Philip Pierce Named New Director of Artistic Administration At FGO

Sunshine State-Bound: Philip Pierce gets new position

"Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is pleased to welcome Philip Pierce as Director of Artistic Administration. Mr. Pierce will be responsible for the overall supervision and logistics of the artistic department, including the casting process, rehearsal schedule, artistic budget, and contracting of artists, among other duties. In recent months, Mr. Pierce has transitioned actively from a solo career into the realm of artistic administration Through these experiences, he acquired a great understanding of the opera companies, agents, and singers. Most recently Mr. Pierce has served as the assistant to the Director of Opera at the Caramoor Music Festival in Katonah, NY. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and his Master of Music Degree from the New England Conservatory. 'Philip is very intelligent, highly organized, and passionate about opera and FGO,' says Susan T. Danis, General Director & CEO of Florida Grand Opera. 'We look forward to his arrival and welcoming him to the team!'" [Source]

Maestro Ramón Tebar Named Music Director At Opera Naples

"Opera Naples announces the appointment of Maestro Ramón Tebar as music director, effective immediately. He also serves as music director of the Florida Grand Opera, artistic director of the Palm Beach Symphony and music director of the Dominican Republic’s biannual Santo Domingo Festival. When he was named to his position with the Florida Grand Opera in 2011, he became the first Spanish conductor appointed to an American opera company. Mr. Tebar began working as a pianist and assistant conductor in his hometown of Valencia in Spain when he was 15 years old. He went on to become assistant conductor with the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España, while at the same time graduating with honors in piano and chamber music. Since his arrival in the U.S. in 2005, he has been part of the musical staff of Palm Beach Opera and Cincinnati Opera, producing more than 40 different operas, while maintaining a full schedule in Europe, the Caribbean and South America. He has served as a guest conductor for organizations including Italy’s Orchestra Teatro Regio di Torino and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Spain’s Festival de Opera de a Coruna, Germany’s Kolner Philharmonie, the Netherlands’ Het Concertgebouw, Russia’s St. Petersburg Symphony and Orchestra de Rouen Haute- Normandie, to name a few. He has conducted many internationally renowned artists, including tenor Ben Heppner, violinist Joshua Bell, soprano Maria Guleghina and cellist Gautier Capuçon. In addition, he remains in collaboration with many of the world’s most famous vocal artists — among them Montserrat Caballé, Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna and Joseph Calleja, performing with them from Buenos Aires to Amsterdam, San Juan to Moscow. Orchestral conducting occupies a good part of his annual activities in his native Spain as well as the Netherlands. He will make his Vienna State Opera debut in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia in winter 2016. Mr. Tebar currently lives with his family in Miami." [Source] For more information about the conductor, click here.

Eglise Gutiérrez And Angela Mortellaro Share Thaïs Role At FGO

Susan Janis: FGO General Director & CEO (Photo: Nick Garcia)

"The 2013-2014 season marks the start of a new vision for Florida Grand Opera (FGO) with provocative repertoire curated by Susan T. Danis, the company’s General Director and CEO. With an unyielding commitment to bringing the highest artistic product to South Florida and limited availability of such productions, FGO has decided to postpone Tristan & Isolde for one season and present Jules Massenet’s Thaïs in its place during the 2013-2014 season. 'Since I accepted the position of General Director of Florida Grand Opera I have stated repeatedly and unequivocally that my goal is to present great opera, including exciting productions with world-class singers and thought-provoking repertoire. This community deserves nothing less,' said Danis. 'We have had to postpone Tristan & Isolde for one season due to the challenge of finding a production that fits the stages both in Miami and in Ft. Lauderdale. With the production team making it a priority to find a great production, we will be able to present Tristan & Isolde in all its glory in 2014-2015.'" [Source] The entire cast list and performance dates are after the jump.

FGO Sponsors Zarzuela Film Festival

"In celebration of its first zarzuela production, FGO hosts Cine Zarzuela, a film series held in independent cinemas throughout South Florida featuring screenings of scenes from the 2007 Teatro Real production of Luisa Fernanda with Plácido Domingo. These events are FREE and open to the public, but space is limited and reservations are required. To submit your RSVP or for more information, email lmerritt@fgo.org."

July 20, 2011 @ 7-9pm
Miami Beach Cinematheque
1130 Washington Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139

August 16, 2011 @ 7-9pm
Coral Gables Art Cinema
260 Aragon Avenue
Coral Gables, FL 33134

August 23, 2011 @ 7-9pm
Cinema Paradiso
503 Southeast 6th Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
[Source]

Florida Grand Opera Announces Nadine Sierra For 2011-12

La Sierra in Louboutins
(Photo: Kenneth Edwards)

"Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is proud to announce West-Palm-based soprano Nadine Sierra’s debut with the company in Rigoletto’s leading female role as Gilda next season. 'It has always been an important part of FGO’s mission to foster and further young talent in South Florida. We have a long and proud history of showcasing promising artists at the dawn of their careers and it is our honor to do so once again with such a fresh, yet refined voice as Nadine Sierra,' said Bob Heuer, FGO’s general director and CEO. The rising 23-year-old soprano debuted with Boston Lyric Opera last season in what the Boston Globe called 'a beguiling Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She later returned to Palm Beach Opera as Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice with 'a bright, weighted instrument [bringing] effortless personality to the stage...' according to South Florida Classical Review. Closing the Sunday Afternoons of Music Series this past June, Sierra performed a recital at the University of Miami’s Gusman Hall, which yielded repeated standing ovations. South Florida Classical Review described her performance as a 'creamy soprano voice...gleamed and weighted, rich and full through its range, used with an agility and theatrical sensibility that brought arias to life.' It was at this recital that she announced her upcoming debut at La Scala in Milan, Italy, as Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff, realizing a life-long dream that began at the age of 10 with a VHS recording of the Metropolitan Opera’s Madame Butterfly." [Source]

See more photos of Nadine Sierra's fashion photo shoot with Uptempo magazine after the jump.