Jennifer Johnson News

In a program that continues the 2014-2015 season theme of spirituality in music, Music Director Marin Alsop pays tribute to her mentor Leonard Bernstein. Maestra Alsop will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in a concert featuring the works of both Bernstein and Beethoven, tonight, November 21 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 23 at 3 p.m at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and Saturday, November 22 at 8 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore.

Baltimore, Md. (November 5, 2014) — In a program that continues the 2014-2015 season theme of spirituality in music, Music Director Marin Alsop pays tribute to her mentor Leonard Bernstein. Maestra Alsop will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in a concert featuring the works of both Bernstein and Beethoven, Friday, November 21 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 23 at 3 p.m at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and Saturday, November 22 at 8 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore. Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah” are accompanied by Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, the last work Bernstein conducted before his death in 1990. Joining Marin Alsop and the BSO will be members of the Cathedral Choral Society, the BSO's first-ever collaboration with the Washington, D.C.-based choir. Jennifer Johnson Cano performs the mezzo-soprano solos in the Bernstein symphony. Please see below for complete program details.

In a program that continues the 2014-2015 season theme of spirituality in music, Music Director Marin Alsop pays tribute to her mentor Leonard Bernstein.

Soprano Anna Netrebko was AWOL. Tenor Marcello Giordani wasn't there. Mezzo Isabel Leonard didn't make it either. At least tenor Richard Tucker (1913-1975) had the best excuse for not being at Avery Fisher Hall on Sunday evening. But, as they say “the show must go on”--and the annual gala of The Richard Tucker Foundation certainly did, despite all the cancellations. Celebrating the famed singer, as well as showcasing the newly anointed winner of its top award, tenor Michael Fabiano, the evening was filled with many pleasures.

Opera Saratoga announces its 2015 Summer Festival season, which will run from July 2 - July 26, 2015 at multiple venues throughout Saratoga Springs, New York.

Heidi Stober will sing the role of Gretel in the January 1 and January 3 matinee performances of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel. As previously announced, Aleksandra Kurzak sings Gretel on December 18, 23 matinee, 27, and 30 matinee, and Andriana Chuchman sings the role on January 8. As the Met's annual holiday presentation, the opera will be performed in English with family-friendly ticket prices and special weekday matinees.

It wouldn't be summer without a sizzling, action-packed lineup from Warner Bros. Television Group at Comic-Con International: San Diego.

This summer, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival marks its 31st season in the beautiful seaside setting of Long Island's East End. The Island's longest-running classical music festival this year features 12 concerts from July 30 to August 24, featuring the signature mix of renowned and up-and-coming artists and classic and new music that has made it one of the most noteworthy summer music festivals in the country.

Angela Meade – fresh from Metropolitan Opera triumphs as Bellini's Norma and as Alice Ford in Falstaff (the latter seen worldwide in the Met's Live in HD series) – has a busy summer ahead. The soprano, whose honors include the Richard Tucker and Beverly Sills Artist Awards, will perform at festivals across the U.S. from June through August. She launches her summer season as soprano soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Baltimore Symphony under Marin Alsop (June 5-8) before taking on the title role of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia in her return to the Caramoor International Music Festival (July 12, 18). The Washington State native also headlines two festivals in Oregon: she sings Violetta in Verdi's La traviata for the gala opening concert of the Astoria Music Festival (June 14), and the title role of Bellini's Norma for Portland's SummerFest (Aug 8).

Angela Meade – fresh from Metropolitan Opera triumphs as Bellini's Norma and as Alice Ford in Falstaff (the latter seen worldwide in the Met's Live in HD series) – has a busy summer ahead. The soprano, whose honors include the Richard Tucker and Beverly Sills Artist Awards, will perform at festivals across the U.S. from June through August. She launches her summer season as soprano soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Baltimore Symphony under Marin Alsop (June 5-8) before taking on the title role of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia in her return to the Caramoor International Music Festival (July 12, 18). The Washington State native also headlines two festivals in Oregon: she sings Violetta in Verdi's La traviata for the gala opening concert of the Astoria Music Festival (June 14), and the title role of Bellini's Norma for Portland's SummerFest (Aug 8).

Maestra Marin Alsop will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls on Thursday, June 5 at 8 p.m., Friday, June 6 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 8 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and on Saturday, June 7 at 8 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore.

Music Director Franz Welser-Most continues his emphasis on operatic and choral repertoire with a compelling new production of Leos Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen, performed with The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall, May 17-24. Presented with innovative and original animation, this world premiere production explores the depths of human experience in a charming tale of love, peril, freedom, and family. On the surface, the opera's story is about childish things, but underneath, human emotions boil over and burst apart between the 'animals of the forest' and their human interlocutors. Click below to go behind the making of the production!

Music Director Franz Welser-Most continues his emphasis on operatic and choral repertoire with a compelling new production of Leos Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen, performed with The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall May 17-24. Presented with innovative and original animation, this world premiere production explores the depths of human experience in a charming tale of love, peril, freedom, and family. On the surface, the opera's story is about childish things, but underneath, human emotions boil over and burst apart between the 'animals of the forest' and their human interlocutors.

Music Director Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) announce the Orchestra's 2014-2015 season, its eighth under the direction of Maestra Alsop. The full schedule and details about each production follow.

Beginning March 24, three Met stars will sing their first company performances of the leading roles in Andrea Chénier, Giordano's tragic love story set during the French Revolution. Gianandrea Noseda conducts his first company performances of the opera, which will star Marcelo Álvarez in the title role of the real-life poet executed by revolutionary forces; Patricia Racette as the aristocrat Maddalena, whose privileged life is overturned by the revolution; and Željko Lu?i? as Carlo Gérard, a servant who becomes a leader of the insurrection. The cast also includes Jennifer Johnson Cano as La Bersi, Russian mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova in her Met debut as Madelon, Tony Stevenson as Incredibile, Dwayne Croft as Roucher, Robert Pomakov as Mathieu, and Margaret Lattimore as the Countess.

The Cleveland Orchestra takes you on a journey behind-the-scenes of their upcoming digitally-animated opera, The Cunning Little Vixen. This production is made specifically for Cleveland and will be unlike anything you've ever seen before. The video showcases The Cunning Little Vixen production team led by Director Yuval Sharon with animation by Bill Barminski & Christopher Louie. This is the first of a four part series that will lead up to the Cleveland Orchestra performances in May. Click below!

The winners of the 43rd annual George London Foundation Awards Competition for young American and Canadian opera singers were announced at the conclusion of the competition's final round this evening, which took place in a front of a capacity audience at Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City.

Today, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra announced the 2014-2015 BNY Mellon Grand Classics season, the orchestra's 119th year since its founding and its seventh season under the leadership of Music Director Manfred Honeck.

On Sunday, February 9 at 3:00pm, The Greenwich Village Orchestra, led by Metropolitan Opera conductor Pierre Vallet, will perform a concert to include excerpts form Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust, Ravel's Sheherazade with Grammy Award-wining mezzo-soprano Sasha Cook, and Brahms' Symphony No. 4. Now in its 27th season, the ensemble performs at Washington Irving Auditorium (40 Irving Place) near Union Square.

“Dying is easy; comedy is hard” says the old show business quip. If anything, opera comedy is even harder. Why is it so difficult? Because it offers so many opportunities to do a disservice to the composer, the artists and the art form in one fell swoop. However, Robert Carsen's antic new production of Verdi's FALSTAFF at the Met, vividly conducted by Music Director James Levine, makes it look easy.