Stephen Costello Leans On Family Member During Tough Times

Familial Lifeline: Stephen Costello (left) with his cousin
Brian Costello (Photo: Facebook)

"'Not trusting people, not believing you have anyone there to support you. I did have people, but I just didn’t know they were there.' One of the few people who knew the full story was Costello’s cousin Brian Costello. They grew up together in the working class suburb of Northeast Philadelphia. Brian’s dad Pat co-founded a boxing club for underprivileged teens from the neighborhood with their uncle, Tim, named the Jack Costello Boxing Club after their father, Costello and Brian’s grandfather. At the opening of the boxing club in 1996, Stephen sang the national anthem for the inaugural exhibition fight, in which Brian fought. They were 15. Born less than a month apart, Costello and Brian grew up together having sleepovers every weekend, watching horror movies, and eating pizza. Costello’s interest in music started in sixth grade; Brian played the saxophone and Costello “wanted to be like Brian,” so he took up the trumpet. Brian, sober since 2010, lives in their grandmother’s old house in the Tacony section of Philadelphia right down the street from the boxing club with his wife Nicole and two children. When Costello first decided to divorce he called Brian, who flew immediately to be with him in Chicago. In the midst of his Traviata cancellation crisis, Costello called Brian again, just after he had pulled out of the first performance, and the second one approaching. Brian told The Daily Beast, 'He called me and I could barely hear him. He had such a depressed tone. He felt like he let people down.' Brian told Costello he had to let go of everything that happened prior, and the stress of worrying about what people thought and how things looked. He came to join him in New York, and attended Costello’s second night of Traviata, Brian’s first opera at the Met, and the first opera he had seen Costello in. Brian gave Costello the 24-hour AA coin they had given him the day he left rehab. 'I told him what happened yesterday or last week

San Franciso Opera Continues "First Kiss" Series With Stars

San Francisco has a second installment of their video series "First Opera Kiss," asking singers to recall their inaugural stage smooch. This round includes Diana Damrau, Ailyn Pérez, Ellie Dehn, Mary Dunleavy, Simon O'Neill, Nadine Sierra, and Karen Slack. Click here for the first set of videos. Watch the new videos after the jump. 

Rubin Singer Reaches Opera Pinacle With Anna Netrebko Couture

Russian Forces: Rubin Singer (r), whose grandfather dressed 
Joseph Stalin, stands in the Saks Fifth Avenue showroom with 
Anna Netrebko to discuss a gown he will custom make for 
the soprano. (Photo: Instagram)

Rubin Singer is known in the popular music world for design clients such as Beyoncé, Shakira, Fergie, and Alicia Keys. He was introduced into the realm of opera by creating gowns for soprano Ailyn Pérez. She has worn his works for such high-profile events such as The Richard Tucker Gala and her most recent debut in Carmen at The Metropolitan Opera. Now he has reached the everest by designing a couture gown for Anna Netrebko. The two met on Friday, February 20, 2015, at the Saks Fifth Avenue in New York to discuss he creation for the world-famous singer. "Coming from a family of couturiers, Rubin Singer was exposed from a young age to refined technique and elegant design. Rubin is a third-generation couturier, his father Alik created costumes for the Bolshoi Ballet and Stanislavski Theater. His grandfather, for whom he is named, was one of the most celebrated designers in the Soviet Union, dressing Russian royalty, Soviet political figures, and the social

Singer Extravaganza: (left to right) Rubin Singer, Ailyn Pérez, Isabel Leonard, and Susan Graham,
at The Richard Tucker Gala at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

elite. His family heritage in fashion shaped who he is today, not only in having the genetic makeup of precise touch and creativity, but there is a certain sensibility and level of refinement necessary in order to make beautiful clothing that he was in tune with from a young age. Steeped in this heritage, Rubin saw a stark yet beautiful contrast between traditional craftsmanship and

Ailyn Pérez wearing one of Rubin Singer's gowns in concert

contemporary aesthetics. Rubin’s career reached new heights after moving to New York, as he became an Associate Designer at Oscar de la Renta. It was during his tenure at Oscar that brand identity became real and powerful to him, and he began to understand the integrity and unique character required to be the head of an iconic fashion brand. He would move on from Oscar to become Head Designer of three Bill Blass licensees, and later the Head Designer of Kai Milla, a company started by and named for Stevie Wonder’s wife Kai. All the while, the creative direction for his personal collection was blossoming. The

Sad News: Ailyn Pérez And Stephen Costello To Divorce

Soon to be a single lady: Ailyn Pérez talked recently about a new life (Photo: Paul Marc Mitchell)

Stephen Costello announces his pending divorce from wife, Ailyn Pérez, on his official website. Did the soprano hint about the news in a recent interview with Latin Post: "I'm about to start a new page. A different life but I don't know what it looks like. This one has been intense, I don't know how I am going to lighten it up but maybe I'll hang out with friends more, meeting new people, getting a hobby. I like dancing a lot. But I am going to figure it out. People just tell me to have fun and do the things that mean something to you." [Source] The last decade has seen divorces of other famous opera couples including Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu; Isabel Leonard and Teddy Tahu Rhodes; as well as the separation of Anna Netrebko and Erwin Schrott. See the news from the tenor after the jump.

Oscar De La Renta, Friend Of Opera And Sopranos, Is Dead At 82

 

Night at the Opera: de la Renta attending 
Anna Bolena at the MET in 2011.

