"Orange Is The New Black" Cast Member Is A Classically Trainer Singer

"As gripping as it is funny, Orange Is the New Black has become one of the most forward-thinking and revolutionary shows on television in just two years' time. The new issue of Rolling Stone (on newsstands this Friday) features stars Taylor Schilling and Laura Prepon on the cover and no-holds-barred interviews with the cast, creator Jenji Kohan and memoirist Piper Kerman, whose book inspired the series. Mac McClelland's cover story explores all of the reasons why the series has become mandatory viewing – how it primarily features women in its cast, shines a light on gay and transgender issues and gives a voice to one of the most marginalized groups in America: prisoners."

Actress Uzo Aduba as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on Orange is the New Black. (Photo: Mark Seliger/RollingStone)

Uzo Aduba got the role of "Crazy Eyes" after a personal revelation.
The surreal moment Aduba got the phone call telling her she'd been cast is forever etched in her memory – and it seems even more surreal in hindsight. The high-school track star and classically trained opera singer vividly recalls watching an episode of Oprah's Master Class with guest Lorne Michaels on September 14th, 2012 at 5:43 p.m., when she saw a dreamy image of a swing hanging from a tree backed by a pink sunset and then the words, as Michaels said them, "Keep the faith." At that moment her phone rang with the offer. When she rewatched Master Class, the scene she saw wasn't there. Asked how she feels about having hallucinated the vision, she says, "Who cares? Because I know that's real." [Source]

Read more about Uzo Aduba, her career, and watch a singing performance, after the jump.

Anna Netrebko Answers The Guardian's Probing Questions

Anna Netrebko wears a Zac Posen gown in this
Dario Acosta portrait from 2013.

While in London for performances of La Bohème and in honor of her upcoming engagement at the Royal Albert Hall in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta, Anna Netrebko answered some musical questions posed by The Guardian in their "Facing the Music" series. Find out what music she listens to when traveling the world; why she recently purchased several Aida recordings; her thoughts on concert etiquette when it comes to applause; why the organ is an intriguing instrument to her; that time she enjoyed Elton John and Lady Gaga; the most recent Broadway musical she's seen (and loved...); whether a collaboration with Justin Bieber is in her future; and what she sings in the shower. Read the full questionnaire here.

Anna Caterina Antonacci Does Double Duty At San Francisco Opera

Anna Caterina Antonacci stars in two roles during the San Francisco Opera's June season, which opens Sunday, June 7, 2015. She will play the role of Cesira in the world premiere of Marco Tutino's Two Women and also portrays Cassandra in Hector Berlioz's Les Troyens. (Photo: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera)

"Anna Caterina Antonacci is an opera star who thrives on defying expectations. A mesmerizing performer with a supple and lustrous voice, Antonacci seems equally at home in roles written for soprano or for the lower-voiced mezzo-soprano. She has triumphed in one of the most popular of operas, Georges Bizet’s Carmen, but mostly she has sought out repertory off the beaten path. And while for many singers, appearing at the Metropolitan Opera represents the pinnacle of success, Antonacci has never sung there, and likely never will. But though her career is mainly in Europe, she has recently been making annual concert appearances in New York. In March, after she sang a program of French songs and Francis Poulenc’s monodrama La Voix Humaine, Zachary Woolfe wrote in The New York Times that 'her alertness to the texts and the unassuming grandeur of her presence made the night riveting.' Now she’s back in the United States again to headline the San Francisco Opera’s summer season, which opens Sunday, June 7. She will portray her touchstone role of Cassandra in Berlioz’s epic Les Troyens and also will star in the world premiere of an opera based on a classic book and film. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, the 54-year-old Italian singer talked about her unusual career and the roles she most responds to." [Source] Read the full interview, which covers how she chooses roles; creating the new operatic role of Cesira; interpreting the role of Cassandra in Les Troyens; why she infrequently performs in the United States; and what the future holds for her on the opera stage, by clicking here.

