Robert Aldridge News

Opera in October is a first-time collaboration between three non-profits to create new synergies for Opera lovers in the Greater Milwaukee Community: The Florentine Opera, Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

SISTER CARRIE, a new American opera commissioned by Florentine Opera from the creators of Elmer Gantry, comes to Milwaukee's Marcus Center for the Performing Arts for two performances: Friday October 7 at 7:30 PM and Sunday October 9 at 2:30 PM.

The Florentine Opera Company General Director William Florescu announced the nation's sixth oldest opera company's 83Rd season with a 'grand reveal party' in the Marcus Centers newly renovated Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall:

Milwaukee, WI -- The Florentine continues to craft its seasons with a blend of imaginatively staged classic operas and important new American works. The nation's sixth oldest opera company will launch the 83rd Season with the world premiere of SISTER CARRIE, a new work by the two-time Grammy Award-winning creators of Elmer Gantry.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra continues its commitment to nurture new work and young composers with its 11th Annual Reading Session today, March 21 at 11 a.m. in Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra continues its commitment to nurture new work and young composers with its 11th Annual Reading Session on Saturday, March 21 at 11 a.m. in Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts.

An all-star cast of renowned singers and instrumentalists comes together on one CD to sing for hope and in the cause of supporting AIDS research.

The Dallas Opera's explosive second production of the 2014-2015 'Heights of Passion' Season is SALOME by Richard Strauss (whose libretto was based on Hedwig Lachmann's German translation of Oscar Wilde's play). SALOME, generally regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Late Romantic Era, opens tonight, October 30, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in theMargot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center located in the Dallas Arts District.

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Music Director Jacques Lacombe has announced that, upon the completion of his current contract with the Orchestra, he will step down as the NJSO's music director in August 2016.

Opera Saratoga announces its 2015 Summer Festival season, which will run from July 2 - July 26, 2015 at multiple venues throughout Saratoga Springs, New York.

The Dallas Opera's explosive second production of the 2014-2015 "Heights of Passion" Season is SALOME by Richard Strauss (whose libretto was based on Hedwig Lachmann's German translation of Oscar Wilde's play). SALOME, generally regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Late Romantic Era, opens on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in theMargot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center located in the Dallas Arts District.

The Solti Foundation U.S. today announced details of an exciting new pilot residency project with the Grammy Award winning Florentine Opera Company to take place this 2014-15 season. The collaboration offers invaluable opera experience to two young conductors. Each three-week residency will provide private coaching and mentorship from Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Joseph Rescigno, and opportunities for conducting staging/orchestra rehearsals, banda and/or off-stage chorus. During their time in Milwaukee, the residents will also attend all music and staging rehearsals and the opening night performance, as well as other duties as assigned.

Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) revealed today the names of the eight composer and librettist teams from the Americas whose works have been selected for participation in the second season of the company's critically-acclaimed, annual new works program, Frontiers, taking place tonight and tomorrow, May 8 - 9, 2014, during the last week of the 2014 Opera Festival.

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, is pleased to announce it has awarded grants to nine opera companies through its Opera Fund: Repertoire Development grant program. These grants provide vital financial support to opera companies developing new North American opera and music-theater works.

New York City Opera opens its spring 2013 season with a new production of Powder Her Face (1995), composed by Thomas Ades (b.1971) to a libretto by Philip Hensher (b. 1965).

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, has announced that it has awarded grants to 10 opera companies and four teams of artists through two funding programs: The Opera Fund: Repertoire Development and the Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Showcase. These grants support the production of new North American opera and help develop the careers of promising directors and designers, respectively.

Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) announced today a call for submissions for its second annual Frontiers new works showcase to be held during the 2014 Fort Worth Opera Festival. A pioneering leader in the production of contemporary opera, FWOpera launched Frontiers in the 2012-2013 season. One of the only programs world-wide designed to seek out unproduced works by up-and-coming composers from North, South, and Central America, the showcase provides composers and librettists a platform by which to gain exposure for their pieces in a live performance environment while also affording them valuable networking opportunities with industry professionals, including artistic directors of opera companies, artist managers, classical music publishers, funding organizations, and conductors.

New York City Opera opens its spring 2013 season with a new production of Powder Her Face (1995), composed by Thomas Adès (b.1971) to a libretto by Philip Hensher (b. 1965).

On World AIDS Day, December 1, 2012, Sing for Hope marked the twentieth anniversary of the classical music world's first organized response to the AIDS crisis with the celebratory concert 'AIDS Quilt Songbook @ TWENTY.' The evening featured impassioned performances by many of the country's leading classical vocalists, including Amy Burton, Adrienne Danrich, Heather Johnson, Suzanne Mentzer, Sidney Outlaw, Randall Scarlata, Michael Slattery, Monica Yunus, Camille Zamora, and two of the baritones of the 1992 premiere, Kurt Ollmann and William Sharp. Scroll below for photos from the concert!

Sing for Hope will present AIDS QUILT SONGBOOK @ TWENTY at the Great Hall at Cooper Union today, December 1st, 2012, in observance of World AIDS Day and to mark the 20th anniversary of the first AIDS Quilt Songbook performance, which took place on June 4th 1992 at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.