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Dec 16, 2021

PRESS RELEASE: Soprano Elaine Alvarez steps in as Aïda with Ricardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony O

At the behest of Ricard Muti, Elaine Alvarez has been asked to step in last minute for an ailing colleague to sing the remaining performances of Verdi’s “Aïda” with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The performances, which mark Ms. Alvarez’s CSO debut, are June 23rd and June 25th, 2019. Ms. Alvarez previously sang with Maestro Muti in 2008 on tour with the Ravenna Festival performing the Soprano Soloist in Rossini's “Stabat Mater.” She made her Chicago debut in 2007 at the age

Dec 15, 2021

Habersham "exquisite" in Minnesota Opera's "The Fix"

"Katie — played by pulsating soprano Jasmine Habersham." -Star Tribune Read full review. "Habersham’s brief but memorable appearances are an integral part of this male-centric story and grounding our understanding of (and sympathies) for “Shoeless” Joe." -Twin Cities Arts Read full review. "At the center the opera, Shoeless Joe played by Joshua Dennis and his wife Katie, an exquisite Jasmine Habersham create a believable couple's chemistry. -Broadwayworld.com Read full revi

Dec 15, 2021

In Review: Anderson and Habersham impress in Berkshire Opera Festival "Falstaff"

"Mezzo Alissa Anderson, in the scene-stealing role of Mistress Quickly, did just that, her chest voice offering a passive-aggressive "Reverenza!" to Falstaff that he fell for completely. She was also capable of lightening her tone for ensembles. Her Mrs Lovett must also be a delight and she is slated to sing her first Erda soon. . . Lyric soprano Jasmine Habersham has a stunning, glowing sound and she looked right as Nannetta" -BachTrack "Alissa Anderson is a wonderfully funn

Dec 15, 2021

In Review: Vickers in the Naxos release of Risurrezione with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

“Prince Dimitri, is played by tenor Matthew Vickers, who can portray both youthful, ardent love in Act I and genuine remorse by the end of Act III. Here is a formerly callow lover who really wants to make it up to her. Vickers, a tall, strapping man, is even able to sing the climax of the Act I duet while carrying Duprels in his arms.” -Opera News “Matthew Vickers certainly manages to hold up his end of the dramatic situation, and his plangent voice is a real asset in his e

Dec 15, 2021

In Review: Vickers makes his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut

"Matthew Vickers displayed a ringing tenor in his company debut as Malcolm" -Chicago Classical Review "Tenors Joshua Guerrero and Matthew Vickers both make fine Lyric debuts as Macduff and Malcolm, respectively, lifting the tone of the opera’s second half to something rather more heroic." -Stage and Cinema

Dec 15, 2021

In Review: Staufenbiel and Irvin in Minnesota Opera's "Elektra"

"Craig Irvin as Orest made a vivid impression, completing a front-line vocal roster whose stamina never wavered through the 100-minute, intermission-free span of the opera...In director Brian Staufenbiel’s updating, the characters of Strauss’ opera are actually actors filming “Elektra” — a bloody tale of familial dysfunction — on a studio soundstage, with the orchestra on set behind them...Fussy as it sounds, Staufenbiel’s decision to present “Elektra” as an opera within a mo

Dec 15, 2021

Opera News hails Staufenbiel and Irvin in Minnesota Opera "Elektra"

"RICHARD STRAUSS'S ELEKTRA is all about primal screams, death cries, dissonance and angst. Silent movies are soundless, if often loudly emotional, affairs. Minnesota Opera combined the two in a provocative new production of Elektra that opened on October 5 at the Ordway Music Theatre in St. Paul. Stage director and production designer Brian Staufenbiel put Strauss’s opera in a new frame, creating a parallel story that overlaid the familiar opera version of the Greek tragedy.

Dec 15, 2021

Thurman brings "bright, facile sound" to Florentine "La bohème"

“Katrina Thurman brought a bright, facile sound to the role of Musetta, along with the theatrical depth to create a character that was both insufferable in her behavior and deeply loyal and compassionate with her friend Mimi.” - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “All four principals and the two comprimario players harmonized throughout under the watch of conductor Joseph Rescigno and stage director William Florescu. ... Katrina Thurman makes an attractive Musetta, but Thurman and

Dec 14, 2021

Flora Hawk to debut with Houston Grand Opera

Flora will make her Houston Grand Opera debut this fall as Peter in The Snowy Day. Ezra Jack Keats’s award-winning, ever-popular work from 1962, The Snowy Day, was the first mainstream children’s book to feature a Black boy as its protagonist. The story comes to life for the holidays in this anticipated world premiere opera from the brilliant creative duo of composer Joel Thompson and librettist Andrea Davis Pinkney. Join Peter, a young boy out exploring the city alone for th

Dec 14, 2021

In Review: Flora Hawk in Opera Saratoga's "Hansel and Gretel

“The other major players were also truly immersed in their respective interpretations of the famed opera, including the richly balanced voices and acting of the father, Justin Austin, and mother Flora Wall.” – Opera Wire

