Songs & Numbers
CBS Star Jason Dohring Opens Up
Opera encompasses all aspects of performance, including acting. Now that opera performances are broadcast in high definition to movie and television screens across the world, the ability to act is even more important to a singer’s career.
Artists Listening to Artists
Conductor and pianist David Leighton recently gave an open rehearsal, and while listening to it, I thought of how important it is for artists to attend live performances outside their own disciplines. The recital he was preparing for included: two impromptus by Franz Schubert from op. 90 and the Wanderer Fantasy op. 15; Chopin nocturnes op. 9, no. 1 in B-flat minor and the familiar op. 9 no. 2 in E-flat major; and Chopin's Sonata 3 op. 58 in B Minor. Mr.
The Operatic Toasts of the Town
Last month, the opera world held its version of a "parade of champions" in Manhattan at the 3rd annual Opera News Awards where five operatic superstars were honored for their lifetime achievement, including: Leontyne Price, the great soprano who broke the color barrier for leading ladies at the Met and beyond in the 1960s; renowned City Opera and Met conductor Julius Rudel; and three artists still in the prime of their artistic careers -- baritone Thomas Hampson plus mezzo-sopranos Olga Borodina and Stephanie Blythe. The ceremony was as grand as the art form itself.
Opera News Awards Gala
The Metropolitan Opera Guild's third annual Opera News Awards gala will be held on Thursday, January 24, 2008, at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. In attendance will be some of the opera world's greatest stars, including this year's honorees: the mezzo-sopranos Stephanie Blythe and Olga Borodina, the baritone Thomas Hampson (whom I had the pleasure of interviewing via telephone while he was on location performing the role of Germont in the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of "La traviata"), the soprano Leontyne Price, and the conductor Julius Rudel.
