Fake Pianist Has Her Life Story Filmed for the BBC
Opera 
How Star Soprano Lily Pons Became a U.S. Postmark
Above: Soprano Lily Pons sings one of her signature arias – “The Bell Song” from Delibes’ opera Lakmé – in the 1930 film I Dream Too Much. In an era when opera singers weren’t generally over-hyped media stars, soprano Lily Pons was famed as no less than Metropolitan Opera sweetheart and Hollywood starlet. And, according [...]
OSU Alumna Eugenie Grunewald Puts Drama in Columbus Opera
International operatic mezzo-soprano and Ohio State University alumna Eugenie Grunewald returns to Columbus this week to serve as artistic consultant for Opera Project Columbus’ production of “A Taste of Opera: Scenes from Opera’s Best.” Performances Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21 at 8 p.m. at Gray Chapel on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University.
Giving Arts Funding in the U.S. a Kickstart
Kickstarter anticipates distributing more money than the NEA this year
Art and Democracy: The NEA, Kickstarter, and Creativity in America; Thomas Quasthoff speaks out; Young voices changing more and more quickly
Long-Lost Opera Discovered off the Coast of Sicily
Mt. Etna, the Sicilian volcano as temperamental as an opera diva, may have helped save Vincenzo Bellini's lost first opera from destruction.
Opera lovers have the Sicilian volcano Mt. Etna to thank for preserving the manuscript score of what is believed to be Sicilian composer Vincenzo Bellini’s long-lost – and now recently discovered – first opera, according to a report on WQXR’s Operavore blog. The Feb. 27 discovery occurred near the Italian village of Vambolieri as archaeologists [...]
A Contest for Tiny Operas
Inside the London Coliseum, the home of the English National Opera
Operas tend to be plus-sized – multi-act jobbies that leverage enormous vocal prowess and over-the-top drama to tell stories, usually about scalliwags, betrayal, redemption and/or death, and usually over the course of many, many hours. It thus comes as no little (pun intended) surprise that the English National Opera is soliciting entries for its Mini [...]
Cleveland Orch Expands Its Outreach to Miami…Florida
Cleveland Orchestra at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami
Cleveland Orchestra expands it’s outreach to Miami, Florida has patrons asking why; Deutsche Oper forced to reschedule Hitler’s favorite opera.
The Beautiful Shirley Verrett
It has been said that singers are a dime a dozen. But great singers? Not so much. Mezzo-soprano Shirley Verrett was one of the greats. She eventually transitioned into soprano roles, transforming the rich depths of her voice into a velvety, caramel-hued spinto of power and grace. Above, Verrett sings the aria “Vissi d’arte” in [...]
Trailblazing African-American Soprano Camilla Williams Dies
Above: A documentary of the life of Camilla Williams, produced by Richard Glazier for a 2009 New York City Opera salute to Williams. Soprano Camilla Williams, the first African-American woman to sing a leading role at a major U.S. opera house, died Sunday at her home in Bloomington, Ind., according to the Associated Press. She [...]
Post-Levine Era Slowly Unfolding at Met Orchestra
Is Italian Conductor the Heir to Levine’s Podium? Fabio Luisi has conducted most of the performances for ailing conductor James Levine. While replacing Levine seems a daunting task, a recent performance featuring Renee Fleming indicates that the transition may be nearly seamless. What do you think? Does the Met need a “name-brand” conductor? Read Luisi [...]
Opera at the Vegetable Stand
It started out like an ordinary November day at the Central Market in Valencia, Spain. Fruit and vegetable vendors displayed their wares and rang up customers at cash registers, and customers ambled though, picking up brightly hued produce for the day’s meals. But then a fruit vendor broke out in song to the accompaniment of [...]
