Peter J. Thompson, National Post ADMIT IT: It's been a while since you've seen an opera on the subject of interracial marriage. via National Post
Symphony audience taken on trip to Italy
"Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 "Italian."
The Springfield Symphony Orchestra's season finale program Saturday, May 3, proved to be an exhilarating event. via Springfield News-Sun
Music Preview: Laura Claycomb brings her experience as Giulietta to Pittsburgh Opera
"This Giulietta doesn't have much joy"
Laura Claycomb plays Giulietta in the Pittsburgh Opera's production of Bellini's "The Capulets & the Montagues." "Giulietta fits me to a T," says Laura Claycomb, who will open as the heroine of Bellini's "I ... via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"I did not plan it that way; it happened, but I am glad. Each offers distinctly different challenges and different opportunities"
When music lovers on the Shore head to Salisbury University's annual spring music festival beginning Sunday, one face will be a constant. via Daily Times
Vivaldi's 'Argippo' returns to Prague after 278 years
"We will use original historical instruments and the Spanish Hall is great for the sound of music from that era"
When a musician from the southern Czech Republic stumbled upon an anonymous score, he knew it was the long-lost opera 'Argippo' by Italian baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi. via South Florida Sun-Sentinel
TCO 'Barber' blend of strong singing, sharp comedy
If Wednesday's final dress rehearsal for the opening night cast is any indication, Tri-Cities Opera is poised to have a successful run of one of the most beloved comic operas of all time, Rossini's "The Barber ... via Press & Sun-Bulletin
Masonic Temple could house arts events
Glad to know that there's another person who recognizes the waste of the old Masonic Temple on Main Street. via Press & Sun-Bulletin
"Think much, speak little, and write less."
Today is Thursday, May 1, the 122nd day of 2008. There are 244 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey gave the command, 'You may fire when you are ready, Gridley,' as an American naval force destroyed a Spanish squadron in Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.
On this date:
In 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was created as a treaty merging England and Scotland took effect.
In 1786, Mozart's opera 'The Marriage of Figaro' premiered in Vienna. Read more
This week's diarist is Marshall Pynkoski, co-artistic director of Toronto's Opera Atelier. via National Post
"No one ever challenged me before"
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall has met his match in actor Laurence Fishburne, who brings him vibrantly to life in a one-man play titled 'Thurgood.' It opened last night at Broadway's intimate Booth ... via Journal News
Torchwood star joins 'Bryn-fest'
Captain Jack in BBC sci-fi series Torchwood - is the latest name to be revealed for ninth year of the event dubbed "Bryn-fest". A multi-national line-up has been unveiled for the Faenol event from 22 to 25 ... via BBC News
Ignore the set of Billy Budd, and you'll hear a masterpiece
"Billy Budd, king of the birds"
Throughout Houston Grand Opera's Billy Budd , an unseaworthy mechanical gizmo spins on stage - it's an annoying mechanical platform that's supposed to be the deck of the English warship Indomitable . via Houston Press
Phantom of the Opera returns to Auckland
The Phantom is going strong, 22 years on. Twelve years after the Phantom last graced a New Zealand stage, Andrew Lloyd Webber's famed musical is set to return to our shores, playing a limited season at ... via The New Zealand Herald
Review: 'Figaro' fusion imaginative, dazzling
There are a number of marriages in "Figaro," but, all things considered, the most important marriage is the inspired pairing of Beaumarchais' "The Marriage of Figaro, and Mozart's opera of the same name. via Pleasant Hill Record
An editor's pick of interesting events happening tonight in Toronto, updated daily by 2 p.m. This comic musical which has taken T.O. by storm is based on the low-budget, cult-classic - 80s film, and stars actor ... via Toronto.com
EDITORIAL: Two Spoletos: Kinship rekindled
"It is something that will have to grow."
The stage was set here last year. The 2007 opening ceremony of the Spoleto Festival USA featured the mayor of Spoleto, Italy, who left no doubt how anxious officials of his country were to arrange a reunion ... via The Post and Courier
This week's diarist is Marshall Pynkoski, co-artistic director of Toronto's Opera Atelier. via Canada.com
Wagner grandson to quit as opera chief
"Wolfgang Wagner decided ... it is now time to hand over responsibility"
RICHARD Wagner's grandson has agreed to resign as head of Germany's Wagner festival in August after a 57-year reign, a spokesman said today, announcing a decision which could help end an epic family battle. via News.com.au
Wagner festival director to step down
"The signals that we have received have been very good. We can be cautiously optimistic"
FILE ** In this July 25, 2007 file photo, Wolfgang Wagner, grandson of German composer Richard Wagner, right, and his daughter Katharina, left, stand prior to the Wagner Festival opening in front of the ... via Athens Banner-Herald
BARITONE ANTON BELOV will perform a free concert at at 3 p.m. May 17 the Highland Park Public Library, 31 N. Fifth Ave. via Courier News
Last Night: Miami Symphony Orchestra at The Lincoln Theatre
Better Than: 100 years of symphonic solitude sung by Marquez himself. It's not every night that one gets to hear a hundred year span of classical music played live; then again, it's not every night that The ... via Miami New Times
Jenkins to sing at FA Cup final
Opera star Katherine Jenkins will be the first person to sing the Welsh national anthem at Wembley when she performs ahead of the FA Cup final. via IcScotland
Diva's star power shines through
With Measha Brueggergosman's media engine presently in high gear, making her first stage appearance in a Mozart opera now is certain to blur the line between critical praise and adoring hysterics. via National Post
Leaving Linton aside for a moment
It looks like today's big news swept away most of the other would-be Bronte news. via Bronte Blog
Rufus Wainwright to compose opera
"But I couldn't find a story that I could wrap my head around."
