Prima esecuzione: 1 maggio 1786, Burgtheater di Vienna
RUOLES ON COMPETITION FOR THE OPERA STUDIO:
Il Conte di Almaviva BARITON
La Contessa di Almaviva SOPRANO
Susanna, promessa sposa di Figaro SOPRANO
Figaro BASS – BARITONE
Cherubino, paggio del Conte SOPRANO
Marcellina SOPRANO
Bartolo, medico di Siviglia BASS
Basilio, maestro di musica TENOR*
Don Curzio, giudice TENOR*
Barbarina, figlia di Antonio SOPRANO
* Both roles of Basilio and Don Curzio will be assigned to one soloist
– PERFORMANCES AT TEATRO OLIMPICO DI VICENZA DURING 2025 FESTIVAL VICENZA IN LIRICA
Critics’ prize entitled to Lukas Franceschini
– awarded during the final round of the competition*
Audience prize entitled to Francesco Pacchiega
– awarded during the final round of the competition* offered by Valeria Rubini
Operabase Prize
– a 30% discount on ‘Industry Professional’ subscriptions to all finalists and a 50% discount on special prizes (the discount is only applicable on payment of the annual subscription
The number of candidates for each location is limited. Here you can verify availability for preliminary round of Tullio Serafin Opera Singing Competition *
April, 6 2025
TEATRO FILARMONICO DI VERONA Verona – IT
4 available places
April , 7 2025
TEATRO DELL’OPERA DI ROMA Rome – IT
15 available places
April, 9 and 10 2025
TEATRO OLIMPICO DI VICENZA Vicenza – IT
35 available places
April, 14 2025
ISTANBUL STATE OPERA AND BALLET Istanbul- TR
23 available places
April, 28 2025
TEATRO CARLO FELICE DI GENOVA Genoa- IT
20 available places
May, 6 2025
TEATRO REAL DI MADRID Madrid – ES
25 available places
May, 12 2025
TEATRO ALLA SCALA Milan -IT
20 available places
* The number of available places is updated daily and not automatically with the registrations received.
Fantasie Nègre: The Piano Music of Florence Price, a performance by Samantha Ege in Milton Court on Wednesday 24 November 2021 Photos by Mark Allan
Chicago, IL – February 3, 2025 – Acclaimed for her scholarly storytelling and world-premiere recordings of Black Renaissance repertoire by Florence Price and Margaret Bonds, musicologist-pianist Samantha Ege has been dubbed “our trusted guide through lesser-known piano works both dynamic and beautiful” by BBC Music Magazine. Next month, Ege releases her fifth album, Maestra, featuring the piano concertos of Julia Perry and Doreen Carwithen, including the first commercial recording of Perry’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in Two Uninterrupted Speeds. The album, which experiments with time, space, color, and texture, will be released by Lorelt Records on March 25, 2025 – the 101st anniversary of Perry’s birth. Ege is known for her determination to uncover and elevate music by oft-neglected composers, and her work has expanded public access to and understanding of a cadre of pioneering women. In addition to several premiere recordings of pivotal works by Black women, her contributions include academic publications, BBC radio documentaries, and her debut book, South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago’s Classical Music Scene, just released in November 2024. “I love bringing different women’s voices into conversation with one another,” said Ege. “Even though Julia Perry and Doreen Carwithen never met, they had such ambition and drive in common. Sadly, they sank into obscurity in different ways – but on this album, they shine so brightly together.”
Photo of Julia Perry, courtesy of Talbott Music Library Special Collections and Westminster Choir College Archives.Photo of Doreen Carwithen, courtesy of the William Alwyn Foundation.
Born in Kentucky to a schoolteacher and amateur pianist, Julia Perry (1924-1979) studied in elite musical spaces – from Westminster Choir College and Juilliard to the private studios of Nadia Boulanger and Luigi Dallapiccola – earning admirers like Aaron Copland along the way. This premiere recording of Perry’s piano concerto features a haze of strings and winds and an irregular time signature that suspends reality, followed by a virtuosic, energetic movement with Afrodiasporic syncopations. “Perry’s Piano Concerto is a real celebration of her genius,” said Ege. “She’s built a whole universe, filling each musical measure with the brilliance of her own sonic cosmos. There’s also something so multidimensional about her exploration – her concerto isn’t in two movements, but in two speeds, as if she’s playing with spacetime. Yet this is no mere intellectual exercise; this music is vivid and alive, with so much color.”
