Opera confirmed her command of the dramatic soprano repertoire. She sang Brunnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen first in Tokyo, and in 2007 performed the role in the first complete Ring cycle by the Canadian Opera Company in their new Toronto opera house. She made her debut at both La Scala, Milan and the Metropolitan Opera, New York in the title role of Richard Strauss'Elektra. In 2009, she received the Royal Philharmonic Society's award for best singer for her assumption of Elektra in a production at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She had made her Covent Garden debut previously as Marie in Berg's Wozzeck. She sang Brunnhilde in all performances of Der Ring des Nibelungen at Covent Garden in the London Olympic Year, Autumn 2012. Recordings notably include Richard Strauss'Salome in the Chandos 'Opera in English' series conducted Sir Charles Mackerras, and live performances of the Frankfurt Ring cycle, conducted by Sebastian Weigle. Other houses she has sung in include Dresden, Berlin Staatsoper, Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Sydney Opera House, La Monnaie (Brussels), Prinzregententheater (Munich), Lisbon and Toulouse. She sings in several languages—her performances include Janáček in Czech, and she has sung contemporary as well as the classical repertoire. She was the solo soprano at the 2011 Last Night of the Proms on 10 September 2011, performing Brunnhilde's 'Immolation Scene' from Act 3 of Götterdämmerung in Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle, as well as the traditional Rule, Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to opera." [Source]

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Kristian Schuller Is New Metropolitan Opera Brochure Photographer

February 20, 2015, 2:20 pm
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Kristine Opolais as Manon Lescaut by 
Kristian Schuller for MET 2015-16 season
On February 18, 2015, The Metropolitan Opera announced its 2015-16 season. As new productions and artist debuts were heralded, something else was new in the presentation: the photographer. In previous seasons, photographer Brigitte Lacombe was tasked with capturing opera stars in costume for upcoming new productions via lavish photo shoots for the brochure. Now we look through the lens of Paris-based fashion photographer Kristian Schuller. He was born in Hălchiu, Romania, on December 24, 1970. His grandfather was a priest in Cata and his father is the controversial playwright and director Frieder Schuller. He emigrated with his parents and brother to Germany at an early age, growing up in Bonn and Düsseldorf. Interested in fashion since youth, he began to study clothing design with Vivienne Westwood in 1997. Within the next five years she would take him to France to introduce him to the world of fashion shows and the atmosphere of Paris. It was during this time that he discovered an interest in photography. He studied with F.C. Gundlach at the University of Fine Arts Berlin and decided to combine his two loves to become
Lens Meister: Photographer Kristian Schuller seen
with Metropolitan Opera star Anna Netrekbo
during a photo shoot for Deutsche Grammophon
a fashion photographer. In 2003, English fashion editor Isabella Row brought him to Condé Nast Publications in London. Here he had the opportunity to shoot top models like Gisele Buendchen, Amber Arbucci, and Heidi Klum in original and creative settings for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Glamour. He married his partner Peggy, who serves as a designer and stylist for his shoots, in 2007. They collaborate on the process for new series. At the beginning he makes rough sketches of ideas for sets and costumes. His inspiration comes from old photographs, art history, and films (particularly those by Federico Fellini). He has stated that his work is also influenced by theater experiences in childhood. Once the initial concept is done, he works with Peggy on locations, models, hairstyles, make-up, and clothing. By 2010 he was serving as a guest judge on Heidi Klum's television show Germany's Next Top Model. That same year he released his first book, 90 Days, One Dream. He photographed actress Penelope Cruz for Campari's 2013 calendar. Most recently he is known in the world of opera for photographing soprano Anna Netrebko for her Verdi album of arias on Deutsche Grammophon. Another of his captivating photos appears on the cover of her latest release: Vier letzte lieder by Richard Strauss. Learn more about the photographer on his official website and look at fashion images on his Instagram account. Examine the whole season and brochure photos at the official site of the MET. See a plethora of extra images from the 2015-16 season of The Metropolitan Opera as captured by Kristian Schuller, as well as two bonus shots, after the jump. [Source, Source, Source, Source]
Sondra Radvanovsky captured by Kristian Schuller in the photo shoot for Roberto Devereux
Kristian Schuller in the photo shoot for Roberto Devereux


Photos promoting the new productions at The Metropolitan Opera 
for the 2015-16 season by Kristian Schuller:

