William Berger News

Full of energy and fiery Spanish sensuality, Georges Bizet's CARMEN, one of the world's most popular operas, will return to the Artscape Opera House in a revival of Cape Town Opera's 2011 production.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild, publisher of OPERA NEWS and the world's premier arts education organization dedicated to enriching people's lives through opera, will host Opera in Pop Culture, a three-session course on the connection between pop culture and opera. Three Mondays in October, American author, radio music host and commentator William Berger will explore how the operatic art form has found its way into many aspects of pop culture. From TV commercials to bestselling books to heavy metal music, opera and its themes are part of our lives in ways we may not always realize.

Today, the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (JCCSF) announced new events for their 2016-2017 Arts & Ideas series, featuring dynamic conversations with thought-provoking leaders, acclaimed authors and entertainers, as well as performances from locally and internationally recognized artists. The lineup will continue to expand as new events are announced throughout the series.

Tickets go on sale on Monday, August 1, for Opera Philadelphia's 2016-2017 Season, including two September productions: the World Premiere of Breaking the Waves, composer Missy Mazzoli's opera inspired by Lars von Trier's searing Oscar-nominated 1996 film; and Puccini's grand Turandot starring soprano Christine Goerke in the title role. Tickets are also available for a series of special fall events surrounding these productions, including lectures, recitals, film screenings, brunches, backstage tours, and social events. Opera fans can also choose their seats for two spring productions at the Academy of Music: Rossini's Tancredi (February 2017), featuring star mezzo Stephanie Blythe's highly anticipated first appearance in the title role; and a new production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (April–May 2017).

The Metropolitan Opera's 2016-17 season, the 50th anniversary of its home at Lincoln Center, will feature 225 opera performances of 26 operas in a varied repertory that ranges from 18th century masterpieces to one of the most acclaimed operas in recent years. Repertoire for the company's 132nd season will include the Met premiere of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's 2000 opera L'Amour de Loin, as well as new stagings of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Rossini's Guillaume Tell, Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, Dvo?ak's Rusalka, and Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. A gala concert on May 7, 2017 will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company's Lincoln Center location with performances by opera's leading stars honoring the Met's past and future. Ticket prices will not increase, remaining the same as in the current season, and audience development programs instituted by the company in recent years will continue.  

When I heard mezzo Jamie Barton at the Metropolitan Opera's recital in Central Park in the summer of 2014, she would have knocked my socks off--if I hadn't been wearing sandals. This time around­--newly anointed winner of the 2015 Richard Tucker Award--at a concert presented by WQXR at New York's Greene Space in SoHo, I was wearing my argyles and, sure enough, I went home barefoot. Barton proved, once again, that she's “the real thing.”

—“Cathedrals of Sound,” the first Music Unwound concert of Pacific Symphony's season, offers an evening of inspiration, awe and ambience, bathed in waves of sound and reminiscent of the unique spiritual journey taken in 2010, when world-renowned organist Paul Jacobs and the remarkable Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael's Abbey made their first appearance together with the orchestra. In 2014, the Fathers return to fill the hall with their splendid, sonorous and worshipful voices, and Jacobs performs on the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ for this all-new program. The concert opens with a rarely performed and powerful work of the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, his “Church Windows.” Inspired by stained glass artistry, it is a work that Pacific Symphony recorded in 1983 with founding music director, Keith Clark. Plus, the rich voices of the Fathers perform the Gregorian chants that inspired Maurice Duruflé—whose transcendent “Requiem” concludes the program and features vocalists mezzo-soprano Elise Quagliata, baritone William Berger and Pacific Chorale (Artistic Director John Alexander).

—“Cathedrals of Sound,” the first Music Unwound concert of Pacific Symphony's season, offers an evening of inspiration, awe and ambience, bathed in waves of sound and reminiscent of the unique spiritual journey taken in 2010, when world-renowned organist Paul Jacobs and the remarkable Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael's Abbey made their first appearance together with the orchestra. In 2014, the Fathers return to fill the hall with their splendid, sonorous and worshipful voices, and Jacobs performs on the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ for this all-new program. The concert opens with a rarely performed and powerful work of the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, his “Church Windows.” Inspired by stained glass artistry, it is a work that Pacific Symphony recorded in 1983 with founding music director, Keith Clark. Plus, the rich voices of the Fathers perform the Gregorian chants that inspired Maurice Duruflé—whose transcendent “Requiem” concludes the program and features vocalists mezzo-soprano Elise Quagliata, baritone William Berger and Pacific Chorale (Artistic Director John Alexander).

The Metropolitan Opera's 2014-15 season will feature 26 operas, three of them company premieres, in six new productions and 18 revivals showcasing the talents of the world's leading singers, conductors, and theater artists. The three operas that will have their first-ever Met performances, each staged by a director making his Met debut, are John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer, conducted by David Robertson and directed by Tom Morris, opening October 20; Rossini's La Donna del Lago, conducted by Michele Mariotti and directed by Paul Curran, opening February 16, 2015; and Tchaikovsky's one-act opera Iolanta, conducted by Valery Gergiev and directed by Mariusz Treli?ski. Iolanta will be presented in a double bill with a new staging of Bartok's one-act Duke Bluebeard's Castle, also conducted by Gergiev and directed by Treli?ski.

Emotional arias and powerful choruses have the audience rejoicing in the victory of 'Judas Maccabaeus,' as Pacific Symphony opens the holiday season with the rare opportunity to hear Handel's jubilant oratorio. With all of the drama and flair of his operas, the Baroque composer masterfully tells of the Israelites' rich journey from hardship to triumph. One of peace, harmony and faith, the story of Judas Maccabees forms the basis for the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, and is often defined as history's first war for religious freedom.

Emotional arias and powerful choruses have the audience rejoicing in the victory of 'Judas Maccabaeus,' as Pacific Symphony opens the holiday season with the rare opportunity to hear Handel's jubilant oratorio. With all of the drama and flair of his operas, the Baroque composer masterfully tells of the Israelites' rich journey from hardship to triumph. One of peace, harmony and faith, the story of Judas Maccabees forms the basis for the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, and is often defined as history's first war for religious freedom.

Orange County, Calif.—Nov. 21, 2013—Emotional arias and powerful choruses have the audience rejoicing in the victory of “Judas Maccabaeus,” as Pacific Symphony opens the holiday season with the rare opportunity to hear Handel's jubilant oratorio. With all of the drama and flair of his operas, the Baroque composer masterfully tells of the Israelites' rich journey from hardship to triumph. One of peace, harmony and faith, the story of Judas Maccabees forms the basis for the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, and is often defined as history's first war for religious freedom. For this performance, Pacific Chorale's Artistic Director John Alexander leads the orchestra, chorale and esteemed vocal soloists Lauren Snouffer, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; I-Chin Feinblatt, alto; Thomas Cooley, tenor; William Berger, baritone; and The All American Boys Chorus for an inspiring and rousing musical experience.

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) today announced that its Metropolitan Opera Radio channel will broadcast its sixth season of live performances from the Metropolitan Opera, beginning with the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko's starring appearance in the company premiere of Donizetti's Anna Bolena on Monday, September 26 at 6:00 pm ET on SiriusXM channel 74. The live broadcasts will be hosted by Margaret Juntwait, joined by commentator William Berger.