An English contemporary of Perry, Doreen Carwithen (1922-2003) was a groundbreaking film composer in the male-dominated movie industry. Her Concerto for Piano and Strings is lush and cinematic with dramatic strings, shifting between muscular themes and introspective moods before breathing fire and catharsis into the concerto’s final moments.
The work offers a fascinating glimpse of the skilled musical storyteller before her identity was subsumed by her professor-turned-husband William Alwyn. When they eloped, Carwithen became Mary Alwyn, devoting herself entirely to promoting William’s work until his death. Ege’s artistic advocacy has brought fresh prominence to numerous women, recognizing their formative contributions despite immense adversity. The New York Times notes that this increased recognition is a “triumph indeed…a testament to how Ege has brought this music to the life it more than deserves.”
St. Mark’s Church, 131 East 10th Street (at 2nd Avenue)
Suggested contribution: $20
For reservations: 212.674.6377
Maestro Alan Aurelia and Tribecarts present “Black Voices,” with a cast of superb black artists focusing on the music of Eubie Blake, Scott Joplin, and music from opera, Broadway, jazz, spirituals, and more, Sunday February 2 at 3 PM, at St. Mark’s Church, Second Avenue & 10th Street.
The cast includes Jeannine Otis, Yvonne Curry, Rudy Mwangozi, Bim Strasberg, Rick Cordova, and Larry Marshall, who will perform excerpts from his show about the trailblazer and first real African American star on Broadway, Bert Williams, considered the King of Black Vaudeville.
Alan Arthur Aurelia has spent his life in the arts. He is the son of Maestro Alan Aurelia, creator of the Riverside Opera Company in 1996 and Richmond County Orchestra in 1998. As a child, Alan studied music, but also greatly enjoyed behind-the-scenes work and was creating promotional materials and writing grants for the organizations by the age of fifteen.
He subsequently began to love music as a player and performer. He got his first electric bass when he graduated from high school, and his first double bass shortly thereafter.
Alan attended the College of Staten Island, where he received a BA in Music with a concentration on double bass performance. He also studied at the Hartt School, the University of Connecticut, and the U. of South Carolina. As a teacher, he has been on the faculties of Wagner College, the College of Staten Island, and BMCC.
Comfortable in many different music genres, Aurelia is music director of the Richmond County Orchestra, and the Riverside Opera Company. He has guest conducted in Romania, Mexico, and Italy, where he was proud to show his son the village of Avellino, home of his ancestors before they emigrated to the U.S. in 1900. Aurelia is also currently President of the Tribeca Music and Art in Manhattan.
The Bronx Opera will present the beloved family opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck for two performances, Friday January 31 at 7:30 PM and Sunday February 2 at 2:30 PM at the Lovinger Theater/Lehman College, 250 Bedford Park Blvd. West in The Bronx. Artistic Director of the Bronx Opera is Ben Spierman; conductor is Michael Spierman.
Composer Humperdinck described his opera as a Marchenoper (fairy-tale opera). The libretto was written by his sister, Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale of the same name. The opera has been associated with Christmas since its earliest performances, and today is still most often performed around Christmas time. It is much admired for its folk music-inspired themes, one of the most famous being the “Abendsegen” (Evening Benediction) from Act II.
Hansel and Gretel premiered December 23, 1893 at the Hoftheater in Weimar, conducted by Richard Strauss. The Hamburg premiere took place the following year, conducted by Gustav Mahler.
Former Metropolitan Opera violinist ERICA MINER is now an award-winning author, screenwriter, journalist, and lecturer, who actively contributes to major arts websites (BroadwayWorld.com, us.Bachtrack.com, and LAOpus.com) and magazines (PNWA Magazine, Vision Magazine, WORD San Diego, Our City Istanbul).
She has lectured about writing and opera for groups from coast to coast and internationally and has been interviewed numerous times on radio and online podcasts.
