Win Tickets To See Angela Gheorghiu Live In Australian Concert

Enter here for your chance to win tickets to Angela Gheorghiu's upcoming appearance in Australia (dinner included!). The press release and concert program can be seen after the jump.

Julia Lezhneva Dominates Händel In Fall 2015 Release From Decca

As a follow-up to her Decca debut in 2013, Julia Lezhneva's next release will be an all-Händel disc that drops in October. Similar to the first disc, which featured motets of Händel, Mozart, Porpora, and Vivaldi, this new recording keeps the young Russian star focusing on Baroque. During 2014, the soprano toured with Il Giardino under the direction of Giovanni Antonini in a concert titled "Händel's Italy" that featured works written by the composer between 1706-1710 while in the country, including the operas Rodrigo and Agrippina as well as the oratorio Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, all of which are featured on the new release. Adding other works written during that time such as the sacred oratorio La Resurrezione, the psalm Dixit Dominus, the antiphon Salve Regina, and the secular cantata Apollo e Dafne, completes the experience of Händel's time in Italy. Like the first disc and the international tour, she is accompanied by one of the world’s leading early music ensembles, Il Giardino Armonico, conducted by Giovanni Antonini. See the full track list, as well as videos of Julia Lezhneva singing Händel, after the jump.

Deborah Voigt Launches Cross-Country Book Tour Extravaganza

With the official release of her new autobiography, Deborah Voigt will be making several appearances across the country beginning with The Today Show at 10 AM EST on January 27. From there she will travel to Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Phoenix, and San Francisco. New York highlights of the tour include an appearance at 86th Street Barnes & Noble on the Upper East Side in conversation with Brian Kellow, the features editor for Opera News magazine, on January 28 and a stop at the Metropolitan Opera Gift Shop on February 5 to sign books. For complete information of appearances, click here. Other recent press for the book, Call Me Debbie, has included an article for People Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. After the book tour, the soprano will be seen on the stage in April for performances at the Michigan Opera Theatre as Hanna Glawari in Lehár's The Merry Widow.

Operatic Pairing Of Beyoncé And Givenchy Director Riccardo Tisci

Stars and Stripes Forever: Beyoncé shows her patriotism
 in Paris, France, during the last concert on her "On the Run"
 tour with husband, and fellow musician, Jay-Z.

Not since Jessye Norman was draped in the French flag for the country's bicentennial celebration has fashion been so operatically inspired as when pop superstar Beyoncé closed her On the Run tour with husband Jay-Z by singing "Forever Young" wearing a bustle replica of the American flag designed by Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy in only black and white. The drama created by this flowing garment is simultaneously rebellious, patriotic, militant, and haute couture. This isn't Mr. Tisci's first operatic gesture with fashion, he previously collaborated with artist Marina Abramovic at the Opéra de Paris at the Palais Garnier in 2013: "For his first collaboration with the Paris Palais Garnier de l'Opéra National, Givenchy's creative director Riccardo Tisci has signed the costumes for Maurice Ravel's Le Boléro ballet. In a hostel in Spain, a gypsy traveler dances on a table surrounded by people. Her speed and rhythm gradually entrances the onlookers and carries them away in an intoxication of instinctive dance. Maurice Ravel's Le Boléro, written in 1928, comes to the Paris Opéra Garnier from May 2 until June 3 and Riccardo Tisci, creative director at French label Givenchy, has created dance costumes for the entire company. It is the first time the celebrated designer has worked with the Palais Garnier on a personal project of this scale and the resulting costumes combine obscurity and romanticism in equal measure. The white, billowing dresses and capes are spectacular when in flight on stage, while the fine, detailed embroidery on the transparent leotards reveals the human skeleton that moves gracefully underneath, breathing life into this theatrical interpretation. Choreographers Sidi Larbi

Andre Balaz, Riccardo Tisci, and Marina Abramovic at The
Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Benefit
Celebrating "Punk: Chaos to Couture" in 2013.

Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet have entrusted Marina Abramovic with the show's production. The Art Corporel choreographer aims to give the human spirit a new sense of freedom, redefining limits through this unique interpretation of Maurice Ravel's masterpiece...." [Source] During the time the duo was working together, Dazed Digital interviewed Marina Abramovic and Riccardo Tisci. Once question in particular stands out:


Can you remember your first experience of opera?
Marina Abramovic: My mother was very strict. The only thing I read was the literature she gave to me; I certainly wasn’t aware of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. My education was Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky and opera. I think the first opera I saw was La Traviata, in Belgrade.
Riccardo Tisci: My first opera was also La Traviata! I came from a poor family so we never had the money to go to (Milan opera house) La Scala. I remember having goosebumps; I remember wanting to cry. I remember thinking it would be my dream to design costumes for La Scala or l’Opéra (in Paris). [Source]

Perhaps one of the finer opera houses in the world will snap up Riccardo Tisci to create costumes for a new production. In the meantime, there might just be a diva somewhere wearing one of his couture designs. Stay tuned. Watch the full video of Beyoncé performing "Forever Young" in the gorgeous creation by Riccardo Tisci, as well as some beautiful still photos, after the jump.