Isobel Buchanan Will Return To The Stage In Scotland On June 20

Soprano Isobel Buchanan with husband and
actor Jonathan Hyde. (Photo: Dan Wooller)

Soprano Isobel Buchanan is wagging a finger at me intently from across the kitchen table. 'I don't care how much anyone tells you about technique,' she says. 'Singing is all about the mind. The minute your confidence goes, everything else starts to fall apart too.' Buchanan has experienced it both ways. Hers was a stratospheric early career: in the 1970s she was Scotland's golden operatic talent, swept off to Australia by no less a figure than Joan Sutherland and catapulted into star roles and a staggeringly young international career. But an undiagnosed physical conduction left her confidence dented and she withdrew from the limelight. Now 61, she has recently returned to the stage thanks to proper medical care and recital formats in which she feels comfortable again. When she sings at the St Magnus Festival in Orkney this summer, it will be her first appearance in Scotland for decades. Buchanan was always a natural singer. Raised in Cumbernauld in a house 'where nobody watched the telly; people came round for a sing-song,' she says she used to 'fall out of bed singing.''Don't try this at home, kids,' she laughs, 'but I didn't even have to warm up. I would blast through things like Rejoice greatly' - a high, sprightly solo from Handel's Messiah, not your average warm-up of careful long notes and scales. At 17 she was offered a scholarship to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; barely three years later, she was spotted by Sutherland and the director Richard Bonynge, and invited to join their Opera Australia ensemble in Sydney. 'I was totally clueless,' Buchanan says, shaking her head at the memory. But the atmosphere in Australia was warm and supportive, like a family.' She was graced with the kind of light, instinctive voice that seemed to be able to handle anything: she was a 'happy-go-lucky' performer, she says, and recalls a typical request from Bonynge to learn the role of the Countess in Mozart's The Marriage Of Figaro in a week. 'Really I should have been singing Susannah first,' she laughs, referring to the opera's younger, airier female lead. 'But back then I just gave everything a go. People were saying, 'Gawd, this girl can sing anything'. Youth is a wonderful thing. I mean, I sang Strauss's Four Last Songs at the age of 19!'" [Source] Read the rest of the interview by clicking here. Isobel Buchanan and Jonathan Hyde are at Stromness Town Hall on June 20, part of the St Magnus Festival: www.stmagnusfestival.com. Be sure to see a video of her singing "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante," from Bizet's Carmen, in 1978 under conductor Carlos Kleiber.

Alyson Cambridge Helps Notorious RBG Continue Her Domination

Alyson Cambridge is escorted down the aisle by her father Richard Cambridge.

First it was the nuptials of David Daniels, then Angela Meade, and now Alyson Cambridge. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, officiated the marriage of Alyson Cambridge to Timothy Eloe in the garden of the Anderson House in Washington, D.C. on May 30, 2015. "'Can anybody hear anything?' asked opera singer Alyson Cambridge, looking something far beyond statuesque in a white lace trumpet gown, as she and her almost husband, Timothy Eloe, try to fix Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s malfunctioning microphone. 'Noooooo,' was the collective answer from the wedding’s 100 black tie clad guests, sipping tall glasses of lemonade in the garden of the Anderson House. After a few minutes a new mike is found and Cambridge, an area native who’s appeared with the Washington National Opera, calls 'take two.' 'Okay, so we’ll start over,' said Ginsburg, who with frilly cuffs spilling out of her judge’s robe and thick black sunglasses looked as rock star as Prince. And the show goes on. It seemed appropriate for a relationship that started with the stage. In his personal vows, Eloe, a Chicago lawyer, said he first saw Cambridge, an

The soprano tears up during the ceremony officiated by Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

area native who’s performed multiple times with the Washington National Opera, on a 20-foot billboard for the musical Show Boat more than three years ago. Once the show’s Chicago run, which Eloe joked he’d seen more times than anyone else in the entire city, was over, Eloe told Cambridge he knew 'we were an us.' Cambridge, dabbing her eyes with a tissue handed to her by her maid of honor — Eloe’s 11-year-old daughter Christina — said she’d been surprised that a clean-cut former college football player turned out to be the perfect match for her 'slightly over the top personality.' After the rings — carefully guarded by Eloe’s two young sons, Daniel, 10, and William, 7 — Ginsburg wished the couple a lifetime of happiness 'serving each other and humankind in peace and hope.'" [Source] See a couple more beautiful photos taken by Erin Schaff of the Washington Post, after the jump.