Dec 14, 2021

Opera News: McIntyre, Mayes, Gartland, and Watson excel in Des Moines Metro Opera "Wozzeck"

"THERE WERE SURPRISES on July 14 with Kristine McIntyre’s emotionally shattering mounting of Alban Berg’s seminal twelve-tone masterpiece Wozzeck. . . Baritone Michael Mayes created a magnificently rendered portrait of the bedeviled protagonist that was heart-wrenching in its volatility and desperation. The poignant Marie of Sara Gartland was something of a revelation. Gartland delivered the character through a gleaming column of sound that remained incisive yet consistently

Dec 14, 2021

Gartland lends her "radiant, full-bodied soprano" to DMMO's "The Queen of Spades"

"DMMO has hitched its wagon to the sublime talents of soprano Sara Gartland and the annual outcome could not be happier. Having been heard at Des Moines in past seasons as a compelling Jenufa, ravishing Rusalka, and highly affecting Marie in 2019’s Wozzeck, Ms. Gartland proved once again to be a perfect fit for the role at hand, the torn, lovelorn, and fatally frustrated Lisa. Her radiant, full-bodied soprano was made for the passionate outbursts required by the tortured hero

Dec 14, 2021

Marino "simply delightful" as Santa Fe Opera's Cherubino

"The main reasons to see Santa Fe’s Marriage of Figaro, a timeless comedy of errors, are soprano Ying Fang as Susanna, the faithful servant, and mezzo Megan Marino as Cherubino, the infatuated pageboy... With her attractively flexible timbre, and rich chest voice, Marino expresses Cherubino’s ardor. Her “Voi che sapete” is simply delightful." - The Dallas Morning News "there are plenty of funny moments throughout the production, particularly courtesy of the scene-stealin

Dec 14, 2021

In Review: Marino in The Metropolitan Opera's "Boris Godunov"

"Megan Marino sang the role of Feodor with swagger and playfulness. She gave the character a bright mezzo voice at the beginning but as her father’s tragedy grew, the voice obtained a darker timbre and her movements became more restrained and hesitant." — Operawire

Dec 13, 2021

In review: Laura Claycomb joins the San Francisco Symphony for Strauss' Brentano Lieder

“It is obvious that soprano Laura Claycomb has “lived” with the Brentano Lieder for some time. She sang them with MTT and the Symphony in 2005, and everything about her performance last week showed a deep awareness and understanding of both the text and the music. From the way her posture and demeanor changed with every song to the effortless way in which she blended lyricism with virtuosity, Claycomb captured and conveyed the essence of Strauss’ five Brentano Lieder” -San Fr

Dec 13, 2021

In Review: Laura Claycomb and Daniel Belcher in the world premiere of “The Scarlet Letter”

“Soprano Laura Claycomb exudes both passion and pride in her portrayal of Hester Prynne, an archetypal character whose punishment for adultery gives the story its title. Claycomb effortlessly negotiates the coloratura lines Laitman constructed for her and makes clear distinctions between her public and private interactions, particularly those with Hester’s concealed lover, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. . . Tenor Kyle Erdos Knapp and baritone Daniel Belcher (a beloved fixture at

Dec 13, 2021

Carico garners rave reviews for his Sancho Panza in "Don Quichotte" at Deutsche Oper Berlin

"As Sancho Panza, Seth Carico gives a vital, powerful, benevolently present performance of the servant who, shaking his head, follows his master into his consuming madness, but remains faithful even beyond his master's death. Carico dominates his idiomatic performance with vital power of tone." -Opernkritik Berlin "Seth Carico in the servant role of Sancho Panza is to be mentioned in the first place - also according to the strength of applause. The spiritual brother of Lepor

Dec 13, 2021

In his house debut, "fantastic singer-actor" Seth Carico excels in Staatstheater Hannover

"Actually, the opera should not be called Tosca, but Scarpia. Scarpia becomes the main character in this production, not only due to the the direction, but also due to the singer-actor in the role. Seth Carico is such a fantastic singer-actor that you might momentarily forget you're in the opera. With his vocal, highly-cultured and fantastically well-timbered baritone, he expressively differentiated, while never pretentious, the multi-faceted sides of the perpetrator and vict

Dec 12, 2021

In Review: Thelwell "stunning" in Madison Opera in the Park

"Rehanna Thelwell, a mezzo-soprano in a stunning golden gown, showed off her range too, from a delicate rendition of Elgar’s “Where Corals Lie” to vocal growls and broad humor in “When You’re Good to Mama” from the musical “Chicago.”" - The Capital Times

Dec 12, 2021

Tucker and Watson impress in San Diego Opera "Carmen"

"As Don José, tenor Robert Watson makes a solid company debut. He has a sweet and sensitive vocal tone, a big sound and performs his character’s signature “flower aria” mostly perfect. Most affectingly, he brings a lurking menace to his character, who transforms credibly from chaste country boy to obsessive killer and criminal in just over 2 1/2 hours. In this version, he doesn’t just fight with his superiors at the smugglers’ tavern in the first act, he brutally slaughters t

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