NYS Music 2024

Tag: Opera

  • Rose Theater in NYC Hosts Premiere of “Blind Injustice” Performed by MasterVoices this February

    On February 3 and 4, Artistic Director Ted Sperling leads the 120–member MasterVoices Chorus in the premiere of the acclaimed opera, “Blind Injustice.” The show takes place at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

    blind injustice

    “Blind Injustice” features music by Scott Davenport Richards and libretto by David Cote. The opera tells the true story of the Ohio Innocence Project’s work to overturn the convictions of six men, women, and teens who were wrongly imprisoned for violent crimes they didn’t commit. The opera is based on the book of the same name by Mark Godsey and the casework by the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. The inspiring 90-minute work in staged presentation showcases an operatic score infused with jazz, gospel, funk, hip-hop, and musical theater. The shows take place on Feb 3 and 4 at 7:30pm.

    “Blind Injustice” makes its New York premiere following a critically praised world premiere at Cincinnati Opera in 2019 and a subsequent production at PEAK Performances at Montclair State University (MSU) with Ted Sperling conducting and members of the MasterVoices Chorus joining MSU choristers in February 2024. Immediately following each performance, there is a 30-minute moderated conversation with four exonerees portrayed in the opera: Nancy Smith, Laurese Glover, Clarence Elkins, and Rickey Jackson, as well as artists and experts working in the field of criminal justice reform. Conversations are free to ticket holders.

    Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center

    MasterVoices (formerly The Collegiate Chorale) was founded in 1941 by legendary American choral conductor Robert Shaw. Under the artistic direction of Tony Award winner Ted Sperling since 2013, the group is known for its versatility and a repertoire that ranges from choral masterpieces and operas in concert to operettas and musical theater. Season concerts feature a volunteer chorus of 100+ members from all walks of life alongside a diverse roster of world-class soloists from across the musical spectrum.

    Conductor Ted Sperling

    One of today’s leading musical artists, Tony Award-winning Maestro Ted Sperling is a classically trained musician whose career has spanned from the concert hall and the opera house to the Broadway stage. Presently Artistic Director of MasterVoices, he has led such symphony orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Boston Pops, San Diego Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, the Iceland Symphony, Czech National Symphony, and BBC Concert Orchestra, as well as New York City Opera and Houston Grand Opera. Put simply, you’ll want to catch him live conducting this opera in February.

    For more information on the upcoming “Blind Injustice” opera performed by MasterVoices at Lincoln Center, click here.

  • Opera Saratoga Announces 64th Summer Season for May 20 – June 29

    Opera Saratoga based out of Saratoga Springs has announced their 64th Summer Season which runs from May 20 – June 29.

    Opera Saratoga summer

    Offenbach, Meilhac & Halévy’s sparkling, witty, and electric La Vie Parisienne takes us to the heart of the demi-monde in 1860s Paris where two bachelors play tour guide to a Swedish Baron and Baroness. They showcase the Paris of their imagination, complete with visits to dives that they claim are fancy palaces and meetings with friends who are disguised as aristocrats. La Vie Parisienne is social critique at its most hilarious. You will leave the theater humming catchy patter songs and raucous party numbers. This show includes four performances at Universal Preservation Hall on June 20, 26 & 28 at 7:30 pm and June 22 at 2:00 pm.

    Offenbach’s romp runs in repertory with Bock, Harnick & Masteroff’s jewel-box musical She Loves Me. Famous for tunes like “Vanilla Ice Cream”, “She Loves Me”, and “It’s Been Grand Knowing You”, this sweet story focuses on two employees in a Budapest parfumerie who are sworn enemies during the day but unsuspecting lonely hearts penpals at night. This show consists of five performances at Universal Preservation Hall June 21, 25, 27 at 7:30 pm and June 28 & 29 at 2:00 pm.

    Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs

    Earlier in the month, the company will produce a site-specific installation version of In a Grove composed by Chris Cerrone with libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann. This operatic adaptation of Akutagawa’s classic short story “In a Grove” which inspired the plot of Kurosawa’s renowned film Rashomon, offers a searing investigation into the impossibility and elusiveness of truth. This show takes flight with four performances at the Ferndell Pavilion in Saratoga Spa State Park on May 28 at 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm, and May 29 at 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm.

    Saratoga Spa State Park

    Finally, the company will present a work-in-progress showing of composer Emma O’Halloran and librettist Naomi O’Connell’s A Mass for Women in Bathrooms. This opera-theater work for three singers, an actress and electronic sound design by Alex Dowling reframes the structure of the Irish Catholic Mass to tell an intimate family story of three sisters and their mother. A story born from personal experience, A Mass for Women in Bathrooms examines themes of infertility, reproductive rights, and dementia, while reclaiming bodily autonomy for women in a historically violent space. This project is funded in part by the Arts Council of Ireland. This show airs with two work-in-progress performances at Universal Preservation Hall on June 22 at 7:30 pm and June 27 at 2:00 pm.

    For more information on the Opera Saratoga Summer Series and to purchase tickets click here.

  • New York City Opera Installs Constantine Orbelian as Executive Director & Music Director

    The board of New York City Opera announces the appointment of Constantine Orbelian as the organization’s new Executive Director & Music Director. Constantine succeeds General Director Michael Capasso.