Production will focus on day in the life of a singer Rufus Wainwright is set to compose an opera for the Metropolitan Opera . via NME.com
Rufus Wainwright penning opera
"I've wanted to write an opera since I was about 14 years old. But I couldn't find a story that I could wrap my head around"
Rufus Wainwright will complete a childhood dream by writing his first full-length opera this year. via Sound Generator
Houston Grand Opera's 'Billy Budd' sails straight
"There is always some flaw in it"
Even the people we think we know best move to forces we cannot know or understand. via Quick
Wagner's 'Siegfried' in Vienna a treat
Stephen Gould in the role of Siegfried, right, and Herwig Pecoraro as Mime perform during a dress rehearsal for the opera "Siegfried" by Richard Wagner, on Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at Vienna's state opera. via The Washington Post
Mozart's "Abduction" starring Diana Damrau sparkles at Met
"Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail"
Two lovers who are separated by fate but remain true to one another. Show-stopping arias filled with coloratura ornamentation. via Athens Banner-Herald
S.F. Opera, Cal Performances bring 'The Little Prince' to Berkeley
"I wanted to write an opera that you could take a child to"
Asteroids swirl and stars glimmer in the basement of Davies Symphony Hall, as a small prince and his beloved rose sing words that have entranced generations of children. via Inside Bay Area
SUNY College Orchestra concert to feature music by Tchaikovsky, Bellini and Britten
"Vesperae Solennes de Confessore"
The College-Community Orchestra of SUNY Cortland will feature music about the English Renaissance in its spring concert on Tuesday, April 29 at 8 p.m. in the Dowd Fine Arts Theatre. via Ithaca Journal
West Michigan Savoyards present 'The Gondoliers'
"It's more operatic than the other shows"
Many people in today's reality TV generation are not familiar with the light comic operas written more than a century ago by William S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. via Grand Rapids Press
Going underground: Mozart opera hits Berlin metro
"I am sure that when it comes to Papageno, he (Mozart) would have been okay"
Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" has been performed all over the world but Berliners will be treated from this week to a modernised production with a difference -- in an underground metro station. via XtraMSN Real Estate
Comic opera and American dreams and '60s rock play across area stages
"If I Were a Bell - The Songs of Frank Loesser."
Inspiration is a mysterious thing - sometimes the muse whispers softly in your ear, other times she turns up with Mozart and Beaumarchais, the German composer and French author/rapscallion whose work has been ... via Contra Costa Times
Weekend Top 10 entertainment events
I saw this company's last Bay Area production, "The Miser," and I can tell you, these guys are extraordinary. via Inside Bay Area
Russian orchestra brings romance of Tchaikovsky to capital
"We find it easy to play music by Italian composers because both are emotional, soft and full of passion. German music is a little tough because the tenor is different"
New Delhi, April 25: The conductor of a Russian orchestra said his group enjoyed playing a rich collection of Western classical works by famous composers like Pytor Tchaikovsky here since the Indian audience ... via Newkerala.com
Performance pays tribute to Ballet Russe
"It's gentler on the body than playing football, which I also did."
Natasha Middleton, artistic director of Media City Ballet of Burbank, likens the heightened expressions of Sunday's season-opening program, "Ballet Russe Remembered," to those of a silent film. via Pasadena Star-News
A charming 'Bride' at the opera
"When I took over as artistic director, one of my goals was to expand out season incrementally"
Last fall, Pasadena-based Celestial Opera went head-to-head with Los Angeles' biggest opera company, offering their version of Beethoven's "Fidelio" just months after Los Angeles Opera opened its season with a ... via Whittier Daily News
Mozart's "Magic Flute' has something for everyone
Some critics have labeled "The Magic Flute" Mozart's greatest work and the foundation of all German opera. via Fremont Bulletin
Met Opera plans free June 20 concert in Prospect Park
The Met Opera will move to Brooklyn's Prospect Park for one night this summer -- June 20 -- for a free concert that could draw as many as 150,000 people, the Met Opera announced today . via NewYorkology
Review: Gilbert & Sullivan homage is flat-out delightful
William S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan wrote their comic operettas when the sun never set on the British Empire, and they took great delight in poking fun at the pomp and excess of Queen Victoria's kingdom. via Contra Costa Times
Irish singer Smithson voted off American Idol
"You can leave with your head held high."
The music of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber marked the end of the road for "American Idol" finalist Carly Smithson on Wednesday after fans of the hit TV talent show cast the fewest votes for her rendition of ... via Reuters
Katherine_Jenkins SHE'S dazzled audiences around the world, but Katherine Jenkins has finally made her debut on a new stage - a list of the world's 100 sexiest women. via IcWales
Capsule Stage Reviews: La Boh me, Leading Ladies, Love Loves a...
La Bohme It doesn't really matter that there's no passion or fire between Ana Maria Martinez and Garrett Sorenson in their roles as eternal lovers Mimi and Rodolfo, in this Houston Grand Opera production, ... via Houston Press
Opera heads below ground as Mozart's "The Magic Flute" is performed in an unopened Berlin underground station. via Reuters Video
Turkey seeks bigger pipeline role, roils Europe it aims to join
"If you have a Nabucco that is largely dependent on Russian gas, that defeats the purpose"
Turkey is playing hardball in the geopolitical struggle over an $8 billion pipeline at the center of Europe's efforts to cut dependence on Russian natural gas.The nation, which bridges Europe and Central Asia, ... via Turkish Daily News