Aleksandrs Antonenko/Otello

Aleksandrs Antonenko/Otello

Kristine Opolais/Manon Lescaut

Kristine Opolais/Manon Lescaut

Marlis Petersen/Lulu

Marlis Petersen/Lulu

Marlis Petersen/Lulu

Marlis Petersen/Lulu

Kristian Schuller capturing Nina Stemme for Elektra

Nina Stemme/Elektra

Sondra Radvanovsky/Roberto Devereux

Bonus photos by Kristian Schuller:

Photo of Anna Netrebko, for her album cover of Vier letzte lieder on DG, by Kristian Schuller

Kristian Schuller (center) on location during a photo shoot for a new book
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Stars Come Out To Viennese Opera Ball In New York City

February 21, 2015, 8:30 am
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Last night stars gathered at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel for The Viennese Opera Ball, an annual fundraising gala, in New York City. "The Viennese Opera Ball in New York is an annual charity gala held annually under the auspices of the United States-Austrian Chamber of Commerce. Dignitaries, Diplomats and Debutantes 'Open' the international Ball, long regarded as one of New York City’s 'greatest annual events,' garnering worldwide media coverage for over five decades. There is nothing formulaic about the event; with four generations of guests, the Ball reflects the universal appeal of Austria’s cultural and culinary treasures. The gala evening features Opera, Classical Music and Ballroom Dancing including, of course, Waltzing. One popular highlight is the Midnight Quadrille, conducted by a Viennese choreographer. Following an 8 p.m. champagne reception, the Ball runs from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., and includes a four-course dinner service. The 'Tanz Bar' (post-Ball party) follows from 1:00 to 4:00 a.m. and includes a full buffet supper with the Viennese Opera Ball's Signature Goulash Soup, as well as multiple venues featuring: a Jazz Band, Dance Band, DJ, Vienna Coffee House with Viennese pastries, and Casino. The Ball opens with the Grand March of Dignitaries and Diplomats. The ceremonial tone of the Ball Opening continues with the Presentation and Posting of the Flags by a West Point Color Guard. The Program continues with the Presentation of Debutantes (ages 16 to 25) and their dance Escorts (ages 18–30). A choreographed waltz routine by young ballroom dance couples (ages 18–30) is followed by a call for 'Alles Walzer!' (Everyone Dance!) and guests join the dancers for the first official waltz of the Ball. Peter Duchin and his Orchestra play continuous dance music throughout the Ball, stopping only for Program highlights or performances by the featured Opera singers." [Source] For more information about The Viennese Opera Ball, click here. See more photos of Alyson Cambridge, Sherrill Milnes, Linda Watson, Thomas Robert, Omar Sharif Jr., Amy Shoremount-Obra, Melissa Batalles, and more, after the jump.

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Evelyn Lear Legacy Continued By Dolora Zajick Through Students

February 21, 2015, 12:04 pm
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Queen Lear: During the zenith of her career
"Since 2013, Washington’s Wagner Society and Zajick’s institute have been linked in a partnership that picks up where the Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart Emerging Singers Program left off with Lear’s death in 2012. Lear and Stewart were two leading American singers of their generation who, with the help of the Wagner Society, worked with more than 75 singers over 12 years. Their program lives on. Reborn as the American Wagner Project and funded by the Wagner Society, it now represents one of six distinct training arms of the institute. 'It’s under the umbrella of our program,' Zajick said, 'but it runs on its own engine.' It’s headed by Luana de Vol, the American Wagnerian who has sung extensively in San Francisco and Europe. 'I gave her carte blanche,' Zajick said, 'to do whatever she wants.'....Lear recognized the importance of Zajick’s program. John Edward Niles, the conductor who oversaw the Emerging Singers Program in Washington for 12 years and is now on the faculty of the American Wagner Project, recalled in an e-mail a conversation he had
Force of Nature: Dolora Zajick leads the next
 generation of large voices in opera 
(Photo: David Sauer)
with the soprano shortly before she died. 'You have got to PROMISE me,' he said she told him, 'that you will keep the ESP going and merge the program with Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. I know now that this is the ONLY place for the ESP.' Niles added, 'If Evelyn Lear asks you something in that tone, YOU DO IT!'"[Source]  Watch videos of big voices of the future Issachah Savage and Rachel Willis-Sørensen, as well as the possible mystery tenor mentioned in the Washington Post article, after the jump. Learn more about the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, including the multitude of programs offered for various levels of experience, by clicking here. Also visit the official website of Dolora Zajick for her upcoming opera engagements by clicking here.