Elizabeth Novella Opens Mmuseumm 2 In New York City On High Note

Trilling Moment: Elizabeth Novella leads guests to Mmuseumm 2 with her voice.

If you saw the previous blog entry featuring filmmaker Casey Neistat and still couldn't figure out the owner of the soprano voice that opened his vlog sequence, the answer can now be revealed. The singer that helped launch the May 28th grand opening of New York City's Mmuseumm 2 is none other than Elizabeth Novella. The experience was captured by Casey Neistat in a new vlog (065) post as he met up with friends for the event. "Mmuseumm is a modern natural history museum devoted to the curation and exhibition of contemporary artifacts that illustrate the complexities of the modern world. Mmuseumm 1 presents 15 world-wandering exhibitions and next door, Mmuseumm 2 presents in collaboration with artist Maira Kalman, Sara Berman's Closet." [Source] Read a wonderful New York Times article about Mmuseumm 2 by clicking here. Mmuseumm 1 and 2 are open Saturdays and Sundays noon-6pm. More information can be found on their website. See the Casey Neistat video of the event (beginning at the 3:53 mark), and a few more photos, after the jump.

Soprano Angela Meade Married By Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg

The Bride Wore Blue: Soprano Meade on
her special day (Photo: Facebook)

Congratulations to Metropolitan Opera star Angela Meade on her marriage to tenor John Myers on May 23, 2015, in Philadelphia. The ceremony was officiated by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the opera world knows, Justice Ginsburg is a huge fan of singers. In fact, she previously presided over the ceremony of countertenor David Daniels back in June 21, 2014. Below is a picture from the 2013 Tucker Gala featuring Angela Meade, Justice Ginsburg, Barry Tucker, and Renée Fleming. The soprano will return to the MET as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore during February 2016. See another image of the happy newlyweds at the Supreme Court with Justice Ginsburg and a shot from the 2014 Tucker Gala, after the jump.

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Rolando Villazón "Traviata" Is Circus Clowns And A Willy Decker Clock

Time Stands Still For No One: La Traviata in Baden-Baden 
 (Photo: Andrea Kremper)

The new production of Verdi's La Traviata directed by Roland Villazón had its premiere on May 21, 2015, and the critics are giving their opinions on the opera that features soprano Olga Peretyatko and tenor Atalla Ayan. The first production Mr. Villazón directed for the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden was Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore in 2012. Watch a video featuring interviews and backstage rehearsals for La Traviata, after the jump.

French Opera Singer Ève Brenner's Son Is Making It Big In Hollywood

Gilles Paquet-Brenner directs actress Charlize Theron in Dark Places (2014).

Gilles Paquet-Brenner born September 14, 1974, in Paris, is a director and screenwriter. He is the son of opera singer Ève Brenner. Gilles Paquet-Brenner was fascinated by film from an early age. He made ​​his directing debut with the short film 13 minutes 13 dans la vie Josh et Anna (1998). He continued two years later with La Marquise, with Patrick Bruel, Marion Cotillard and Stomy Bugsy. He made his mark in 2001 with his first feature film Les Jolies Choses (with Marion Cotillard , Patrick Bruel, Titoff, Ophélie Winter, and Stomy Bugsy) which won an award at the Deauville festival. In 2003, he directed the police comedy hit Gomez et Tavarès, in which we find Stomy Bugsy, Titoff - both already employed by the director for Les Jolies Choses - and Jean Yanne. In 2007, two of his films are released a few months apart: U.V. with Laura Smet and Jacques Dutronc and Gomez vs Tavarès, always with Titoff and Stomy Bugsy. In 2009, he signed his first American film, Walled In, with Pascal Greggory and Deborah Kara Unger. This low-budget horror film came out on DVD in Mexico and the United States, but remains unreleased in France. In 2010, Elle s'appelait Sarah, with Kristin Scott-Thomas and Mélusine Mayance, was acclaimed by critics worldwide. The film was also featured in several prestigious festivals such as the San Sebastian Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival film. Kristin Scott Thomas received the César Award for Best Actress. The film received the Audience Award and Best Director at International Film Festival in Tokyo. He wrote and directed the thriller Dark Places, based on the novel Les Lieux sombres by Gillian Flynn . Chloë Moretz, Tye Sheridan and Charlize Theron appear in the 2014 film. [Source] Here is a video of his mother performing "Le matin sur la rivière" on television in 1976. Watch more Ève Brenner videos, and read some of her biography, after the jump.

