Click here to watch an amusing anecdote from Lucas Meachem about how hanging out with Paul Groves and Susan Graham at Karaoke really paid off at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The story begins at the 5:36 marker of the video. See photos of the infamous Iphigénie en Tauride production from 2006 by clicking here. And feel free to click on the above photo to enlarge it and get lost in the blue eyes of the star baritone. Watch Lucas Meachem perform "Soliloquy" from Carousel after the jump.
Season 51, Episode 11: "Till Death Do Us Part, in Stuttgart, Germany" (March 25, 2013)
"While Lindsay was singing with the Pittsburgh Opera, she met and fell in love with a young patron named Linas. Shortly after, the love birds flew to his native Lithuania to live with his family and plan their wedding. One week after they tied the knot, the couple was en route to Stuttgart, Germany where Lindsay accepted a job at the city's Opera House. But, before she can begin work, the newlyweds must agree on an apartment that's quiet and close to public transit. With rentals hard to come by, will they be in for marital bliss or property pains? Find out, when House Hunters International takes the stage in Stuttgart, Germany." [Source]
 |
| (Photo: Martin Sigmund) |
"Pumeza Matshikiza, 34, has signed with Decca to release an album that will feature arias by Mozart and Puccini alongside a musical setting of Invictus, the Victorian poem that inspired Nelson Mandela during his imprisonment on Robben Island. Ms Matshikiza, who currently performs with the Stuttgart Opera, grew up in rented shacks of corrugated iron as her family moved between townships around Cape Town. Her mother sang in church choirs but she discovered her vocation when she stumbled across a classical music radio station. She studied singing at the University of Cape Town and secured a part in an opera, whose composer was so impressed by her voice that he paid for her to fly to London and audition at the Royal College of Music. Ms. Matshikiza said: 'My debut album tells the story of my incredible journey from Africa to Europe and I feel privileged to be able to chart it through the very personal repertoire choices on this album; songs and arias that prove music unites people across the world and brings cultures together.' The album will include traditional African songs in her mother tongue, Xhosa, alongside arias and a new arrangement of the South African hit 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight.'"
[Source] Videos, and a photo of where the soprano grew up, can be found after the jump.