"Evelyn Lear (January 8, 1926 – July 1, 2012) was an American operatic soprano. Between 1959 and 1992, she appeared in more than forty operatic roles, appeared with every major opera company in the United States and won a Grammy Award in 1966. She was well known for her musical versatility, having sung all three main female roles in Der Rosenkavalier. Lear was also known for her work on 20th century pieces by Robert Ward, Alban Berg, Marvin David Levy, Rudolf Kelterborn and Giselher Klebe. She was married to the American bass-baritone Thomas Stewart until his death in 2006. Lear was born as Evelyn Shulman in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Nina (Kwartin), a coloratura, and Nathan Shulman and granddaughter of the distinguished cantor Zavel Kwartin.
Her family was Russian Jewish. She completed her musical education at Hunter College, New York University and the Juilliard School of Music studying voice, piano, French horn and composition. She married Walter Lear, a physician and later political activist, divorcing in the mid-1950s. While at Juilliard she studied under Sergius Kagen and met her future husband, baritone Thomas Stewart. Both Lear and Stewart won Fulbright scholarships to study at Hochschule für Musik in Berlin where she studied with Maria Ivogün. Lear started her opera career as a member of the Städtische Oper Berlin in Richard Strauss'Ariadne auf Naxos playing the Composer, a lead role which she would later play at a number of leading opera houses. She played the title role in Alban Berg’s Lulu in 1960 in its Austrian debut in concert form. She had only three weeks to learn the role, having been called in as a late replacement. Her performance was so well received that she played the role in the first staged version since World War II at the Theater an der Wien at the Vienna Festival of 1962 with Karl Böhm conducting. The performance was repeated in 1964 and recorded by
Deutsche Grammophon. She also performed in Lulu in the late 1980s, albeit in the mezzo-soprano supporting role of the Countess Geschwitz. She appeared as Nina Cavallini in Robert Altman's 1976 film Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson. In 1989, she played the role of Queen Elizabeth I of England in the musical Elizabeth and Essex, based on Maxwell Anderson's 1930 play. Lear created a number of roles during her career. In 1955, having just graduated from Juilliard, she created the role of the heroine Nina in Marc Blitzstein's Reuben, Reuben – a role that would prompt Leonard Bernstein to name his daughter Nina. In 1961, she created the title role of Giselher Klebe's Alkmene in Berlin. Two years later, she created another role as Jeanne in Werner Egk's Die Verlobung in San Domingo in the reopening of the Munich Nationaltheater.
Her debut with the Metropolitan Opera came with the creation of the role of Lavinia Mannon in the world premiere of Marvin David Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra in 1967. Soon after this she experienced vocal problems, losing much of her upper range and clarity, which she blamed on singing so much modern music. This did not stop her performing modern roles, however. In 1974, she created the role of Irma Arkadina in Thomas Pasatieri's The Seagull at the Houston Grand Opera. Lear created the role of Magna in Robert Ward's Minutes to Midnight in 1982, followed by creating the role of Ranyevskaya in Rudolf Kelterborn's Der Kirschgarten in Zurich in 1984. Lear enjoyed success performing Richard Strauss's works. She made her London debut in a performance of the Four Last Songs. Her longest association, however, has been with Der Rosenkavalier having performed all three major female roles. She sang the role of Sophie in regional German opera houses with the Berlin State Opera, progressing to sing the role of Octavian in major opera houses in Vienna, Berlin and New York. Her greatest success in this opera was her role as the Marschallin which she debuted in 1971 and
played in leading opera houses including La Scala and her farewell performance at the Metropolitan in 1985. The Senate of Berlin gave Lear the title of Kammersängerin for her contribution to the opera in that city while the Salzburg Festival honored her with the Max Reinhardt Award. She won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in the Grammy Awards of 1966 for her work with Karl Böhm, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Fritz Wunderlich and the German Opera and Chorus for their performance of Berg's Wozzeck. Lear and Thomas Stewart married in 1955 and were together until his death on 24 September 2006, aged 78. She had two children by her previous marriage. Lear died on July 1, 2012, at Brook Grove nursing center in Sandy Spring, Maryland, aged 86." [Source]
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Rubin Singer Reaches Opera Pinacle With Anna Netrebko Couture