OperaMyLove: Hello Erica. We spoke a while back and I believe we have to refresh the memory of our readers about your background. After a successful career as a violinist with New York’s Metropolitan Opera you transitioned into writing full-time. When did you first get interested in writing? What made you decide to take the leap?
Erica Miner: I actually started writing before I took up the violin. Back in grade school, when I was 7 or 8 years old, I was placed in a special afterschool program for Creative Writing. I’m not sure why, though I imagine one of my teachers saw that spark in me. I discovered I loved creating characters and plots and weaving them all together to tell stories. Shortly after that, I started studying violin. As those who have played that fiendishly difficult instrument know, it tends to be all-consuming, especially for a young kid. But I never stopped writing. Even when I was at the Met, I took writing classes whenever I could fit them into my schedule. When I retired from the Met, it seemed the obvious choice to go back to writing as my creative outlet. I’ve been writing ever since.
OperaMyLove: In 2022, Level Best Books published the first in your Opera Mystery series, “Aria for Murder,” a finalist in the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Awards and Chanticleer Independent Book Awards. Could you tell us what inspired this story?
Erica Miner: While I was at the Met, I couldn’t help but notice all the nefarious goings-on backstage, not to mention the conflicts that took place between orchestra players and among most of the other people working there. For example, in a situation where 100 neurotic musicians are thrown together in a hole in the ground with no light and no air 7 days a week, eventually one of them is going to feel like killing someone! With my writer’s imagination at play, I couldn’t resist the idea of writing a murder mystery that took place in this milieu. That’s how “Aria for Murder” was born. Julia, the protagonist, was based on myself when I first started out at the Met. She’s a starry-eyed neophyte violinist who is thrilled to be making her debut in the orchestra of the world’s most prestigious opera house on opening night. Little does she know something terrible is about to happen: during the performance, her mentor, a famous conductor, is assassinated on the podium. That is the inciting incident that turns Julia’s world upside down. When her closest colleague in the orchestra is accused of the murder, Julia starts probing the dark hallways and back stairways of the Met to find out who is the real murderer. This makes her a target of the ruthless killer, and she must use every bit of her self-preserving instincts to save her own life.
OperaMyLove:The equally thrilling sequel, “Prelude to Murder,” a Distinguished Favorite in the 2024 NYC Big Book Awards, was released in 2023. Was this book following the same character as the first one? Was there a real-life inspiration for this story?
Erica Miner: “Prelude to Murder” follows Julia to Santa Fe, where she is hired as concertmaster for the Santa Fe Opera for the summer season, consisting of 4 of the most violent operas ever written. Being the first of the first violinists is a high-pressure situation for this young violinist, made even more so by an exceptionally demanding conductor. Then, with the background of these bloody opera stories onstage, grisly murders begin to take place onstage and off. Julia’s natural curiosity kicks in, and she starts asking questions of company members to investigate what and who is behind these murders. This places her in danger, and again she finds herself in life-threatening circumstances. The fact that Santa Fe is known as having more ghosts than any other city in the US heightens the frightening atmosphere.
OperaMyLove: You completed the trilogy with “Overture to Murder,” released in Oct. 2024. Can you tell us something about this latest book of yours? Are we expecting an Agatha Christie trend or was this just a parenthesis among your many writing projects?
Erica Miner: in “Overture to Murder,” Julia heads to San Francisco as concertmaster of the Opera, but this time it is under more difficult circumstances: replacing the regular concertmaster, who has been seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident, which Julia suspects wasn’t accidental. When an important company member becomes the victim of a shocking murder, Julia is determined to investigate. Her efforts escalate with a second murder, and again she finds herself in the sights of the killer. But this time, she is not the only one who is in danger: a vulnerable family member is also being targeted, and Julia must work against the clock to save that person’s life.
As far as another sequel: I think both Julia and I are going to take a break while I promote what is so far a 3-part series. What happens after that is a work in progress. Stay tuned!
OperaMyLove: You have previously published another trilogy of operatic mystery books. What is the main difference between this one and the other?