Dawn Upshaw Brings Jazz Down Under For Australian Tour

Soprano Dawn Upshaw (left) with composer Maria Schneider

"The last time she toured here with the ACO was also in summer, in February 2009, when she sang works by Bartok, Golijov, Dowland, Schubert and Schumann. This time she'll introduce a work written for her by friend and colleague Maria Schneider, a nine-song cycle titled Winter Morning Walks that uses the words of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser. A performance of this earned her a Grammy award for best classical vocal solo. Upshaw doesn't see her musical diversity as a trip along a musical vector. 'No, I don't see a straight line anywhere,' she says. 'It's more adding on to the structure of my musical life. I don't see myself so much on a path as exploring.' Born in Nashville, Tennessee, the daughter of a minister in the United Church of Christ, she felt that music must have some kind of message. 'My musical upbringing was centred on the civil rights movement, and I grew up listening to recordings of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. The message was that music could inspire people so much that things could really become better. I want to be engaged in the world that I'm living in, and I think that's what stirred my interest in particular in working with composers. I really feel I'm jumping right in with music of my own time.' Upshaw fell in love with Schneider's music when a friend introduced her to a recording of Schneider's Concert in the Garden. She started going to Jazz Standard in

Bulgarian Soprano Svetla Vassileva Joins Andrea Bocelli In Las Vegas

"Andrea returns to America this month for a run of concerts that begins this Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena. This is his fifth concert performance at MGM, although he has made special appearances here for Andre Agassi’s Grand Slam and his first-ever appearance at Bellagio in 2000 for a high-roller private show. This time, Andrea will be joined by conductor Eugene Kohn, soprano Svetla Vassileva and Tony- and Grammy-winning guest vocalist Heather Headley." [Source]

The soprano has sung at the Rome Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Arena di Verona, Royal Opera Covent Garden, and Teatro Bellini, as well as at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Los Angeles Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, and New Israeli Opera.

For more information about Ms. Vassileva, please visit her Facebook page by clicking here.

Sylvia McNair Takes Gershwin Tour Back On The Road

"Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, ‘Here to Stay’ is the multimedia concert event celebrating the greatest team of collaborators in the history of American music. ‘Here to Stay’ provides unique and entertaining insight into the legendary Gershwin duo, and offers rare audio and video footage of the Gershwin’s. Family photos, rare video clips, and elegant, state-of-the-art visuals provide a distinctive and unique experience and an unforgettable offering of the Gershwin brothers’ best." [Source] Tour dates are as follows:

North Carolina Symphony - January 18, 2014
Des Moines Orchestra - February 15, 2014
Austin Symphony - February 21, 2014
Naples (FL) Big Band - March 14, 2014
Chattanooga Symphony - April 4, 2014

Visit Sylvia McNair's official website by clicking here.

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa To Celebrate Big Birthday With Tour Dates

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in full-on Dynasty mode
in this portrait from September 1982.

"Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, one of the world’s greatest ever voices, will tour Australia in 2014 to mark her 70th birthday (March 6, 2014). The New Zealand / Mäori soprano became an international opera star in 1968. She has performed in the great music halls all over the world. Dame Kiri sang at the wedding Charles and Diana in 1981 and in 1984 was selected by conductor Leonard Bernstein for the part of Maria in his re-recording of West Side Story. Queen Elizabeth II appointed Dame Kiri a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to opera in 1984. In 1992 she performed with Paul McCartney for his classical work Liverpool Oratorio." Birthday Gala tour dates are:
May 10 and 11, Melbourne, Recital Centre
May 13, Perth, Concert Hall
May 16, Canberra, Llewellyn Hall
May 18, Adelaide, Festival Hall
May 20, Sydney, Opera House
[Source]

Sydney Opera House Hosts Second Sold-Out Lady Antebellum Show

"Lady Antebellum‘s Own the Night World Tour is a hit Down Under. The group sold out its upcoming shows in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney when tickets went on sell for the Australian leg of the trek. A second show was added at the Sydney Opera House due to demand as well. Lady A heads to Australia in September following a run through Europe in July. They continue their Own the Night World Tour with a show in Birmingham, AL Thursday night." [Source] For more about Lady Antebellum, click here.

MET in Japan: More Photos (Yes, Even Cuter)

Did you miss the first images posted of the Metropolitan Opera's tour of Japan? Well, now you can check out the second gallery just launched. This time around more production photos and backstage events are captured. (Photos: Photo: Koichi Miura/Met Opera)

Tenor Rolando Villazón serenades the crowd after a performance in Japan.

Villazón with the adorable Alexander, son of soprano Diana Damrau.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky North American Recital Tour

Immediately following his upcoming run as the title character in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra at the MET, Dmitri kicks off a five city recital tour of the United States on February 10, making stops at Los Angeles' Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (February 10), San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall (February 13), Chicago' Symphony Hall (February 16), New York's Carnegie Hall (February 21), and Boston's Symphony Hall (February 27) . The programs for these five dates will feature works by Fauré,