Enjoy St. Patrick's Day With Irish Tenor John McCormack

March 17, 2015, 6:11 am

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Ángela Maureen Marambio Will Pay Tribute To Maria Callas In Concert

March 17, 2015, 6:49 am

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Soprano a Soprano: Ángela Maureen Marambio will  honor Maria Callas with favorite arias

"Un concierto lírico imperdible efectuará la destacada soprano viñamarina Ángela Maureen Marambio junto al pianista Pedro Urrutia, en un 'Tributo a María Callas' programado para este sábado 21 de marzo, a las 19:30 horas, en el Foyer del Teatro Municipal de Viña del Mar, ubicado frente a la Plaza Vergara. 'Invitamos a los seguidores del Bell Canto a disfrutar del talento de Ángela Maureen Marambio, soprano formada en el Conservatorio Izidor Handler quien ha deslumbrado al público en grandes escenarios del mundo, como el Royal Opera House de Londres, y en esta ocasión nos deleitará con un homenaje musical a la gran María Callas,' señaló la alcaldesa Virginia Reginato. Esta presentación, forma parte de la VI Temporada Música en el Foyer, ciclo desarrollado por el Departamento de Cultura de la Municipalidad de Viña del Mar, y contará con entrada liberada al público, con invitación, por lo que la organización se reserva el derecho de ingreso al recinto una vez completada su capacidad. En la ocasión, la soprano Ángela Maureen Marambio interpretará las aclamadas arias 'Casta Diva' de la ópera Norma de V. Bellini; 'Una voce poco fà' de la ópera El Barbero de Sevilla, de G. Rossini; 'Intermezzo,' de Cavallería Rusticana, P. Mascagni; 'Ebben, ne andrò lontana,' de la ópera La Wally, de A. Catalani; 'Tu che le vanità,' de la ópera Don Carlo, G. Verdi. Luego será el turno de 'Preludio' de La Traviata, G. Verdi; 'Merce, dilette amiche,' de la ópera I Vespri Siciliani, de G. Verdi; 'Suicidio' de La Gioconda, compuesta por A. Ponchielli; 'Preludio' de Macbeth, G. Verdi; 'Vissi D’arte,' de la ópera Tosca, G. Puccini; para finalizar con 'La mamma morta,' de la ópera Andrea Chénier, U. Giordano. Ángela Maureen Marambio, soprano chilena, estudió piano y canto en Viña del Mar, Santiago y Nueva York. En los años 1999, 2001 y 2003 ganó el Premio APES, en 2002 el Concurso Francisco Viñas, España y el 2003 el Concurso BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. Realizó su debut internacional en el New York City Opera. Se ha presentado en todo el mundo en teatros como La Scala, Berlin Staatsoper, Royal Opera House de Londres, Los Ángeles Opera, New York City Opera y La Bastille de París, por citar algunos. En su destacada carrera ha trabajado junto a directores como Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Placido Domingo y Fabio Luisi. Igualmente, ha participado en producciones de óperas como Don Carlo, Simon Boccanegra, La Bohème, Cosí fan Tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro, Il Corsaro, Turandot, Otello y Carmen, entre otras." [Source] Watch videos of Ángela Maureen Marambio, after the jump.

Anne Sofie Von Otter Leads New CD Releases For Spring 2015

March 20, 2015, 3:57 pm

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Doritos Capitalizes On The Popularity Of Duet By Delibes

March 22, 2015, 10:03 am

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Doritos, promoting their "Go For Bold" campaign, created a commercial for the Super Bowl that uses a duet from the opera Lakmé by Delibes. The piece, "Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs....Dôme épais, le jasmin," comes from Act I of the opera and is commonly known as the "Flower Duet." Read more about the opera by clicking here. See several interpretations featuring sopranos Anna Netrebko, Sumi Jo, Joan Sutherland, Renée Fleming, Diana Damrau, Montserrat Caballé, and more, after the jump.

Anna Netrekbo In Dramatic Photos From Opernhaus Zürich "Bolena"

March 22, 2015, 3:34 pm

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Stunning images have emerged from Anna Netrebko's performances of Giancarlo del Monaco's production of Anna Bolena at Opernhaus Zürich. The cast includes Ismael Jordi, Luca Pisaroni, and Veronica Simeoni. The opening night performance took place March 20, 2015. For ticket information, click here. Full cast list and more photos, after the jump.

ANNA BOLENA

Oper von Gaetano Donizetti

Musikalische Leitung	Andriy Yurkevych
Inszenierung	Giancarlo del Monaco
Bühnenbild	Mark Väisänen
Kostüme	Marie-Luise Walek
Lichtgestaltung	Hans-Rudolf Kunz
Choreinstudierung	Jürg Hämmerli

Enrico VIII	Luca Pisaroni
Anna Bolena	Anna Netrebko
Giovanna Seymour	Veronica Simeoni
Lord Rochefort	Ruben Drole
Lord Riccardo Percy	Ismael Jordi
Smeton	Judith Schmid
Sir Hervey	Yujoong Kim
Annas und Enricos Tochter, die spätere Elisabeth I	Jil Galatoire 20, 29 MärZoe Lagutaine 24 Mär; 2 Apr
Statisten	Statistenverein am Opernhaus Zürich
	Philharmonia Zürich
	Chor der Oper Zürich
Mit freundlicher Unterstützung der	Kühne-Stiftung

	In italienischer Sprache mit deutscher und englischer Übertitelung
Spieldauer	3 Std. 15 Min.
Pause	Pause nach ca. 1 Std. 25 Min.
Rahmenprogramm	Werkeinführung jeweils 45 Min. vor Vorstellungsbeginn
Termine	20 Mär 2015, 19:00 WIEDERAUFNAHME Preise G: 320, 250, 220, 98, 38 CHF 24 Mär 2015, 19:00  Preise G: 320, 250, 220, 98, 38 CHF 29 Mär 2015, 20:00  Preise G: 320, 250, 220, 98, 38 CHF 02 Apr 2015, 19:00  Preise G: 320, 250, 220, 98, 38 CHF
Ort	Hauptbühne Opernhaus

Opera Singers Killed In Alps Germanwings Flight 9525 Crash

March 24, 2015, 1:30 pm

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The late Oleg Bryjak seen here in Los Angeles  with Plácido Domingo.

"A stunned German town mourned 16 students who went down aboard Germanwings Flight 9525 on their way home Tuesday from a Spanish exchange, while the opera world grieved for two singers who were returning from performing in Barcelona - one of them with her baby. 'This is surely the blackest day in the history of our town,' a visibly shaken Mayor Bodo Klimpel said after the western town of Haltern was shocked by news that 16 students from the local high school and two of their teachers had been on the plane. They had just spent a week in Spain. Also among the passengers were two German singers who had been in Barcelona to perform in Richard Wagner's Siegfried at the city's Gran Teatre del Liceu - bass baritone Oleg Bryjak, a member since 1996 of the ensemble at Duesseldorf's Deutsche Oper am Rhein opera house, and Duesseldorf-born contralto Maria Radner. 'We have lost a great performer and a great person in Oleg Bryjak. We are stunned,' said Christoph Meyer, director of Deutsche Oper am Rhein. Radner took the Germanwings flight with her husband and baby, Liceu director of communications Joan Corbera said. He added that the theater's employees will hold two minutes of silence on Wednesday in the singers' honor." [Source]

Contralto Maria Radner, seen here performing in Wagner's Das Rheingold at the Royal Opera House  under conductor Antonio Pappano, was among the crash victims. (Photo: Clive Barda)

Dagmar Pecková Breaks Out A Battery Of Sinful Women On New Disc

April 1, 2015, 5:16 pm

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Mezzo-soprano Dagmar Pecková as Klytaemnestra for the new recording on Supraphon.

"Recorded at the Studio of Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Bratislava, September 2–4 and 8–10, 2014. The provocative title of the new album by the feted mezzo-soprano Dagmar Pecková reflects a remarkable dramaturgic idea: that which connects the life of modern humans with the heroines of Antique mythology is the principle of sin – and forgiveness. This is perhaps why all

The singer as Cherubini's demented Medea

the featured characters are smart and strong women, some of them even endowed with supernatural abilities. Women determined to apply the boldest means so as to gain that which they long for – or to take revenge. Women betrayed by a ruse or wounded by their own love. The very first aria featured, that of Massenet’s Marie-Magdeleine, opens the scope for the message – that the only way out of sin is forgiveness. 'When you look at mezzo-soprano characters, virtually all of them can be branded sinners. Perhaps it is owing to the darker voice colour...' says Dagmar Pecková. As rendered by her on the present album, each of the 'sinful women' is profoundly treated in psychological and emotional terms. This profundity and inspiration is based on the soloist’s own professional experience and is also the fruit of the collaboration with the accompanying Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, under the uncompromising and masterful baton of Aleksandar Markovic. Love, sin and forgiveness. An insight into the mysterious female soul." [Source] Read more about the album here. Watch a video from the recording session, see more photos, and the full track list, after the jump.

Dagmar Pecková
Sinful Women
 
Jules Massenet – Marie-Magdeleine
1/ O mes soeurs 5:48 

Camille Saint-Saëns – Samson et Dalila
2/ Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix (Dalila, Act 2) 6:27
3/ Bacchanale 6:54

Jules Massenet – Hérodiade
4/ Ne me refuse pas (Hérodiade, Act 2) 4:22

Igor Stravinsky – Oedipus Rex
5/ Nonn' erubescite, reges – Oraculum (Iocasta), 6:45 

Luigi Cherubini – Medea
6/ Del fiero duol che il cor mi frange (Medea, Act, 3) 4:28)

Richard Wagner – Parsifal
7/ Ich sah das Kind (Kundry, Act 2) 5:36 (Libretto Richard Wagner)
 
Richard Strauss – Salome
8/ Dance of the Seven Veils 9:25

Richard Strauss – Elektra
9/ Ich habe keine gute Nächte (Klytaemnestra) 6:50

Antoine Mariotte– Salomé
10/ Salomé: Ah! Je baiserai ta bouche, Iokanaan
(Salomé, Hérode, Choeurs, Final Scene) 11:19

That Time Emmy Rossum Sang Puccini For Pork On "Conan"

April 2, 2015, 8:50 am

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Actress Emmy Rossum recanted a story, when visiting Conan O'Brien on his late-night talk show a few years ago, about when she started studying singing at age 7 and would walk by a butcher shop on a regular basis. All she had to do was stop and sing an aria in order to get a free hot dog. Watch the clip for her spontaneous performance of "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianna Schicchi.

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Los Angeles Opera Costume Sale Reaps Thousands Of Visitors

April 3, 2015, 3:59 pm

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A potential buyer transforms into a soldier from La Fille du Régiment or perhaps Carmen. (Photo: Gary Leonard)

"The line started forming outside of the parking lot at 330 S. Alameda St. around 8 a.m., some two-and-a-half hours before the gates opened. By the time L.A. Opera’s one-day costume shop sale closed on Saturday, March 28, more than 4,000 people had perused the wares. Approximately 1,000 costumes from productions such as The Barber of Seville, The Birds and Salome were on the racks, and crowds scooped up everything from accessories to dresses to 'diva' costumes worn by leads such as tenor Plácido Domingo. About 750 pieces were purchased, and the items left over will be sold at discounted rates to schools around the county (anything remaining after that will be donated to charity). The sale comes as the costume shop leaves its 14-year home for a space on 14th Street in the Industrial District, thanks to rising rents in the searing-hot Arts District, according to Senior Director of Production Rupert Hemmings." [Source]

Chris Powell To Leave Pittsburgh Opera For Glimmerglass Festival

April 3, 2015, 4:14 pm

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"Pittsburgh Opera music administrator Chris Powell will leave the company on April 13 to grow to be director of administration and community engagement beginning on April 20 for Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, N.Y. He will oversee advertising, planning, artistic administration, public relations and community engagement. 'This is a truly exceptional chance for Chris,' says the Pittsburgh Opera's general director Christopher Hahn. Hahn hired Powell in 2001. 'He's worked through a range of responsibilities and is in a very very good position to move forward in his profession,' Hahn says. 'Glimmerglass is certainly a incredibly fine festival enterprise and the possibilities this will afford him are fantastic. I'm extremely pleased for him.' Powell, 43, is a Mt. Lebanon native who graduated from Duquesne University and the University of Miami. He was a winner as a horn player of the Music in Mt. Lebanon competition in 1991. He also was personnel manager from 2005 to ‘09 for the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in the course of James Levine's tenure with the Boston Symphony and the Tanglewood Festival. As Pittsburgh Opera's music administrator, Powell has been in charge of procurement of all added musical instruments, was personnel manager for the chorus and orchestra, in charge of the daily and extended term schedules and took care of visa, immigration and other problems for guest artists. He's also managing director of 3 Rivers Ringers, a handbell choir." [Source]

Fiorenza Cedolins And Pietro Ballo Honored At Grand Prix Dell'Opera

April 6, 2015, 7:16 am

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Mezzo-soprano Fiorenza Cedolins was  bestowed "Italian Voice of the World."

"Brillanti i giovani talenti lirici, Fiorenza Cedolins interprete magistrale, brillante direzione orchestrale del M° Roberto Gianola. Stasera alle 21,15 andrà in onda su Tv Parma uno special sul Grand Prix dell’Opera, spettacolo andato in scena nel Teatro Regio sabato scorso: un’occasione per dare visibilità a cinque «nuove proposte» della lirica, prescelte dall’organizzatore Maurizio Macaluso con la supervisione tecnica del celebre soprano Fiorenza Cedolins....Invitato per l’assegnazione del premio alla carriera, il grande tenore palermitano Pietro Ballo ha interpretato «I’ te vurria vasà», lasciando poi spazio al baritono Giovanni Tiralongo, suo allievo. Tra i premiati, il direttore dell’Orchestra del Grand Prix – Parma 2015, Roberto Gianola (premio direzione orchestrale). Il premio «Voce italiana del Mondo» è stato quindi assegnato a Fiorenza Cedolins: una presenza prestigiosa, arricchita da un’interpretazione magistrale della «Vergine degli angeli» (Forza del Destino) e «Io son l’umile ancella» (Adriana Lecrouveur). Briosa e signorile la conduzione dell’amato presentatore televisivo Fabrizio Frizzi che, a fine serata, si è prestato a «un gioco», come lo ha definito lui stesso: il duetto della Vedova Allegra cantato a fianco della Cedolins. Accanto a lui la giornalista di Tv Parma, Manuela Boselli, nel ruolo di co-conduttrice." [Source] Other singers on the program included Pietro Adaini, Daniel Giulianini di Forlì, Paolo Ingrasciotta, Veronica Marini, Francesca Pierpaoli, and Giovanni Tiralongo. Watch a video clip after the jump.

Tenor Pietro Ballo was honored with a career lifetime award.

Watch more video footage of the event by clicking here.

Palm Beach Opera Hit With Lawsuit Regarding Raimondi Sculpture

April 9, 2015, 3:10 pm

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Spirit Ascending by John Raimondi

"The sculpture Spirit Ascending once stood 39-feet-tall, a focal point for a South Florida philanthropist's home and later a piece for the Palm Beach Opera's now-defunct opera house building plans. And it was reduced to a pile of scrap metal, which the artist said was sold for cash. Sculptor John Raimondi filed a federal lawsuit Monday, claiming the opera dismantled the 2-1/2-ton, bronze sculpture in September 2013 without asking his permission to do so, in violation of the federal Visual Artists Rights Act. After destroying his piece, Raimondi claims opera officials sold off the pieces of bronze to a scrapyard for profit. 'It's just inconceivable,' he said. 'I could understand if they were a concrete company or something, but they're in the business of observing and preserving an art form — opera. It's incomprehensible.' Ceci Dadisman, the opera's director of communications, said the organization has not yet been served with the lawsuit and declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday....The Visual Artists Rights Act, which was adopted in 1990, is a federal law that grants certain rights to artists who produce printed photographs, sculptures, paintings and other pieces of art. One of those rights is that an artist's work cannot be destroyed, distorted or modified without the artist's consent. Raimondi's lawyer, L. Louis Mrachek, said sometimes when a piece of art is sold, a Visual Artist Rights Act clause can be included in the contract, which would void the rights of the artist. In the case of Spirit Ascending, no such contract was signed with either Pope or the opera. [Source]

Pool Time Is For the Birds In Promotional Featuring Aquatic Youth

April 9, 2015, 3:38 pm

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A group of young people assemble at a swimming pool to create a Bellagio-style water show using water guns. Under the show plays the overture from Rossini's La gazza ladra. "La gazza ladra (Italian pronunciation: [la ˈɡaddza ˈlaːdra], The Thieving Magpie) is a melodramma or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on La pie voleuse by Jean-Marie-Theodor Badouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigniez. The composer Giaochino Rossini wrote quickly, and La gazza ladra was no exception. According to legend, before the first performance of the opera, the producer assured the composition of the overture by locking Rossini in a room, from the window of which the composer threw out the sheets of music to the copyists who then wrote the orchestral parts, to complete the composition of the opera. As such, The Thieving Magpie is best known for the overture, which is musically notable for its use of snare drums." [Source] Watch the video after the jump.

Ninfa Gianfala, Former Metropolitan Opera Young Arist, Releases CD

April 9, 2015, 4:48 pm

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Ninfa Gianfala, far right, after winning first place in the 1962  Gulf Coast regional auditions of the Metropolitan Opera.

"The ghostlike image of the little girl from Magazine Street hovers in the background, but she’s not an apparition. 'That’s me,' Ninfa Gianfala says, pointing to the image. 'I was the little girl from Magazine Street.' Inside, she’s still that little girl, the one who loved to perform, the one who was teaching neighborhood kids to sing at age 9, the youngest person ever to become a member of the New Orleans Opera Chorus. The one who has put together a retrospective CD chronicling her career in opera and concerts, titled — what else?— The Little Girl from Magazine Street. The CD comes in a two-disc set and is available on iTunes and at Amazon CDBaby.com. The cover features a photograph of Gianfala from her performance days in the foreground, the ghostlike photo of her as a child in the background. Now she sits at the dining room table in the Baton Rouge home she shares with husband, Daniel Caruso, to tell her story. It was Caruso, along with the couple’s daughter, Lori, who encouraged Gianfala to compile the CD of the music that had taken her from the New Orleans Opera to New York for the Juilliard School for the Performing

Click here to purchase the album

Arts, then to LSU for her master’s degree. Eventually, she opened the Mexican restaurant El Palacio with her husband. Critic Rex Reed used to frequent the restaurant when visiting his ailing father. Gianfala never met him, but he knew about her musical background. And he remembered her upon receiving a copy of the CD, opening his review with, 'Nina Gianfala may not be a household name, but that is just an accident of fate. She deserves to be widely known because her talents are varied and many.' Reed points out that Gianfala is equally at home singing opera and Broadway show tunes. What he doesn’t discuss — and perhaps didn’t know when writing the review — is that she also is a composer, having written a Christmas opera titled 'Malachi.' Gianfala teaches voice lessons, her students ranging from age 5 to 70-something. It’s a job she’s loved since her childhood at 3915 Magazine Street." [Source]

Yusif Eyvazov Loses Over 30 Pounds And Talks Future Plans

April 9, 2015, 5:57 pm

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Rico Suave: The tenor shows off his new svelte fashion body (Photo: Gilbert Novy/Kurier)

"Er ist fast nicht wieder zu erkennen: Ganze 15 Kilo hat Yusif Eyvazov (38) seit seinem letzten öffentlichen Auftritt mit seiner Verlobten Anna Netrebko (43) abgenommen. Sein Outfit – glitzernde Silberjacke, enges rotes Shirt und goldene Sneakers – muten an, als hätte er vom Operngenre ist Popbusiness gewechselt. Fehlanzeige: Das österreichische Publikum wird von dem sympathischen Tenor in den nächsten Monaten viel zu hören bekommen. Bevor er am 16. Mai beim Life Ball singt und im Sommer in St. Margarethen den Cavaradossi in Tosca gibt, setzt Eyvazov am 30. April mit einem Charity-Konzert im Musikverein ein Zeichen: Bei Hibla Gerzmavas Festival wird er mit der Sopranistin und Ildebrando D’Arcangelo unter der Leitung von Vladimir Spivakov italienische Arien und Duette singen. Anlass dazu gab Netrebkos Sohn Tiago (7)." [Source] The interview goes on to discuss how he lost the weight; his relationship with Anna's son Tiago; dates for the wedding in St. Petersburg; and spending more time in New York City. Read the full interview by clicking here.

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L.A. Opera Gets An Admirer In Alleged-Murderer Robert Durst

April 10, 2015, 9:58 am

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И смело ей себя вверяю: Durst took a page out  of Tatyana's handbook and wrote a letter.

"In a scrawling, handwritten letter to The Times, murder suspect Robert Durst doesn’t speak of the serious charges he now faces but instead writes wistfully of his days in Los Angeles. The real estate scion muses about watching the city lights, the hopeless traffic congestion, spending time at a Sunset Boulevard coffee shop and his love of attending the opera. 'I loved watching the traffic come up La Cienega and mush into Santa Monica,' he wrote in his two-page letter, postmarked nearly two weeks after his arrest in the mysterious murder of author Susan Berman, found shot in the head at her Benedict Canyon home 15 years ago. Durst blames L.A.’s political and business leaders for the absence of professional football in Los Angeles, ridicules a performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle as being a 'true example of Hollywood gone berserk' and ruminates on his own medical condition. 'I have said nothing about charges, crimes or trials,' he adds. 'I’m sure you know what your abilities are to visit me when I get to L.A.' But it seems unlikely Durst will be coming to California anytime soon. Nearly after a month after his arrest, the 71-year-old subject of the HBO documentary The Jinx was in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Thursday to plead not guilty to state weapons charges, a case that has delayed his extradition to California." [Source] Experts say that Durst is trying to play crazy. Perhaps he's taking cues from the ID Channel. See an excerpt  of the note after the jump.

Opera Auction: Private Graham Concert; Meade Dinner X2; Signed Fleming Photo; And More!

April 10, 2015, 4:30 pm

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"Welcome to the bidding site for the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s 10th Annual OPERA NEWS Awards Live and Silent Auction. We invite you to browse our auction catalog and forward it on to your friends and colleagues. The auction will close at the end of the event and winners need not be present to bid or win. Be sure to check back frequently as new items will be added as they are secured! We encourage you to bid generously, knowing all proceeds go directly to fund our community and school programs. The mission of the Metropolitan Opera Guild is to enrich lives through an awareness and deeper appreciation of opera, while supporting the Metropolitan Opera by expanding its reach to diverse communities and a wider audience. The Metropolitan Opera Guild is the world’s premier arts education organization dedicated to enriching people’s lives through the magic and artistry of opera. The Guild fosters collaboration, literacy skills, and self-confidence in children with customized education programs integrated into the curriculum of schools, and builds a deeper appreciation of opera in adults through workshops, community programs, and by publishing Opera News, the world’s leading opera magazine. Through its unique relationship with the Metropolitan Opera, the Guild offers newcomers to opera and its most ardent fans access to one of the world’s most renowned performing arts companies." [Source] Items up for bid include:

**Twenty-minute recital by Metropolitan Opera star Susan Graham at your next dinner party at a mutually agreeable date and time in either New York City or Los Angeles.

**Dinner for two with Met Opera star Angela Meade and the Editor-in-Chief of OPERA NEWS magazine, F. Paul Driscoll, at Loi Estiatorio (132 West 58th Street, New York, NY 10019).

**One autographed photo of Renée Fleming from the OPERA NEWS December 2014 cover shoot. Framed, 11” x 14”, archival quality print. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

Browse many more of the items up for bid by clicking here!

Kathleen Battle Spiritual Is Backdrop For Solo Dancer Kara Wilkes

April 10, 2015, 8:11 pm

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"In Kara Wilke’s [sic] solo, set to Kathleen Battle’s haunting version of 'Over My Head I Hear Music in the Air,' Wilke moves swiftly from graceful to grotesque, changing the mood from gorgeous grandeur with effortless jumps to unsettling with unexpected kicks outward and flicks of the wrist." [Source]

"Kara Wilkes a native of Wisconsin, began her professional career performing classical and contemporary work for five seasons with Milwaukee Ballet Company. In 2006, she was invited to join Victor Ullate Ballet in Madrid, Spain; she then returned to the United States and was a member of North Carolina Dance Theatre for four seasons. While based in Charlotte, Wilkes performed works by Nacho Duato, Twyla Tharp, Alvin Ailey, Jacqulyn Buglisi, George Balanchine, Dwight Rhoden and Mark Godden. Wilkes was named one of '25 to Watch' by Dance Magazine in 2009 and joined LINES Ballet in 2011." [Source] Learn more about the Alonzo King LINES Ballet by clicking here. Watch a beautiful video, Tracing Lines with Alonzo King by Franck Thibault, after the jump.



Tracing Lines with Alonzo KING from Franck Thibault on Vimeo.

Juan Diego Flórez Raises Over $100K For Peru At Vienna Concert

April 14, 2015, 4:15 pm

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Vittorio Grigolo and Aida Garifullina join Juan Diego Flórez for a worthy cause in Vienna.

"The audience filled the Vienna State Opera and applauded tenor Juan Diego Florez enthusiastically and often during a benefit concert he gave on behalf of 'Sinfonia por el Peru,' the foundation he created in 2011 to help poor children in his homeland. Sources at the Viennese theater told Efe that the box office would easily surpass 100,000 euros ($106,000), from which only technical costs would have to be deducted, since all the artists donated their services. 'It's a dream come true that we can now say Sinfonia por el Peru is going so well it's changing the lives of many, many children in Peru,' Florez told Efe during one of the rehearsals before the gala performance. The tenor noted that big international opera stars would share the stage with young musicians from different social programs around the world, all motivated by the concept of transforming society through music. The gala served to present the Friends of Juan Diego Florez, an association created to support Sinfonia por el Peru and similar projects. Among those friends were Cecilia Bartoli, Russian soprano Aida Garifullina, tenor Celso Albelo and baritone Michele Pertusi, among others. Unfortunately absent was soprano Anna Netrebko, who announced Saturday that she would be unable to take part in the gala. Sinfonia por el Peru's 15 branches in different parts of the country are teaching some 2,500 children and young people living in unfavorable conditions to use music as a way to escape poverty, violence and child labor." [Source]

Diana Damrau Shows Off Favorite "Hotspots" In New York City

April 14, 2015, 6:50 pm

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She Made It After All: Diana Damrau in front of the Metropolitan Opera. She gives Austrian publication Kurier a  tour of her favorite hotspots in New York City. Every destination the soprano enjoys, including the Meatpacking  District, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Broadway Dance Center, Macy's Department Store, the Frick Collection,  and more, are included in the article that is packed with photos as well. (Photo: Ulrich Wagner)

"'Diese Metropole, so multikulturell, hat eine unglaubliche Energie. Wenn ich von New York wieder weg bin, merke ich, dass ich immer noch vibriere und eigentlich hundemüde bin. Kein schlechtes Gefühl.' So beschreibt Diana Damrau Manhattan. 'Ich liebe den Sog dieser Stadt. Hier kann man ganz ruhig leben oder sich voll reinschmeißen." Ein Mal im Jahr steht die Stadt, die niemals schläft, auf dem Programm der deutschen Sängerin. Dann verbringt Damrau – sie gilt zurzeit als weltbeste Koloratursopranistin – bis zu sechs Wochen in New York. Der Grund: Die 43-jährige Bayerin ist ein gefragter Star an der Metropolitan Opera. Heuer stand sie bei der Wiederaufnahme von Massenets"Manon" sogar mit ihrem Ehemann, dem französischen Bassbariton Nicolas Testé, auf der Met-Bühne. Auf den vielen Reisen der Künstlerfamilie sind die Söhne, Alexander (4) und Colyn (2), und das Kindermädchen immer dabei. Businessclass im Flieger ist da selten drin. 'Wenn möglich, buchen wir Economy Plus,' erzählt die Diva – eine erfrischend natürliche, hübsche Frau, so frei von jeglichen Allüren. 'Theater habe ich auf der Bühne, das brauche ich zu Hause nicht.' Bevor die Buben auf der Welt waren – Damrau hatte ihrDebüt an der Met 2005 als Zerbinetta – wohnte sie am liebsten mitten im West Village, nahe dem Meatpacking District. 'Entlang des Hudson Rivers bin ich kilometerweit mit den Inlineskates gefahren. Heute gehe ich dort auf der begrünten High Line mit meinen Jungs spielen. New York ist durchaus eine Stadt für Kinder.' Sie liebt das Sex and the City -Flair im West Village. Bei Tag laden die unzähligen Boutiquen, Galerien und Cafés zu einem Streifzug ein. Bei Nacht werden Kopfsteinpflaster und Backsteinhäuser des Meatpacking Districts zu einer schillernden Kulisse. 'I love it,' sagt Damrau, die neben Englisch und Deutsch auch Französisch, Italienisch und ein bisschen Spanisch spricht. Wenn sie nicht gerade mit ihren Kindern einen Spaziergang über die Brooklyn Bridge 'zur besten Eisdiele der Stadt' macht oder mit ihnen den Central Park Zoo besucht, 'gehe ich ins Broadway Dance Center, suche mir eine der vielen Kurse aus, zahle 17 Dollar und tanze oder steppe eine Stunde.' Meist ist die Sängerin mit dem Taxi oder dem Bus – 'da sieht man mehr als in der U-Bahn'– unterwegs. Bei Macy’s, dem größten Kaufhaus der Welt, müsse sie bei jedem New-York-Aufenthalt ein Mal hineinschauen. Zu ihren Lieblingsmuseen zählt, neben dem Metropolitan Museum of Art, die Frick Collection. 'In sechs Wochen lässt sich, trotz meiner Arbeit, schon einiges in dieser herrlichen Stadt unternehmen.' Nach den 'Good Vibrations' von New York freut sich die Belcantospezialistin dann doch immer wieder auf ein bisschen Ruhe und Landluft. 'Ich bin ein Landei, ich brauche die Natur.'" [Source]