Erica Miner: The previous series was with a different publisher. My new publisher at Level Best Books stipulated numerous changes to make what was renamed the Julia Kogan Opera Mystery Series into something markedly different: new titles, new book covers, new plot points, and overall a distinctive difference in perspective. I enhanced Julia’s character and heightened the danger and stakes of her involvement, clearly showing her development into a savvy, keenly intuitive amateur sleuth who manages to solve murders the Police can’t unravel. Readers who have read both versions have commented on how much more compelling the new version is. My publisher is pleased with the changes as well.
OperaMyLove: When you write for magazines, do you write exclusively about opera?
Erica Miner: I write about opera and symphony pretty much equally now. I’m lucky to have good relationships with both the Seattle Opera and the Seattle Symphony. (You can see the breakdown of each type on the Articles page of my website, https://www.ericaminer.com/articles.php.) My love for these two genres is evenly balanced. I started out as a young violinist playing solo and orchestral repertoire, but of course, my 21 years as a violinist at the Met gives opera a bit of an edge for me. Now that I’ve been accepted as a member of the prestigious Music Critics Association of North America, I am beginning to branch out to new and fascinating publications. I will be making my “debut” with Classical Voice of North America (CNVA) in January 2025, reviewing the Seattle Opera premiere of Berlioz’s Les Troyens in Concert. I’m quite excited about it.
Erica Miner: My writer’s imagination never quits, so of course I have a new Opera Mystery marinating in my mind. But as I mentioned above, I would like to make sure I get the word out for the 3 existing books, nurture these children as it were, before I plunge into a new sequel. People keep asking me about writing a memoir, but I think I would have to be more of a household name in order to make that something of broad interest.
OperaMyLove: A word for our readers…
Erica Miner: I just wanted OperaMyLove readers to know that I value their feedback, whether on my books or on any of the insights I’ve tried to provide in this interview. They can send me a message anytime via my website (https://www.ericaminer.com/contact.php), and I will always respond. I hope that opera lovers and book lovers, especially of mysteries, will not only enjoy the stories and the characters in my Julia Kogan Opera Mystery Series but also will be intrigued by the operas that are woven into the mystery plots. Most of all, I want to emphasize that the art form we call opera is unique: the only thing better than a great story is a great story WITH MUSIC. Viva l’Opera!
MIRO MAGLOIRE’S NEW CHAMBER BALLET CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY SEASONwith the WORLD PREMIERE of ‘STARGAZING,’to a commissioned score by CHRISTIAN-FREDERIC BLOQUERT
Friday & Saturday, November 22 & 23 at 7:30 PM
Mark Morris Dance Center, 3 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn NY
Musicians: Madeline Hocking, violin Sophiko Simsive, piano
Choreographer Miro Magloire continues to celebrate the 20th Anniversary Season of his New Chamber Ballet with the world premiere of “Stargazing,” set to the commissioned score, “Memory, Forgot,” by contemporary French composer Christian-Frederic Bloquert.
In honor of this special season, Magloire describes “Stargazing” as “a rhapsodic fantasy that revolves around the interweaving of music and dance.” The choreography is performed in New Chamber Ballet’s signature, in-the-round setup, with the audience seated up-close and able to see the dancing from various angles.
Christian-Frédéric Bloquert (composer)
Christian-Frédéric Bloquert is a French composer and conductor. He is the co-founder and Music Director of the BeComEnsemble. His works have been performed by the Berklee Contemporary Symphony, the MIVOS Quartet, the PHACE Ensemble, the Symphony Orchestra of Brasilia, the Juilliard Symphony, the Basel Sinfonieorchester, and the Ensemble InterContemporain amongst others.
He was the recipient of the 2020 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composers Award and, in 2021, he was a finalist of the Basel Composition Competition. Later that year Bloquert also won the Juilliard Orchestra composition Competition. Bloquert was a 2022 Blueprint Fellow and he was commissioned by the 2022 edition of the New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute for which he also won the 2022 Israel/Pellman Prize. Bloquert’s score for “Stargazing,” written for piano and violin, subtly evokes two iconic ballets: Tchaikovsky’s Serenade and Stravinsky’s Agon. The score was commissioned by the Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation.