February 22, 2015, 10:00 pm
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Russian Forces: Rubin Singer (r), whose grandfather dressed 
Joseph Stalin, stands in the Saks Fifth Avenue showroom with 
Anna Netrebko to discuss a gown he will custom make for 
the soprano. (Photo: Instagram)
Rubin Singer is known in the popular music world for design clients such as Beyoncé, Shakira, Fergie, and Alicia Keys. He was introduced into the realm of opera by creating gowns for soprano Ailyn Pérez. She has worn his works for such high-profile events such as The Richard Tucker Gala and her most recent debut in Carmen at The Metropolitan Opera. Now he has reached the everest by designing a couture gown for Anna Netrebko. The two met on Friday, February 20, 2015, at the Saks Fifth Avenue in New York to discuss he creation for the world-famous singer. "Coming from a family of couturiers, Rubin Singer was exposed from a young age to refined technique and elegant design. Rubin is a third-generation couturier, his father Alik created costumes for the Bolshoi Ballet and Stanislavski Theater. His grandfather, for whom he is named, was one of the most celebrated designers in the Soviet Union, dressing Russian royalty, Soviet political figures, and the social
Singer Extravaganza: (left to right) Rubin Singer, Ailyn Pérez, Isabel Leonard, and Susan Graham,
at The Richard Tucker Gala at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.
elite. His family heritage in fashion shaped who he is today, not only in having the genetic makeup of precise touch and creativity, but there is a certain sensibility and level of refinement necessary in order to make beautiful clothing that he was in tune with from a young age. Steeped in this heritage, Rubin saw a stark yet beautiful contrast between traditional craftsmanship and
Ailyn Pérez wearing one of Rubin Singer's gowns in concert
contemporary aesthetics. Rubin’s career reached new heights after moving to New York, as he became an Associate Designer at Oscar de la Renta. It was during his tenure at Oscar that brand identity became real and powerful to him, and he began to understand the integrity and unique character required to be the head of an iconic fashion brand. He would move on from Oscar to become Head Designer of three Bill Blass licensees, and later the Head Designer of Kai Milla, a company started by and named for Stevie Wonder’s wife Kai. All the while, the creative direction for his personal collection was blossoming. The
Rubin Singer brand, since its inception in 2007, has been founded on the principles of edgy and sophisticated design that shaped the designer’s aesthetic approach and creative vision from a young age. He is not in the business of making clothes, but curating how someone is to look and
Ailyn Pérez, the evening of her MET debut,
wearing a Rubin Singer creation
live in the world. Rubin believes very strongly in technique and gravitates toward unique proportions. He constantly grapples with notions of cut, flow, and structured versus unstructured. Any creative inspiration or inventive approach is always grounded in these guidelines of technique and core beliefs in couture. With inspiration stemming from his Russian Couture roots, retailers and editors worldwide have heralded Singer’s work. Part of his mission is to take the unfamiliar and the unexpected, and make it familiar to women who are ready for a confident and empowered aesthetic. A piece from a Rubin collection is not for the faint of heart. These are aggressive and seductive styles, and the woman who dons them can conquer all in her beauty. Rubin provides us not with a new dress or a new style, but with a new way to think about luxury fashion design. Rubin’s designs are worn by celebrities such as Glenn Close, Beyonce, Heidi Klum, Lucy Liu, and Alicia Keys. They have adorned the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, L’Officiel, New York Magazine, The New York Times, and The LA Times, and they have been sold in fine specialty stores throughout the world. For spring 2011, Rubin Singer created an exclusive line of couture eveningwear for Neiman Marcus nation-wide, and for Spring and Summer 2012 he will do a national tour for Neiman Marcus. The Rubin Singer Autumn/Winter
World Traveler: Rubin Singer atop
the W Hotel in Bangkok
2012 Collection, titled La Conquistadora, will launch inspired by Spanish Art, History, and Culture. When asked about the next collections that he is to design, Rubin “has not lived them yet”, and so all that we know is they will contain the same integrity and attention to detail as collections past. As more of the world starts to encounter the Rubin Singer brand, the aesthetic experience will be new and yet consistent with the original collections. Uniqueness will never die for Rubin, but nor will the essential values of precision, cut, and powerful style. As the designer brand grows, Rubin’s focus is to maintain the refinement, beauty, and personal attention to detail that has led to his success thus far. Rubin posits himself as a leader in global fashion in the years to come, and part of his project will be to connect with the widest range of people while maintaining the same standards for beauty and elegance. A
Sunrise Coigney, with husband Mark Ruffalo, at the 2015
 Academy Awards wearing a Rubin Singer gown.
countless number of people stand to gain beauty and confidence, for a piece of clothing can make a strong statement at any price point or style. Rubin is designing his future, and it is as bold, bright, and striking as his collections. Be ever-evolving and unique always. The more that he experiences and the farther that he travels, the more he learns and evolves. He brings his experiences with him to each collection, and in this the direction of future collections is unclear because the future has not yet shed its light upon us. He realizes that mistakes will come, and embraces them. Mistakes are how we learn, and sometimes mistakes yield the most beautiful outcomes. Rubin is always his own critic, and believes in taking a step outside of his own self to examine his work with a truly critical eye. Only then can he realize all that he can do and understand where he wants to be." [Source, Source, Source]
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Jolly Rancher Bites Gets A Lift From Wagner's Valkyries

