William Tell at Boston Lyric Opera
You’ve heard this music. But there’s more to the story.
From the first notes of its world-famous overture, Rossini’s final opera barrels forward as an epic ode to resistance, freedom, and the triumph of a united people over a tyrannical ruler. At the center of the action is William Tell – the legendary archer best known for successfully shooting an apple off his son’s head – leading a vibrant cast of characters who prove that ordinary people can be revolutionary together, and that love anchors us when the world turns upside-down.
A Streetcar Named Desire at Boston Lyric Opera
“Real? Who wants real?… I want magic!”
The sweltering heat of a New Orleans summer sets the tone for the simmering tensions that crackle and spark between the unforgettable characters of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play, set to André Previn’s luminous score. Magnetic but self-deluded Blanche DuBois leaves her Mississippi hometown and seeks shelter with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley. Clinging to a romanticized image of the past, she quickly finds herself at odds with the domineering Stanley, whose brutal realism clashes ruthlessly with her worldview. Cruelty, desire, illusion, and fear of change are on raw display as the resulting events send everyone involved careening toward destruction.
African American ArtSong Alliance Conference: 30th Anniversary
Promote and Uplift the contributions made by African-Americans to art song, be they composers, performers or scholars. Art song here is defined as belonging to the tradition of Western art culture.
Serve the needs of scholars, teachers, and performers seeking information about African-American art song. Such service includes maintenance of this web site.
Share information and repertoire between teachers, scholars, and performers. It is essential to the mission of AASA that repertoire not be considered as a precious commodity to be kept from other performers. This repertoire must be performed, repeatedly, by many performers if it is to make its way into the mainstream of literature.
Encourage performance and scholarship related to African-American art song. This is done by the presentation of performances, lectures, and the publishing of articles in nationally recognized periodicals.
Recognizing that this music is best served with excellence in its presentation, AASA will seek to support the highest calibre of performance and scholarship.
The African American Art Song Alliance was founded in 1997
National Asian Pacific American Museum Commission: Regional Convening and Listening Session
The National Asian Pacific American Museum Commission will conclude its National Listening Tour in Boston, Massachusetts! We invite anyone interested in learning more about the work of the Commission—including community leaders, academic professionals, and youth—to join us and share your input on what a future National Asian Pacific American Museum could look like. Learn more at www.nationalapamuseum.org.
Co-Hosts: Mayor Michelle Wu and the Asian Community Fund at the Boston Foundation
Boston Lyric Opera: Das Lied von der Erde (Mahler)
Performances
Friday, March 20 | 7:30pm
Saturday, March 21 | 3:00pm
Sunday, March 22 | 3:00pm
Friday, March 27 | 7:30pm
Saturday, March 28 | 3:00pm
Sunday, March 29 | 3:00pm
Recital with Alexis Peart, mezzo-soprano
Come join us for a memorable afternoon at the Harvard Musical Association as we bid farewell to Alexis before she embarks on her next musical journey as a member of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Enjoy an intimate performance filled with the music of Poulenc, Brahms, Schoenberg, Dove, Burleigh, Bonds, and Cuney-Hare.
The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition
Official Pianist, Boston District and New England Region
The purpose of the National Council Auditions Program, sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera, is to find exceptionally talented opera singers and to assist them in their development, to discover new talent for the Metropolitan Opera, and to search for possible participants in the Young Artist Development Program of the Met. https://neaudition.org
Opera Theatre of St. Louis
Music Staff, Opera theatre of St. Louis; Pianist/Coach for opera productions of Galileo (Glass) and La Bohème (Puccini).
Politics and Protest in Opera
Opera’s history is inextricably linked with politics and power. Musician and scholar Douglas Sumi takes audiences on a whirlwind tour of repertoire across the centuries to examine how composers, librettists, and performers give voice to controversial political figures, grapple with state censorship, and engage with the spirit of popular protests within the confines of elite cultural spaces. The evening will include live vocal performances from both classical and contemporary operas as well as audience Q&A.
Opera Night at the Boston Public Library is a legacy community partnership between Boston Lyric Opera and the Boston Public Library offering equitable access to quality opera learning experiences for over 25 years.
Performers:
Junhan Choi, baritone
Arielle Rogers-Wilkey, mezzo-soprano
Douglas Sumi, pianist
"Don't Look Back" with Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor
Don’t Look Back is a multidisciplinary evening conceived, curated, and performed by GRAMMY Award-winning countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, in collaboration with Opera Omaha, the Morgan Library & Museum, and Harvard University. Featuring the music of Mozart, Gluck, and Handel, the performance breathes fresh life into the Morgan’s vast collection of original music manuscripts and first editions, and allows Costanzo to perform, quite literally, within these artifacts. Film director and photographer Pix Talarico gives audiences an unprecedented new vantage point to interact with these precious objects, colliding past with present.
Don’t Look Back is part of Costanzo’s MYTHS festival, a series of performances and events that explore the idea of myth in personal, societal, and historical contexts. MYTHS is presented in association with the Metropolitan Opera, where Costanzo will perform Orfeo ed Euridice beginning May 16, 2024. MYTHS is partially funded with support from the Mellon Foundation.
Charlie Parker's Yardbird at Indianapolis Opera
“Charlie Parker’s Yardbird paints a portrait of the tortured jazzman, legendary saxophonist, and inventor of ‘bebop.’ As his soul lingers between life and death, Charlie returns to his famous NYC jazz club, Birdland, and is challenged to compose a final masterpiece, all while pondering the inspirations, demons, and women who fueled his creative genius. Indianapolis-native and opera superstar Angela Brown debuted the role of Charlie’s mother, Addie Parker, and will reprise this powerful character for the Indiana premiere. Written by composer Daniel Schnyder with libretto by the late playwright Bridgette A. Wimberly, this 90-minute opera offers an unflinching portrayal of one man’s journey to redemption against a backdrop of the music, opioid crisis, and racial inequality of 1950s America.”
Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition: New England Region
The purpose of the National Council Auditions Program, sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera, is to find exceptionally talented opera singers and to assist them in their development, to discover new talent for the Metropolitan Opera, and to search for possible participants in the Young Artist Development Program of the Met. https://neaudition.org
Source:: https://neaudition.org
Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition: Boston District
The purpose of the National Council Auditions Program, sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera, is to find exceptionally talented opera singers and to assist them in their development, to discover new talent for the Metropolitan Opera, and to search for possible participants in the Young Artist Development Program of the Met. https://neaudition.org
Source:: https://neaudition.org
La Cenerentola at Boston Lyric Opera
When young Angelina momentarily escapes her ungrateful stepfamily to attend a royal ball in disguise, she meets Prince Ramiro, who vows to find her after she disappears into the night. In this city-centric take on the Cinderella story, two familiar Boston neighborhoods set the stage where boy and girl meet and sweep each other off their feet. With its beautiful melodies and sparkling vocals, the magic of Rossini’s energetic score illuminates the heart of the story.
Madame Butterfly at Boston Lyric Opera
“Amid Puccini’s lush and sweeping score, Madama Butterfly unfolds in 1940s America under the shadow of World War II. In a brand-new production from Boston Lyric Opera, wander through the nightlife of San Francisco on the eve of Pearl Harbor through the story of Butterfly, a nightclub performer contributing to the war effort, and Pinkerton, a young soldier, on the eve of his deployment. A culmination of BLO’s three-year exploration of authentic storytelling through The Butterfly Process, this production examines the experience of Japanese Americans during a critical moment in U.S. history.”
Reinterpreting ‘Madama Butterfly’ for the 21st century
Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” is one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. While it is loved by audiences and remains an essential part of the traditional repertoire, its history has a reputation for portraying inaccurate, harmful representations of Japanese culture, contributing to stereotypes of Asians and Asian-Americans.
From September 14-24, Boston Lyric Opera will present a brand-new production of “Madama Butterfly,” the culmination of their three-year commitment to “The Butterfly Process,” an educational approach to reinterpreting the classics through a modern lens of respect and inclusivity.
Join WBUR arts and culture reporter Cristela Guerra on the eve of the debut of this new production for a conversation with stage director Phil Chan and artistic advisor and dramaturg Nina Yoshida Nelsen about their approach to reimagine the opera. The evening will also include a musical performance from the opera by Karen Chia-Ling Ho, soprano and Douglas Sumi, piano
Our Story: Cultural Legacies of Japanese American Incarceration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6uCYkWkVYE
Opera Theatre of St. Louis
Pianist and Vocal Coach for Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Treemonisha “re-imagined with a new prologue and epilogue…”
Chamber Music: Trout Quintet
Schubert’s Trout Quintet (Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667)
Robin Sharp, violin
Dmitri Bovaird, viola
Margaret Edmondson, cello
Frances Liu, double bass
Douglas Sumi, piano
Madama Butterfly
From the New Orleans Opera Association, “This production invites challenge … so that one beautiful day the magical stories we tell won’t shield us from the truth, but will empower us to rise up and meet the world before us.” – Aria Umezawa, Stage Director
Opera Nouvelle: Storytellers
Stars of our upcoming Madame Butterfly, Nina Yoshida Nelsen and André Chiang, share the stage with world-renowned pianist and coach, Douglas Sumi ,in a one-of-a-kind recital experience. The program features two world premieres and is immediately followed by a Community Conversations talkback with the performers and composers.
Guest Artist Residency at Northern Arizona University
Voice & Collaborative Piano in Opera
Mozart’s Don Giovanni
February 20-24, 2023
Free Sessions Open to the Public
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 | 4:00-6:00pm
Thursday, February 23, 2023 | 4:00-6:00pm
Friday, February 24, 2023 | 4:00-6:00pm
Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition: New England Region
The purpose of the National Council Auditions Program, sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera, is to find exceptionally talented opera singers and to assist them in their development, to discover new talent for the Metropolitan Opera, and to search for possible participants in the Young Artist Development Program of the Met. https://neaudition.org
Charlie Parker's Yardbird
From the New Orleans Opera Association, “The story starts immediately following the death of jazz great, Charlie Parker. “The whole opera is about the dream of Charlie Parker to bridge two worlds (of classical and jazz music)…” writes composer Daniel Schnyder. With the aid of his strong mother Addie, three of his four wives, and his partner in the bebop jazz revolution, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie struggles to calm his demons and write his final masterpiece.”
Hansel and Gretel
From the New Orleans Opera Association, “This operatic fairy tale is NOT just for kids! Sure, your kids will love it, but an added bonus is YOU will too. Humperdinck’s love of folk melodies shines in this lush, beautiful, and complex score. Combine the music with our cast, creative team, new sets and costumes, and … voilà, a delightful experience for all ages.”
Romeo and Juliet
These FREE performances on Boston Common, in partnership with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, present Shakespeare’s most beloved and tragic tale.
Die Schweigsame Frau
Considered Strauss’s only true comic opera, this rarely performed work is by turns elegiac and incisively witty.
Recital with soprano, Angel Blue
Ms. Blue will perform works by Strauss, Hoiby, Rachmaninoff, Spirituals, and more with Douglas Sumi.