Madeline Hocking, violin
Hailing from Qathet, Canada, Madeline Hocking is a violinist, violist, composer, and artistic director committed to giving contemporary music the attention and passion it deserves. She thoroughly enjoys collaborating with composers on world premieres of their works, as well as interdisciplinary projects involving improvisation and electronics. Madeline is a member of the Boston-based Semiosis Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to new music, and co-founder/co-artistic director of Noise Catalogue, an award-winning collective based in New York City. She also co-hosts an ongoing concert series with violist and composer Trevor New, ‘Telematic Collisions’, which employs cutting-edge technology to maximize audience interactivity and accessibility.
Madeline has achieved widespread recognition as both a chamber music and soloist, having soloed with the American Composers Orchestra, the San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra, the Vancouver Philharmonic, the Strathcona Symphony Orchestra, and the Comox Music Centre Orchestra. She’s been featured as a chamber musician in the New York Philharmonic’s ‘Nightcap’ series and as a solo performer at IRCAM forum, as well as being featured at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, the Banff Centre, the Bang on a Can Marathon, and countless festivals across North America. As a composer, her works have been performed at venues across the US, Canada, and Hungary. Madeline received her Bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a Master’s degree in contemporary violin from Manhattan School of Music.
Sophiko Simsive, piano
Hailed as an “exceptional musician of rare talent who promises to become one of the leading pianists of her generation” by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Simsive began her studies at the age of three and, since then, has been invited as a recitalist to prestigious venues such as Berliner Philharmonie and Concertgebouw. Simsive has performed with the Residentie Orkest, Yale Philharmonia, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Jeugdorkest Nederland, and MSM Philharmonia, and has worked with conductors such as Lev Markiz, Peter Oundjian, Jan Willem de Vriend, and Jurjen Hempel.
Simsive is the pianist of the prestigious Claremont Trio. She has performed with chamber groups including the Calidore String Quartet and has collaborated with prominent musicians such as Kian Soltani and Gilbert Kalish. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has been featured at renowned festivals including the Yellow Barn Festival, the Music Academy of the West, and the Verbier Festival. Simsive serves as a Senior Teaching Assistant at Yale University, where she co-teaches alongside violinist Wendy Sharp. She is also a Chamber Music and Private Piano Instructor at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
Simsive holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Solomon Mikowsky. Her past teachers include Boris Berman, Jacques Rouvier, Mila Baslawskaja, and Maka Aladashvili. Simsive is represented by Interartists Amsterdam Management. www.newchamberballet.com
Musicians: Madeline Hocking, violin Sophiko Simsive, piano
Choreographer Miro Magloire continues to celebrate the 20th Anniversary Season of his New Chamber Ballet with the world premiere of “Stargazing,” set to the commissioned score, “Memory, Forgot,” by contemporary French composer Christian-Frederic Bloquert.
In honor of this special season, Magloire describes “Stargazing” as “a rhapsodic fantasy that revolves around the interweaving of music and dance.” The choreography is performed in New Chamber Ballet’s signature, in-the-round setup, with the audience seated up-close and able to see the dancing from various angles.
Christian-Frédéric Bloquert (composer)
Christian-Frédéric Bloquert is a French composer and conductor. He is the co-founder and Music Director of the BeComEnsemble. His works have been performed by the Berklee Contemporary Symphony, the MIVOS Quartet, the PHACE Ensemble, the Symphony Orchestra of Brasilia, the Juilliard Symphony, the Basel Sinfonieorchester, and the Ensemble InterContemporain amongst others.
He was the recipient of the 2020 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composers Award and, in 2021, he was a finalist of the Basel Composition Competition. Later that year Bloquert also won the Juilliard Orchestra composition Competition. Bloquert was a 2022 Blueprint Fellow and was commissioned by the 2022 edition of the New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute for which he also won the 2022 Israel/Pellman Prize. Bloquert’s score
for “Stargazing,” written for piano and violin, subtly evokes two iconic ballets: Tchaikovsky’s Serenade and Stravinsky’s Agon. The score was commissioned by the Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation.
Madeline Hocking, violin
Hailing from Qathet, Canada, Madeline Hocking is a violinist, violist, composer, and artistic director committed to giving contemporary music the attention and passion it deserves. She thoroughly enjoys collaborating with composers on world premieres of their works, as well as interdisciplinary projects involving improvisation and electronics. Madeline is a member of the Boston-based Semiosis Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to new music, and co-founder/co-artistic director of Noise Catalogue, an award winning collective based in New York City. She also co-hosts an ongoing concert series with violist and composer Trevor New, ‘Telematic Collisions’, which employs cutting-edge technology to maximize audience interactivity and accessibility.
