The Marriage of Figaro - Articles Page 13

Talking to Khori Dastoor, General Director of Opera San José brings to mind that old quote from Elizabeth Taylor when she was faced with unimaginable adversity, “Now is the time for guts and guile.” Just one year into her tenure as GD, Dastoor is faced with an almost impossible situation due to the Covid pandemic. Out of all the arts, opera, the artform which she has made her life’s work, arguably has the biggest challenges. After all, the act of singing operatically produces enormous amounts of aerosols, the core audience is older and thus especially at risk for Covid, and the population at large may not consider opera to be essential to their lives. Since creating new works is practically impossible, many GD’s are offering a sort of greatest hits of former glories, video snippets from past years that were already in the can. Or maybe something like a “reading” of an old holiday chestnut like Der Rosenkavalier, presented Brady-Bunch style on Zoom. So what does Dastoor do instead? She goes bravely programs a brand-new, beautifully-produced production of Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers, starring no less than world-renowned opera star Susan Graham, alongside two of Opera San José’s super-talented Resident Artists, soprano Maya Kherani and baritone Efraín Solis. This immensely moving chamber work is based on an unpublished play by Terrance  McNally, adapted by librettist Gene Scheer, and tells the story of a family struggling to connect during the early years of the AIDS pandemic. The work premiered in 2008, yet somehow feels more relevant than ever, given the parallels with what we’re all going through today, as evidenced by McNally’s death from Covid earlier this year. The opera is currently available for streaming through the end of December. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit operasj.org. BroadwayWorld spoke with Dastoor shortly after the filming of Three Decembers had been completed. Dastoor was remarkably open and forthcoming about the challenges of the opera world right now, even as her passion for growing the artform burns stronger than ever. We talked about how she managed to produce Three Decembers during Covid, her successful earlier career as a lyric soprano, and the imperative to keep the arts alive during these difficult times. Her responses to my questions were invariably thoughtful, often surprising and not without humor. And, as a rare woman of color leading an opera company, her understanding of the need to open up her artform runs deep. Above all, though, she is just plain fun to talk to - effortlessly engaging, whip-smart, emotionally transparent, and without an ounce of pretension.

The Charlotte Symphony has announced details for a revised winter season featuring four new virtual concerts, streamed directly from the Knight and Belk Theaters. Highlights include an all-English program and Beethoven’s first and seventh symphonies, conducted by Music Director Christopher Warren-Green, plus much more.

While performing arts organizations around the world are dusting off existing productions of the usual chestnuts during the month of December, Opera San José is taking a more audacious approach with its holiday programming. They are presenting a new, fully-staged production of Jake Heggie’s immensely moving chamber opera, Three Decembers, featuring world-renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in the central role, alongside celebrated Opera San José Resident Artists soprano Maya Kherani and baritone Efraín Solís. Based on the unpublished play Some Christmas Letters by Tony-winning playwright Terrance McNally, Three Decembers follows the story of a famous actress, Madeline Mitchell, and her two adult children, Beatrice and Charlie over three decades (1986, 1996, and 2006). With a witty and touching libretto by Gene Scheer and a soaring musical score by Jake Heggie, Three Decembers is a 90-minute fullhearted American opera about family – the ones we are born into and those we create. The world-class digital production is offered via on-demand streaming through December 31, 2020. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit operasj.org or call (408) 437-4450. BroadwayWorld speaks with charismatic baritone Efraín Solís, who plays son Charlie.

The Dallas Opera's 2020/2021 season, postponed earlier this year because of COVID 19, will commence on March 5, 2021.

Pacific Opera joins forces with Willoughby Symphony Orchestra for its first “Pocket Opera” staging of Mozart's comic opera The Marriage of Figaro at The Concourse in Chatswood on Saturday 27 March 2021. 

The artists and artistry of San Francisco Opera will be on full display in Celebrating the Voices of San Francisco Opera, a virtual event premiering on Friday, December 4 at 7:30 pm Pacific.

