Gordon Hawkins News

Florencia en el Amazonas, an enchanting and romantic opera by composer Daniel Catán, returns to LA Opera for six performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion from November 22 through December 20, 2014. In the exquisitely beautiful opera, which was inspired by the fiction of Gabriel García Márquez, a steamboat passage along the fabled Amazon becomes a poignant voyage of discovery for all of the travelers on board. Among the passengers is a celebrated prima donna, returning to her homeland in hopes of reuniting with the great love of her life.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced complete casting for its first full presentation of Richard Wagner's four-part Ring cycle. Three cycles will be presented from April 30 to May 22, 2016 and will be directed by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin. Contribution packages with priority seating for The Ring are on sale now. For more information, go to WNO's Ring website.

In conjunction with the centennial of World War I and the Kansas City debut of the Pulitzer Prize winning production of Silent Night, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City presents Over There! at the National World War I Museum tonight, August 23. This 1914 field dining experience, co-chaired by Trudy and Jack Gabriel, will include a cabaret performance featuring music of the era.

General Director Plácido Domingo has announced final details for LA Opera's first revival of Florencia en el Amazonas, an enchanting and romantic opera by composer Daniel Catán. Co-commissioned by LA Opera in 1995, the opera returns to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for six performances from November 22 through December 20, 2014. In the exquisitely beautiful opera, inspired by the fiction of Gabriel García Márquez, a steamboat passage along the fabled Amazon becomes a poignant voyage of discovery for all seven travelers on board.

With some of the greatest voices in opera gathering together for one night only in a red-carpet affair, Seattle Opera's Speight Celebration Concert and Dinner thrilled more than 2,500 fans at McCaw Hall and raised more than $1 million on Saturday, August 9.

In conjunction with the centennial of World War I and the Kansas City debut of the Pulitzer Prize winning production of Silent Night, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City presents Over There! at the National World War I Museum on Saturday, August 23. This 1914 field dining experience, co-chaired by Trudy and Jack Gabriel, will include a cabaret performance featuring music of the era.

Music Director Robert Spano will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and Chorus in a concert staging of Verdi's Aida today, June 5, 2014, at 8:00 p.m., June 7, 2014, at 7:30 p.m., and June 8, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. in Atlanta Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center. This will be the ASO premiere of Aida, and these performances will mark the end of the Orchestra's 2013-14 season.

Colorado Symphony Music Director Andrew Litton and George Gershwin go way back. As conductor, performer and recording artist, Litton has carried his love of Gershwin with him to every podium. He's recorded Gershwin's music with the Bournemouth Symphony, the Bergen Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic and the Dallas Symphony. In May, Litton closes the Colorado Symphony's 2013/14 season with a blockbuster rendition of Porgy and Bess, featuring Gordon Hawkins in the role of Porgy. (Hawkins recently won audiences in the title role of Opera Colorado's Rigoletto.) Litton invites you to Catfish Row - and into the Porgy and Bess Concert Suite, his 1996 arrangement of Gershwin's classic opera.

Music Director Robert Spano will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and Chorus in a concert staging of Verdi's Aida June 5, 2014, at 8:00 p.m., June 7, 2014, at 7:30 p.m., and June 8, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. in Atlanta Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center. This will be the ASO premiere of Aida, and these performances will mark the end of the Orchestra's 2013-14 season.

Vancouver, BC ~ Tickets are selling quickly for the first production of Vancouver Opera's 2013-2014 season: Puccini's electrifying drama, Tosca. Featuring lavish sets and costumes, a magnificent chorus of more than 50 voices, and with 60 players in the orchestra pit, Tosca is a thrill for the senses.

Vancouver, BC ~ Tickets are selling quickly for the first production of Vancouver Opera's 2013-2014 season: Puccini's electrifying drama, Tosca. Featuring lavish sets and costumes, a magnificent chorus of more than 50 voices, and with 60 players in the orchestra pit, Tosca is a thrill for the senses.

Rollercoaster emotions, intense drama and beautiful music are in store this fall as Vancouver Opera opens the 2013-2014 season with Puccini's exhilarating masterpiece Tosca.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Announces 2013-14 Season

Over three days of preliminary auditions today, February 25 through the 27th, 2013, approximately 90 of the best young American and Canadian opera singers will compete to reach the final round of the 42nd annual George London Foundation Awards Competition.

Over three days of preliminary auditions on February 25-27, 2013, approximately 90 of the best young American and Canadian opera singers will compete to reach the final round of the 42nd annual George London Foundation Awards Competition.

The Opera Orchestra of New York will present its annual Vidda Award Recital featuring soprano Chiara Taigi at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Monday, December 12, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. Joined by Eve Queler at the piano, Ms. Taigi will present a program including works by Bellini, Cherubini, Mascagni, Puccini, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.

The Opera Orchestra of New York will present its annual Vidda Award Recital featuring soprano Chiara Taigi at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Monday, December 12, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. Joined by Eve Queler at the piano, Ms. Taigi will present a program including works by Bellini, Cherubini, Mascagni, Puccini, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.

Right from the first few notes of the overture, whether you're familiar with the show or not, a musical theater lover's ears will register the familiar lilt of a Gershwin melody reminiscent of "Rhapsody in Blue" and cause you to settle in your seat a little more with a contended sigh. At least that's what happened to this musical theater lover as he ventured just a little outside his normal realm and into the world of opera to catch Seattle Opera's breathtaking production of "Porgy and Bess".

Right from the first few notes of the overture, whether you're familiar with the show or not, a musical theater lover's ears will register the familiar lilt of a Gershwin melody reminiscent of "Rhapsody in Blue" and cause you to settle in your seat a little more with a contended sigh. At least that's what happened to this musical theater lover as he ventured just a little outside his normal realm and into the world of opera to catch Seattle Opera's breathtaking production of "Porgy and Bess".

Seattle Opera opens its 2011/12 season this summer with Porgy and Bess, the masterpiece by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin.