Lawrence Brownlee News

The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

International opera tenor and Atlanta resident Lawrence Brownlee performs at Emory's Schwartz Center for Performing Arts on Friday, March 22, at 8 p.m., part of his 2013 US solo recital tour. Noted pianist Martin Katz accompanies him. They will perform works ranging from Giuseppe Verdi to traditional African American spirituals.

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) welcomes alumnus Jesse Blumberg, baritone (MM, '03), and renowned collaborative pianist Martin Katz for free performances of Franz Schubert's two great Lieder cycles this February.

Seattle Opera today announced the company's 50th Anniversary Season. Performances of Wagner's Ring kick off the festivities this summer, followed by a subscription series of four operas. Starring singers beloved by the opera-goers of Seattle, the 2013/14 season offers subscribers a healthy variety of comedy and tragedy, reality and fantasy, in a mix of different musical styles and languages. Seattle Opera's anniversary celebration then climaxes in August 2014 with the International Wagner Competition and a special celebration honoring Speight Jenkins, the company's General Director since 1983.

LA Opera announces the 2013-2014 season, including Bizet's Carmen, Verdi's Falstaff, Mozart's The Magic Flute, Britten's Billy Budd, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Massenet's Thaïs, L.A. premiere of Wilson/Glass collaboration Einstein on the Beach.

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is delighted to announce its spring schedule of performances. The largest single source of performing arts events in the state of Ohio, CCM presents more than 100 major public performances from Jan. 12 through May 19, ranging from faculty and guest artist concerts to fully supported opera, drama and musical theatre productions.

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation holds its 37th annual gala, one of the most highly anticipated events of the opera season, tonight, November 11 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York's Lincoln Center. Soprano Ailyn Perez, winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award and the first Latina singer to be so honored, joins a dazzling array of special guests - including baritones Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Gerald Finley; mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina; tenor Marcello Giordani; bass Ildar Abdrazakov; bass-baritone Erwin Schrott; and many more - in a program of favorite arias and ensembles, including selections by Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti, Massenet, Mascagni, Handel, and Wagner. Maestro Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director of Houston Grand Opera, leads the lineup of luminaries, supported by members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the New York Choral Society.

Houston Grand Opera is performing Gioachino Rossini's splendid, humorous, and simply delightful L'italiana in Algeri or THE ITALIAN GIRL IN ALGIERS for the first time. Even knowing that comedic operas exist, it is still seems somewhat like a contradiction to this opera novice. With that said, being able to laugh and smile all the through a performance made this production all the more memorable and enjoyable.

Houston Grand Opera, with Music Director Patrick Summers and Managing Director Perryn Leech, announces its 2012-13 season, headlined by four new productions. The first of these is Puccini's La boheme, which launches the new season with a new staging by award-winning British director John Caird. To honor 2013's joint bicentennials of Wagner and Verdi, the coming season juxtaposes Tristan und Isolde - starring Ben Heppner and Nina Stemme in a new contemporary staging by Christof Loy - with a revival of Steven Lawless's unforgettable take on Il trovatore. British conductor Trevor Pinnock leads a strong international cast in Mozart's ensemble masterpiece Don Giovanni, while Francesca Zambello's new production of Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat brings together stars of Broadway and the opera house in a celebration of America's own contribution to the art. For a more intimate experience, Daniela Barcellona and Lawrence Brownlee star in Rossini's dramma giocoso, The Italian Girl in Algiers.

Houston Grand Opera opens its 2012-13 season in grand style on October 19, with a brand-new production of Puccini's La boheme starring Dimitri Pittas and Katie van Kooten.

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation holds its 37th annual gala, one of the most highly anticipated events of the opera season, on Sunday, November 11 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York's Lincoln Center. Soprano Ailyn Perez, winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award and the first Latina singer to be so honored, joins a dazzling array of special guests - including baritones Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Gerald Finley; mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina; tenor Marcello Giordani; bass Ildar Abdrazakov; bass-baritone Erwin Schrott; and many more - in a program of favorite arias and ensembles, including selections by Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti, Massenet, Mascagni, Handel, and Wagner. Maestro Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director of Houston Grand Opera, leads the lineup of luminaries, supported by members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the New York Choral Society.

The Canadian Opera Company has announced that, after four months of negotiations, the company's offer to the membership of Canadian Actors' Equity Association and the Toronto Musicians Association has been rejected. An agreement would have allowed the COC to continue to produce, in partnership with the CBC, broadcasts of the COC's entire 2012/2013 season on CBC Radio 2 and Radio-Canada's Espace Musique. These broadcasts have been in place since the fall of 2009.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced that mezzo-soprano J'nai Bridges, recipient of the 2012 Marian Anderson Award-a grant for American singers in mid-career-will perform a free recital in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater tonight, September 10, 2012 at 6 p.m.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced that mezzo-soprano J'nai Bridges, recipient of the 2012 Marian Anderson Award-a grant for American singers in mid-career-will perform a free recital in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater on Monday, September 10, 2012 at 6 p.m.

The Met's popular Summer HD Festival returns for its fourth year on August 25, with ten free outdoor screenings of acclaimed performances from the Met's award-winning Live in HD series. The festival, which more than 40,000 people attended last year, kicks off with a screening of the Met's recent world premiere hit The Enchanted Island, a Baroque pastiche which stars David Daniels, Joyce DiDonato, and Placido Domingo.

Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director, previously announced the programming for the 46th season of the Mostly Mozart Festival, which runs from tonight, July 28 - August 25, 2012. Spanning seven venues, the Festival will offer more than 37 events including concerts, dance, visual art, film, pre-concert recitals, late-night performances, lectures, and bird-watching tours through Central Park, a special accompaniment to this summer's birdsong theme.

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation today announced that lyric soprano Ailyn Pérez is the winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award.

Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director, today announced the programming for the 46th season of the Mostly Mozart Festival, which runs from July 28 - August 25, 2012. Spanning seven venues, the Festival will offer more than 37 events including concerts, dance, visual art, film, pre-concert recitals, late-night performances, lectures, and bird-watching tours through Central Park, a special accompaniment to this summer's birdsong theme.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today named mezzo-soprano J'nai Bridges the recipient of the 2012 Marian Anderson Award, a biennial award of $15,000 given to an American singer in mid-career.

Celebrating a decade of outstanding music and dance, Emory's Schwartz Center for Performing Arts announces the season for the 2012-2013 Flora Glenn Candler Concert Series.