Skyline Theatre Company, Bergen County’s most established professional theatre company,  will livestream its annual holiday production this Sunday at 7pm ET on Skyline’s Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/SKYLINETHEATRECOMPANY.

An upcoming concert called Mozart! is coming to Flagey: Studio 4 in Place Saint-Croix / Heilig Kruisplein, Brussels.

Following a string of major Wagnerian successes (Rienzi, Tannhauser, Lohengrin, Tristan and Isolde, The Flying Dutchman), Melbourne Opera is thrilled to present the pinnacle of operatic excellence, indulgence and excess - Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle.

Riverside Studios today announces further programming for its inaugural Christmas season in association with New Frame Productions, including an evening of unplugged performance with West End Acoustic featuring SIX's Maiya Quansah-Breed and Renée Lamb, Wicked's Nicholas McLean, Jesus Christ Superstar's Tyrone Huntley and Dear Evan Hansen's Oliver Award-winning Sam Tutty.

The artists and artistry of San Francisco Opera will be on full display in Celebrating the Voices of San Francisco Opera, a virtual event that will be unveiled at sfopera.com, YouTube and Facebook on Friday, December 4 at 7:30 pm Pacific.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that opera singer Sam Hall has died at age 47.

Experience wonderful Mozart concert & dinner with leading Czech opera singers and musicians through a special event called Mozart Dinner.

Premiering online Saturday, November 7 at 7:00pm EST, Pittsburgh Festival Opera will present a tribute to its founder, Mildred Miller Posvar, to celebrate her lifetime achievement and continuing contributions to the world of opera.

The cast and creatives have been announced for new production of Trouble in Tahiti, NHO's first indoor performances since lockdown.

The Santa Fe Opera’s General Director Robert K. Meya announced today the company’s exciting return to the stage in 2021 with the repertory, principal singers, conductors, directors and designers scheduled for its 64th Season.

Lyric Opera of Chicago has canceled the remainder of Lyric's 2020/21 Season, based on guidance from city and state agencies regarding the ongoing health crisis. The company had previously canceled performances through the end of calendar year 2020.

New opera film The Soldier's Return gives veterans a voice to premiere on Remembrance Sunday.

San Francisco Opera continues streaming performances with Giacomo Puccini's Tosca on October 10a?"11, Giuseppe Verdi's Attila on October 17a?"18 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) on October 24a?"25.

After canceling the opening Masterworks concerts for the 2020-21 season due to the pandemic, the Columbus Symphony today invited Masterworks ticketholders to attend live performances of four new concerts at the Ohio Theatre.

Baritone Lucas Meachem and his wife, pianist Irina Meachem, sang an aria-filled recital on to open the Merola Opera Program Recital Series September 27, 2020. The Meachems opened the recital with the aria a?oeBella siccome un angeloa?? (a?oeBeautiful as an Angela??) from Donizettia??s Don Pasquale. Lucas acted with his voice to show not only its power and huge sound but also his ability to control it and sing with a mere thread of sound when describing the sweetness of the young lady.

On the Los Angeles Opera website this week, soprano Sarah Vautour, together with pianists Steven Blier and Jeremy Frank, offer a recital of cabaret classics for her a?oeLiving Room Recital.a?? San Francisco opera notes that one of their Merola Opera Programa??s illustrious alumni, baritone Lucas Meachem (2003), opens Merolaa??s Virtual Recital Series on Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. PDT, with a?oeI Left My Aria in San Francisco.

In light of ongoing 2020 health considerations and regulations that have forced Lyric to cancel live mainstage performances through December 31, 2020, Anthony Freud, Lyric Opera of Chicago's general director, president and CEO, has announced the company's reimagined slate of exciting artistic activities.

Minnesota Opera will perform at CHS Field on September 24 and 26, 2020 at 7:30pm.

The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra (LSO) and the Penn Square Music Festival (PSMF) are pleased to announce a partner project - Harmonize Lancaster: A Virtual Music Collaboration.