Madeline has achieved widespread recognition as both a chamber music and soloist, having soloed with the American Composers Orchestra, the San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra, the Vancouver Philharmonic, the Strathcona Symphony Orchestra and the Comox Music Centre Orchestra. She’s been featured as a chamber musician in the New York Philharmonic’s ‘Nightcap’ series, and as a solo performer at IRCAM forum, as well as being featured at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, the Banff Centre, the Bang on a Can Marathon, and countless festivals across North America. As a composer, her works have been performed at venues across the US, Canada, and Hungary. Madeline received her Bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a Master’s degree in contemporary violin from Manhattan School of Music.
Sophiko Simsive, piano
Hailed as an “exceptional musician of rare talent who promises to become one of the leading pianists of her generation” by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Simsive began her studies at the age of three and, since then, has been invited as a recitalist to prestigious venues such as Berliner Philharmonie and Concertgebouw. Simsive has performed with the Residentie Orkest, Yale Philharmonia, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Jeugdorkest Nederland, and MSM Philharmonia, and has worked with conductors such as Lev Markiz, Peter Oundjian, Jan Willem de Vriend, and Jurjen Hempel.
Simsive is the pianist of the prestigious Claremont Trio. She has performed with chamber groups including the Calidore String Quartet and has collaborated with prominent musicians such as Kian Soltani and Gilbert Kalish. As soloist and chamber musician, she has been featured at renowned festivals including the Yellow Barn Festival, the Music Academy of the West and the Verbier Festival. Simsive serves as a Senior Teaching Assistant at Yale University, where she co-teaches alongside violinist Wendy Sharp. She also serves as a Chamber Music and Private Piano Instructor at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
Simsive holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Solomon Mikowsky. Her past teachers include Boris Berman, Jacques Rouvier, Mila Baslawskaja, and Maka Aladashvili. Simsive is represented by Interartists Amsterdam Management. www.newchamberballet.com
This performance is supported by the Amphion Foundation and the Aaron CoplandFund for Music. An earlier version of this piece was commissioned by the New York Choreographic Institute.
On Wednesday 30 October at 6.30 p.m., the concert of Kiana Reid, winner of the second prize at the “Domenico Scarlatti” International Piano Competition, was held in Trapani, in the Church of Sant’Alberto in via Garibaldi. The Japanese-American musician performed a program that spans three centuries of music history, including Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata in E major K20, Robert Schumann’s Fantasies in C major Op. 17, Franz Joseph Haydn’s Sonata in F major Hob XVI:23 and Sergej Rachmaninov’s Musical Moments Op.16. Kiana Reid represents one of the most promising pianists of her generation. She began studying piano at the age of six in Japan, and quickly conquered the most prestigious stages in the world, from the Suntory Hall in Tokyo to the Musikverein in Vienna, from the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin to the Central Music School of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Her talent was recognized with numerous first prizes in competitions, including the Takamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, the Palma d’Oro International Piano Competition, and the Sergio Fiorentino. International Piano Competition. Trapani concert season is organized by Mema (Mediterranean Music Association) and Trapani Classica, with the contribution of the Ministry of Culture and the Sicilian Region – Regional Department of Tourism, Sport and Entertainment, in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art – Oratorio San Rocco Cultural Center, the Goethe Institut, the Italian-German Cultural Institute – Trapani Section and the Free Municipal Consortium of Trapani.
THE ORCHESTRA OF THE BRONX WILL PRESENT ITS ANNUAL HANDEL’S ‘MESSIAH’
DECEMBER 8 AT LEHMAN COLLEGE,
JOINED BY SOLOISTS AND CHORUS OF THE BRONX OPERA
and 23 GUEST SPEAKERS, REPRESENTING RESIDENTS OF THE BRONX
The Orchestra of The Bronx, led by conductor Michael Spierman, will return to Lehman College with its annual holiday production of Handel’s “Messiah”.
Soloists and chorus are members of The Bronx Opera, directed by Ben Spierman.