Angela Gheorghiu Discusses Falling In Love And Being A Diva

Angela Gheorghiu photographed by Gabi Hirit 
with styling by Domnica Margescu and
 Maurice Munteanu.

In the June issue of Elle magazine (Romania), soprano Angela Gheorghiu talks intimately about falling in love with one of her fans, Mihai Ciortea, at the lowest point of her career. They have been together for two years now and are happier than ever. She also goes into detail about how she feels about the word "Diva" and whether it is a compliment, accolade, or even an insult when describing bad behavior. For the fashion shoot she wears a Dolce & Gabbana, possibly not hearing about their most recent scandal. The magazine will have more of the interview with photos, out on newsstands now. [Source] Watch a video of the soprano singing the duets "Gia nella notte densa" from Verdi's Otello and "Va, je t'ai pardonné" from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, with tenor Teodor Ilincăi, after the jump.

Anna Netrebko Ushers Out John Copley "La Bohème" At ROH

Living on Love: Rodolfo (Joseph Calleja) and Mimì (Anna Netrebko) struggle to make ends meet,
but they still have each other until death do them part at Covent Garden.

"So now we bid farewell to another dear old friend, as John Copley’s venerable production of Puccini’s weepie, rich in period detail and devoid of interpretative tricks, is being laid to rest after four decades in service, embracing twenty-six revivals and well over two hundred sold-out performances. To be honest, this loyal carthorse of a show does seem a trifle sclerotic nowadays. I’ve seen stagings recently that feel more youthfully raw and emotionally urgent; aspects of its 'realism' look dated; and the second interval slows the pace down unhelpfully. But the tableaux for the snowy Barrière d’Enfer and bustling Café Momus remain wonderfully atmospheric, and the straightforward characterisations never inhibit the singers. Richard Jones, rumoured to be

Herr Direktor: Read more about 
John Copley by clicking here.

commissioned for a replacement, will have his work cut out to provide anything sturdier. Copley, a spry octogenarian, returned to rehearse this final outing and made a lively job of it. Sharp cameos from Ryland Davies (Alcindoro) and Donald Maxwell (Benoit) sprinkled light relief. Marco Vinco’s Colline mourned his pawned coat in style, Lucas Meachem presented an exuberant jock of a Marcello, and Jennifer Rowley was a brassy Musetta, with a touch of Ethel Merman about her gusto....His Mimi was the mercurial Anna Netrebko, in lustrous voice. She is not a subtle artist, and having adjusted her focus to more dramatic repertory, her resinous soprano can’t convey the fragility of the consumptive flower-girl. She also failed to float the rapturous 'ball of light' note at the end of Act I. But she never just phones it in or holds back à la Gheorghiu, and here she gave of herself unstintingly, most notably in an affecting account of the third act - one of Puccini’s most masterly inspirations." [Source]

Andris Nelsons Innaugural Concert With Kaufmann & Opolais To Air

"Andris Nelsons’s first season as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra has come and gone — but in case you missed it entirely, you wanted more, or you just wondered what all the buzz was about, you can now catch a glimpse of the new partnership from the comfort of your living room. On Friday at 9 p.m., PBS will broadcast the young Latvian conductor’s inaugural concert with the orchestra, recorded live in Symphony Hall last September....Among the highlights on the night itself were the contributions of the two star vocal soloists, especially tenor Jonas Kaufmann’s outstanding performance of 'In Fernem Land' from Act III of Lohengrin, an account whose intensity and poetry is conveyed here. The Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais, Nelsons’s wife, sings a vivid 'Un Bel Di' from Madama Butterfly as well as a smoldering duet with Kaufmann: 'Tu, Tu, amore? Tu?' from Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, a work this pair is slated to perform together next season in a new Met production directed by Richard Eyre. For an additional opening night souvenir, the two singers also offered as an encore a melting, sweet-toned account of 'O Soave Fanciulla' from the Act I finale of La Bohème." [Source]

(Photo: Chris Lee)

Renée Fleming Honored By Daughter's Alma Mater Harvard

Talented Offspring: Amelia Ross, daughter of Renée Fleming,
is a Harvard University alumni and singer as well.