February 24, 2015, 4:57 am
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A new commercial for Jolly Rancher's Bites candy features the "Ride of the Valkyries" from the opera Die Walküre by Richard Wagner. The bite-sized gummies are available in watermelon, green apple and cherry flavors. Check out their website for more information by clicking here.
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World Sopranos Announced For Cardiff Singer Competition 2015

February 25, 2015, 4:52 pm
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Competitors have been announced for the 2015 Cardiff Singer of the World. The list of sopranos inlcudes Nadine Koutcher (Russia), Aviva Fortunata (Canada), Anaïs Constans (France), Kelebogile Besong (South Africa), Regula Mühlemann (Switzerland), Lauren Michelle (USA), and Céline Forrest (Wales). Watch videos featuring all of these women after the jump. Learn more about all the singers in the competition by clicking here. Sopranos Soile Isokoski and Kiri Te Kanawa will be on the jury for the competition, the full list is here. Cardiff Singer of the World will take place June 14-21, 2015.















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Anna Netrebko In Mexico City For Concert At Palacio De Bellas Artes

February 25, 2015, 6:49 pm
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See a video of the press conference, featuring soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Yusif Eyvazov in Mexico City for a concert this evening at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, after the jump. More about the press conference can be found here and here. As a bonus, there is also a video of the soprano singing "Vieni, t'affretta" from Verdi's Macbeth with conductor Antonio Pappano and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.




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Jessye Norman Staggering 1979 Performance Of "Vier Letzte Lieder"

February 25, 2015, 7:02 pm
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"Une magnifique interprétation des 'Vier letzte Lieder' de Richard Strauss par la soprano Américaine Jessye Norman et Wolfgang Sawallisch à la tête de l'Orchestre de la Suisse romande. Ce concert du 19 Septembre 1979 est donné à l'occasion de la manifestation Telecom 79." [Source] Watch the video performance after the jump.



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New Orleans Tenor Bryan Hymel Returns Home To Celebrate

February 26, 2015, 6:46 am
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Tenor Bryan Hymel (center) with conductor Emmanuel Villaume (right) during the recording session for Héroîque
"Bryan Hymel returns to New Orleans for a free mini-recital and major label CD-release party at Loyola University on March 1. The superstar tenor and New Orleans native is fresh from similar events in London and Paris where he previewed material from Héroïque, his debut recording for WarnerClassics. Hymel's New Orleans appearance will be the first CD promotional event in North America, with further appearances planned for Philadelphia and New York (where he is a Metropolitan Opera regular). 'I can't wait to sing these French arias in New Orleans -- it's the kind of repertoire that makes me think of the old French Opera House in the Quarter,' Hymel said. 'It fits my voice, and it fits my throat. Maybe it's genetic. It's New Orleans music from the era when the city was the capital of opera in the U.S.' Sadly, the French Opera House went up in flames a century ago..." [Source] Click here for more information about the album Héroïque. Watch Bryan Hymel recording a high note shattering version of 'Amis, amis, secondez ma vengeance,' from Guillaume Tell, and a behind-the-scenes video of the recording session that features his wife, Greek soprano Irini Kyriakidou, after the jump.
New King of the High C's: Bryan Hymel recording his album of French arias in Prague




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Diana Damrau Fans Flames With Vocal Pyrotechnics For Erato

February 26, 2015, 8:36 am
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The artwork and track listing was previously revealed for Diana Damrau's forthcoming release Fiamma del Belcanto. Now the Warner Classics label gives us an inside look at the recording process in a new EPK. "In her first recital album devoted entirely to Italian opera, soprano Diana Damrau takes the golden age of bel canto, the early 19th century, as the starting point for an exploration of theatrical and musical passion that leads to the high-octane verismo drama of the 1890s. Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini and Leoncavallo are lit up by her coloratura pyrotechnics and dramatic prowess." [Source] Watch the EPK in full, and see two new publicity photos for the album, after the jump.



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