The unique production includes 23 guest speakers—all noted members of the Bronx community—who introduce each musical section, speaking Handel’s text.
Guests include political, business, media, and education notables – an honor student, a waiter in a popular restaurant, a hip-hop artist – a real cross-section of Bronxites.
Sunday, December 8, 3 pm
Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College, 250 Bedford Park Blvd. West
Michael Spierman, founder/conductor of The Orchestra of The Bronx, announces the opening concert of the 2024-25 season. The 40-member orchestra of musicians drawn from other major orchestras and Broadway shows, joined by guest violinist Sharon Gunderson, will perform a program of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Mozart, Sunday October 20, at 3 PM, at the Lehman College Lovinger Theatre, 250 Bedford Park Blvd. West, Bronx, NY.
Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture to The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave) was inspired by the composer’s 1829 trip to Fingal’s Cave on the island of Staffa, off Scotland’s west coast. Mendelssohn was overwhelmed by the scenery and wrote to his sister Fanny: “To make you understand how extraordinarily the Hebrides affected me, I send you the following, which came into my head there.” He included the first 21 bars of the overture of Fingal’s Cave, which Mendelssohn wrote to capture the Atlantic swell, the sound of the waves crashing into rocks and lapping against each other. Scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings, the 10-minute Overture, dedicated to King Frederick William IV of Prussia, received its world premiere on January 10, 1833, in Berlin.
Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, often referred to by the nickname “Turkish”, like Mozart’s other violin concertos, is an early work, written in 1775, when the composer was 19 years old, and premiered during the Christmas season that year in Salzburg. It is not known for whom it was written, but Mozart himself may have played it since he was said to be an accomplished violinist. It is the third movement that gives this concerto its “Turkish” nickname, as the violin and orchestra take up what is meant to suggest wild Turkish music. Turkish culture was fashionable in 18th-century Europe, with Turkish coffee, Turkish subjects in dramas and paintings, and popular stories about Turkey in many operas.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F Major, fondly referred to by the composer as “my little Symphony in F”, is generally regarded as light-hearted, though not lightweight, because of its short length, lighter tone, and frequent return to the musical styles and forms of the eighteenth century. However, beneath the gaiety of its surface lies much complexity and a promethean connection. The premiere took place February 27, 1814 at a concert in Vienna. Beethoven was growing increasingly deaf at the time, but insisted on leading the premiere. Reportedly, “the orchestra largely ignored his ungainly gestures and followed the principal violinist instead”.
Sharon Gunderson (violinist) is a native of Flagstaff, Arizona, and received her Bachelor of Music degree from Boston’s New England Conservatory. During her 26 years in NYC, Sharon has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras, and has shared stages with Andre Watts, Itzhak Perlman, Helene Grimaud, and Yo-Yo Ma. In the pop world, she was a member of the orchestras of Andrea Bocelli, Johnny Mathis, Dianne Reeves, and Bernadette Peters. In 2008, she and pianist Mary Bopp founded Chamber16, a dynamic consortium of artists presenting classical, modern, new music and improvisation. Sharon has worked with The Orchestra of The Bronx for over 20 years.
Conductor Michael Spierman has been Music Director of The Orchestra of The Bronx since 1973, and is also co-founder of the Bronx Opera and Artistic Director since its inception in 1967. He has been guest conductor of orchestras in Brazil, Mexico, Bulgaria, and England. A member of the Hunter College music faculty from 1970 to 2008, Spierman was also former Chairman of the Music Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts. Spierman is one of the conductors invited annually for the Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall sing-along of Handel’s Messiah.
The full vocal score of this magnificent opera is AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY FROM AMAZON.COM or BARNES & NOBLE
The Vocal Score of the Munich version of the Stabat Mater by Tommaso Traetta is now available.
With biography and commentary in English, Italian, German and Japanese.
The full vocal score is AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY FROM AMAZON.COM or BARNES & NOBLE
Doña Flor, the vocal score
The full vocal score of this magnificent opera is AVAILABLE NOW FROM AMAZON.COM
Articolo di Gianluca Macovez Il Maestro di canto pronto ad inaugurare l’Accademia del Belcanto nel New Jersey Su questo sito qualche tempo fa avevamo pubblicato un’intervista a Massimo Iannone, Maestro di canto di valore internazionale. Ci piace parlare di nuovo di questo artista, perché da allora la sua attività ha avuto un deciso incremento: lasciata […]
Sala gremita e grande partecipazione di pubblico per “Un viaggio a Venezia”, il concerto di Natale dedicato ad Antonio Vivaldi che ha concluso la prima serie di quattro appuntamenti musicali di “L’anima italiana – I Maestri della Musica Classica”, progetto ideato e promosso dalla Società delle Associazioni Italiane di Ginevra (SAIG) che rende omaggio a otto tra i più celebri compositori italiani, […]
Venerdì 24 ottobre 2025, presso il Conservatorio di Musica “Giovan Battista Martini” di Bologna, è stato proclamato il vincitore del Premio Zucchelli per pianoforte 2025 – seconda edizione, realizzato con il contributo di Banca di Bologna. Il premio è finalizzato a sostenere la formazione artistica degli allievi e delle allieve delle classi di pianoforte del Conservatorio di Bologna, che si sono […]
Sabato 29 novembre 2025 presso l’Opificio Golinelli di Bologna è stata proclamata l’opera vincitrice tra le tre concorrenti al Premio Speciale Zucchelli 2025, ideate e interpretate da studentesse e studenti dell’Accademia di Belle Arti e del Conservatorio di Musica Giovan Battista Martini di Bologna con il il coordinamento del digital creator e tutor Simone Tacconelli e dei tutors delle due istituzioni Aurelio Zarrelli […]
Sabato 20 dicembre “Oratorio de Noël” di Camille Saint Saëns con “Concetto Armonico” – Festival “Vicenza in Lirica” La città di Vicenza si prepara ad accogliere un appuntamento che unisce storia, memoria e musica: l’inaugurazione dell’Olimpichetto, la straordinaria riproduzione in scala del Teatro Olimpico realizzata nel 1948, simbolo di rinascita culturale e orgoglio cittadino. A celebrarne il ritorno negli […]
La 77ª stagione del Luglio Musicale Trapanese presenta un’opera rara e attuale: L’ammalato immaginario di Leonardo Vinci su libretto di Antonio Salvi, tratto dalla celebre comédie-ballet di Molière. Appuntamento il 25 ottobre, alle ore 19.00, al Teatro Tonino Pardo di Trapani.L’opera settecentesca, in una ripresa drammaturgica pensata durante il lockdown 2020-2021 da Matteo Peirone – […]
L’ambasciata Italiana a Zagabria con l’Istituto Italiano di Cultura e la Prefettura di Vicenza. Negli ultimi giorni Andrea Castello, presidente dell’associazione “Concetto Armonico”, direttore artistico del Festival “Vicenza in Lirica” e presidente dell’”Archivio Storico Tullio Serafin”, ha preso parte a una serie di incontri istituzionali di grande rilievo che hanno confermato il suo costante impegno […]
Dal barocco di Händel al linguaggio contemporaneo di Ronchetti e D’Amico, passando per Wagner, Strauss, Gounod, Mozart e naturalmente Verdi, Puccini e Rossini, senza tralasciare un omaggio a Henze nel centenario della nascita. Un triplice debutto nel Lohengrin per Mariotti, Michieletto e Korchak e una collaborazione triennale con Il Teatro di Roma, che inizia con […]
Il giovane tenore veneto Alessandro Lora a New York:concerto per CARUSO nella storica Basilica OLD San PatrickNew York – Il giovane tenore veneto Alessandro Lora, nuova promessa del pop liricoitaliano, sarà protagonista di un importante evento internazionale a New York.Il 12 ottobre alle ore 13:00, infatti, si esibirà nella prestigiosa Basilica di San Patrick OldCathedral, […]
CARUSO, una voce, un mito… A New York la quinta edizione del Caruso Tribute Prize in occasione del Columbus Day MADRINA VERONICA MAYA La voce di Enrico Caruso torna a risuonare a New York. A oltre un secolo dal suo storico debutto al Metropolitan Opera, la città che lo consacrò a mito ospiterà la quinta […]
Opera, My Love Magazine 