"Óscar Arístides de la Renta Fiallo (July 22, 1932 – October 20, 2014) was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, De la Renta was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo, he became internationally known in the 1960s as one of the couturiers to dress Jacqueline Kennedy. An award-winning designer, he worked for Lanvin and Balmain; his eponymous fashion house continues to dress leading figures, from film stars to royalty, into the 2010s. De la Renta is particularly known for his red carpet gowns and evening wear." [Source] The designer was always a fixture at the Metropolitan Opera as an audience member and supporter. Today's most established sopranos in the opera world are often photographed wearing the designer's creations. "'I’m a woman, and I love it so I enjoy dressing up,' says Netrebko, who attends fashion week in New York and Paris, when possible, and was excited about a recent encounter with designer Oscar de la Renta. 'I was very honored to meet him — I’m always shopping at his stores. To me, his clothing is art, which I can’t stop collecting.'" [Source] Other famous sopranos to wear his gowns include Renée Fleming, Ailyn Pérez, and Angela Gheorghiu. Some of these fashionable gowns, as well as some that just seem operatically inspired, can be seen after the jump.

Operatic Selfie For The Ages At Opera News Awards

Luca Pisaroni posted the operatic equivalent of the infamous Ellen Degeneres selfie from the Academy Awards. Some pretty big names in this photo, including: Stephen Costello, Susan Graham, Kristīne Opolais, Ailyn Perez and Joyce DiDonato. (Photo: Facebook)

Olympics Of Singing To Air January 11 On PBS

"Tune in to PBS on Jan. 11 to watch Stephanie Blythe, Stephen Costello, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Susan Graham, Gregg Grimsley, Angela Meade, Eric Owens, Ailyn Pérez, Matthew Polenzani, and 2013 Richard Tucker Award Winner Isabel Leonard perform at the highly anticipated opera event. Check local listings: http://to.pbs.org/12CzT1B"

Second Annual Richard Tucker Day Good News For Reuben Lovers

"Throughout the day, Junior's restaurant - a Brooklyn institution for more than 60 years - will offer an off-menu special sandwich, "The Richard Tucker Reuben," in a nod to the American tenor's given name, Rubin. The sandwich, a variation on the traditional Reuben, includes both pastrami and corned beef, which were two of Richard Tucker's favorite deli meats. Junior's is located at 386 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn." [Source]

Check out highlights of the festivities and opera stars performing for Richard Tucker Day, after the jump.

Couple Reveals How They Make It Work in the Opera Industry

Opera lovebirds in real-life and onstage: Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello.

"Life can be complicated when you have two soaring opera careers under the same roof. Soprano Ailyn Pérez and tenor Stephen Costello estimate that in their first two years of marriage, they were together for five months. 'We wonder how opera singers and performers used to be able to function without cell phones and Internet,' Costello said last week at Music Hall. This month, the stars don’t need to gaze into each other’s eyes via Skype. They are performing the leading roles of operatic lovers Violetta and Alfredo in Cincinnati Opera’s La Traviata, Thursday and Saturday in Music Hall, to close the opera season." Read more of the article here. Learn about the Cincinnati Opera production of La Traviata and purchase tickets here.

Meet the 2012 Richard Tucker Award-Winner, Soprano Ailyn Pérez

(Photo: Paul Mitchell)

"For most New York opera-goers, Ailyn Pérez may not be a name that's instantly recognized, but it should be. The 32-year-old soprano has been cleaning up on the awards front—as of this morning, she's the 2012 recipient of the Richard Tucker Award, named after the late American tenor and given annually to a singer 'at the threshold of a major international career.' And with a resume that has paired her with the likes of Plácido Domingo (La Scala’s Simon Boccanegra), Rolando Villazón (Salzburg’s Romèo et Juliette) and her husband, tenor and 2009 Richard Tucker Award-winner Stephen Costello (the two recently sang La traviata together at Covent Garden, with Pérez performing on two days’ notice), it’s safe to bank on the fact that Gotham will be seeing more of Pérez soon, even with a Met debut planned for an upcoming season. Fresh from her own notification about the award, Pérez, the daughter of factory workers, took some time to give Operavore an exclusive interview on being the first Hispanic singer to win the award in its 34-year history. She also discussed her road to musical joy and moonlighting as a judge on the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. No rest for the weary, however: on Thursday, she sings Poulenc’s Gloria with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra." [Source] Read the whole interview by clicking here.

Married Opera Singers Make Debut Together in California

Couple on and off stage: Costello and Perez (Photo: Cory Weaver)

Opera Fresh earlier announced Stephen Costello would be making his role debut as Faust with the San Diego Opera. The production, which was also written about for some cast changes, includes Mr. Costello's wife Ailyn Perez as Marguerite: "Usually when singers debut in a role, they sing tentatively, reserving their energy and vocal power so they know they can get through the evening with their voices intact. But Costello and Perez showed no signs of tiring or holding back in their roles. Costello's got a lovely, ringing tenor with a pleasing top, clarity, evenness of tone and warm romantic sound, particularly in Faust's famous love aria 'Salut! demeure chaste et pure' and he throws himself physically into the role ---- with a surprisingly rousing sword fight in the third act and a finale that involves a brave tumble down a steep staircase. Perez's debut as Marguerite is also a success, though it's likely she'll grow into the role more as time goes on. She has a lush, ear-pleasing, creamy voice that fits the role well, but she's cautious with the role's more florid passages. Marguerite's "Jewel Song" ('Je ris de me voir') ---- where she's seduced by the chest of rubies left for her by Faust ---- is often a dazzling showpiece for coloratura vocal theatrics, but Perez keeps the embellishments to a minimum. As she grows more confident in the part, that should expand. She's got obvious chemistry with her on- and offstage partner, Costello, and she doesn't lack for vocal heft, finishing strong with the powerful 'Anges purs, anges radieux,' where she pleads for the angels to rescue her in the beautifully staged finale." [Source]