"One of the most acclaimed opera singers and sopranos of all time, Renée Fleming sang 'America the Beautiful' at Harvard's 364th Commencement on May 28, 2015 at Tercentenary Theatre." The star also received an honorary Doctorate of Music from the prestigious University. It also happens to be where her eldest daughter Amelia Ross attended college. As a graduate of the 2014 class, Ms. Ross has experience as Treasurer of the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert & Sullivan Performers as well as a Tanglewood Office Associate for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She also speaks German and French. Watch videos of the young singer performing during her time at Harvard, in the title role of Massenet's Cendrillon and in Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore, after the jump. [Source]

Back row from left: Robert Axelrod, Wallace S. Broecker, Denis Mukwege, Patricia A. Graham, Linda B. Buck, Bryan Stevenson, and Peter Salovey. Front row from left: Alan Garber, Renée Fleming, President Drew Faust, Deval L. Patrick, and Svetlana L. Alpers (Photo: Harvard Magazine/JC)

View image | gettyimages.com

Alumni Deborah Voigt Returns To California State University - Fullerton

CSUF Star Alumni: The School of Music turned opera stars
like Deborah Voigt, Rodney Gilfrey, Charles Castranovo,
and most recently Renée Tatum.

"Opera star and alumna Deborah Voigt will offer a 7 p.m. master class Monday, June 8, at Clayes Performing Arts Center's Meng Concert Hall. Participating School of Music students include: Trinidad Cano, Juliet Kidwell, James Lesu'i, Megan Ralston, Amanda Salmen and Joslyn Sarshad. A brief Q&A session with the soprano will follow. Cal State Fullerton students, faculty and staff can stop by the School of Music office in the CPAC 220 Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a complimentary ticket. Tickets are also available for purchase online or at the door....After her June 8 master class at Cal State Fullerton, alumna Deborah Voigt will perform at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa June 11-13." [Source, Source]

Maria Callas Vocals Appear In "The Cleveland Show" On TBS

Season 2, episode 22, of The Cleveland Show is titled "Hot Cocoa Bang Bang." The plot summary is as follows: "Cleveland takes the entire family to a comic convention in an attempt to sell his comic book, Waderman. While there, Donna is horrified to find out that Robert Rodriguez is screening a Blaxploitation film that she starred in when she was younger, and Cleveland Jr., tired of Comic-Con being a playground for Hollywood to peddle their projects, gathers a band of geeks together to take the Con back to its true origins." [Source] During one of the scenes the aria "La mamma morta," from Giordano's opera Andrea Chénier (sung by soprano Maria Callas), can be heard in the background. Listen to the remastered version of the aria sung by the soprano, after the jump. Watch the full episode here.

Bryan Hymel On Family, Santa Fe Opera, High Notes, "Les Troyens"

Shaken, Not Stirred: Bryan Hymel brings cool to opera with his heroic high notes. (Photo: Dario Acosta)

"French grand opera makes great demands on singers, with performances clocking in at times that rival Wagner and orchestras crowding the pit. New Orleans native, Bryan Hymel (pronounced ee-mel) will continue to embrace that repertoire in performances of epic works like Les Troyens in San Francisco next month and Les[sic] Damnation de Faust in Paris this coming December. In between, he’ll sing the roles of the Duke in Rigoletto and Don Jose in Carmen at Santa Fe and Washington National Opera respectively. His bow as Rodolfo at the Met last year earned him continued praise from the New York press, which had welcomed his triumph on short notice in 2012, stepping in for a save-the-day kind of performance in Les Troyens appropriate for someone whose voice type is most often described as heroic. His list of awards is long, and illustrious, and includes the Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Artist Award and first