    Constantine Orbelian

    Four-time Grammy-nominated conductor Constantine Orbelian has been called “the singer’s dream collaborator” by Opera News. He has toured and recorded with some of the world’s greatest singers, such as American stars Renee Fleming, Sondra Radvanovsky and Lawrence Brownlee. He also toured with the great Dmitri Hvorostovsky and other renowned singers in European, North American, and Asian music centers.

    Orbelian’s accomplishments include being Music Director of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia of Russia. He founded the annual Palaces of St. Petersburg International Music Festival and was Chief Conductor of the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra in Lithuania. He was the first American to become music director of an ensemble in Russia.

    NYC Opera’s 2024-25 season is poised to captivate and inspire with dynamic repertoire that celebrates resilience, history, and community. The season also features the long-awaited revival of William Grant Still’s Troubled Island. It is presented 75 years after its 1949 premiere at City Opera.

    “I am honored and excited to take on the role of Executive Director in addition to my current role as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the New York City Opera, a company with such a rich legacy and profound history in the world of music. This opportunity allows me to blend my passion for artistic excellence with mindful and positive stewardship, ensuring that the cherished traditions of this great institution continue to thrive. Together with this wonderful community, we will embark on a journey that honors the past while boldly shaping the future of this iconic opera company.”

    Constantine Orbelian

    To learn more about NYC Opera’s new executive director and music director Constantine Orbelian, please click here.

  • Musicians of Ma’alwyck Ensemble Presents a Musical Rendition of “A Water Bird Talk”

    Classical chamber music ensemble Musicians of Ma’alwyck presents Pulitzer Prize winner Dominick Argento’s 1975 mono-opera “A Water Bird Talk,” paired with Anton Chekhov’s one-act monologue “On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco,” on which the opera is based.

    The performance will take place on June 15 at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, with a pre-opera talk with the performers scheduled at the Hart Cluett Museum, both located in Troy.

    Four musicians holding a flute, a violin, a guitar and a cello from left to right.

    “A Water Bird Talk” is a sharp-witted piece that follows a gentleman lecturer presenting a scholarly talk on water birds in a late nineteenth-century ladies’ club. His descriptions of each bird serve as metaphors for his own dejected life, portraying him as an inherent victim of constant ridicule from his domineering wife and daughters.

    In 1962, Paul Newman directed an Oscar-nominated film adaptation of Chekhov’s play featuring music by David Amram, and Musicians of Ma’alwyck intend to pay tribute by using Arman’s score to provide musical interludes to the play. The opera boasts a 12-piece orchestra, including core Musicians of Ma’alwyck personnel: Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz, artistic director and violin; Norman Thibodeau, flute; and André Laurent O’Neil, cello. Internationally acclaimed baritone Joseph Han will also be part of the opera, with direction by Brian Sheldon, known for his work on plays like “Minutes” in Albany, and musical conducting by Micah Gleason.

    “A Water Bird Talk” stands as a testament to Musicians of Ma’alwyck’s mission to cultivate and promote an understanding of American life in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, particularly in New York. The opera follows the legacy of the ensemble’s previous nationally recognized opera “Shield’s The Poor Soldier,” and other remarkable productions like “Blum’s The Ship’s Captain” and “Max Caplan’s Aleda.” They have also been in residence at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany for over twenty years, and currently hold a residency at SUNY Schenectady.

    This collaboration with Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, NY promises a mesmerizing evening of musical brilliance.

    Tickets are available for purchase by calling (518) 273-0038 or online here.

  • The Met Brings Opera To The Parks For its 14th Summer Recital Series

    The Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2024 Summer Recital Series lineup in collaboration with Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage.

    The recital series will feature performances in all five boroughs. The first recital on June 18 will be in the heart of Manhattan at SummerStage in Central Park. Soprano, Leah Hawkins, tenor, Mario Chang and bass-baritone, Michael Sumuel will take to the stage to kick off the recitals. Opera fans can bring chairs and blankets to enjoy the free concerts.  

    The first Met opera house opened in 1883 by a group of wealthy businessmen. It wasn’t until 1966, when the Met joined the other New York arts institutions, that the opera house in Lincoln Center opened. This theater was better equipped with the technology needed for a metropolitan experience. In order to expand its audience, the opera house introduced its The Met: Live in HD in 2006, bringing the opera experience to cinemas across the country. In another effort to expand its audience, the Met brought its work to parks around NYC.

    The first Summer Recital Series happened in 2009. The idea was to bring music to people who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to experience an Opera. Since 2009, the Met singers have performed nearly every year with a break in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.

    June 18: CityParks SummerStage, Central Park—Manhattan
    Leah Hawkins, Soprano
    Mario Chang, Tenor
    Michael Sumuel, Bass-Baritone
    Dimitri Dover, Piano

    June 20: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1—Brooklyn
    Leah Hawkins, Soprano
    Mario Chang, Tenor
    Michael Sumuel, Bass-Baritone
    Dimitri Dover, Piano

    June 24: Jackie Robinson Park—Manhattan
    Brittany Olivia Logan, Soprano
    Hannah Jones, Mezzo-Soprano
    Matthew Cairns, Tenor
    Deborah Robertson, Piano

    June 26: Williamsbridge Oval—Bronx
    Brittany Olivia Logan, Soprano
    Hannah Jones, Mezzo-Soprano
    Matthew Cairns, Tenor
    Deborah Robertson, Piano

    June 28: Socrates Sculpture Park—Queens
    Brittany Olivia Logan, Soprano
    Hannah Jones, Mezzo-Soprano
    Matthew Cairns, Tenor
    Deborah Robertson, Piano