THE BIG SWIM (OX/PIG)
February 16-18, 2024
A world premiere, The Big Swim is a contemporary fable that fuses diverse influences into a single, compelling whole. Composer Meilina Tsui and librettist Melisa Tien have crafted a witty, heartwarming one-act opera that intentionally crosses boundaries between the traditional and modern, Eastern and Western, and classical and non-classical. In a new retelling of the race, the 12 animals learn that fierce competition is not as crucial as caring for and supporting one another, side by side.
For more information, click here.
LIEDERABEND (LIEDER ALIVE!)
December 10, 2023 at 5 pm PT
Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano
Peter Grünberg, piano
Special guest: Paul Yarbrough, viola
Brahms - Liebestreu, Sapphische Ode, Feldeinsamkeit, Zwei Gesänge, Op. 91
Berlioz - D'amour l'ardente flamme from La Damnation de Faust
Mahler - Rückert-Lieder
For more information, click here.
AN AMERICAN DREAM (HIROKO KOBAYASHI)
October 13-15, 20 and 22, 2023
Treasured possessions become symbols of home in this Seattle Opera commission written by composer Jack Perla from a libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo and inspired by true stories from our painful history. Set during World War II, this opera explores the lives of two women: a Japanese American forced to leave her home and a German Jewish immigrant preoccupied with those she left behind.
For more information, click here.
MADAMA BUTTERFLY (SUZUKI)
September 14, 17, 22, and 24, 2023
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. 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.
For more information, click here.
LE ROSSIGNOL (DEATH)
July 29, August 4 and 6, 2023
Music by Igor Stravinsky​, and based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson
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In Russian with English Surtitles
For more information, click here.
MADAMA BUTTERFLY (SUZUKI - COVER)
June 3, 6, 9, 18, 21, 24, 27, and July 1, 2023
San Francisco Opera Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducts a new staging of Puccini’s heartbreaking drama from director Amon Miyamoto, who reimagines this classic through the eyes of Trouble.
For more information, click here.
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE (DRITTE DAME)
April 7, 8, 9, 15, and 16, 2023
Phoenix – April 7 - 9, 2023 – Symphony Hall
Tucson – April 15 & 16, 2023 – Linda Ronstadt Music Hall
Performed in German with English supertitles and dialogue
FALSTAFF (DAME QUICKLY - COVER)
February 11, 12, 16, 19, 24, and 26, 2023
Music by Verdi, libretto by Boito
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Women take charge in Verdi’s hilarious and beloved comedic masterpiece, Falstaff. Adapted from Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, this rollicking production offers a joyful look at one of the Bard’s most popular characters — the boisterous knight Sir John Falstaff and his misadventures at the hands of four witty women.
OPERALOHA
January 14, 2023 at 7 PM HST
It's grand! It's moving! It's playful! Join us for an evening of genre-busting opera performances by some of the most exciting emerging voices in opera today. First, fresh from his Metropolitan Opera debut is Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, a countertenor (countertenors are the falsetto singers of opera). He is joined by San Francisco Opera favorite, Mexican-American baritone Efrain Solis and Korean-American mezzo-soprano Alice Chung, a recent principal artist at Hawai’i Opera Theatre. The singers are accompanied by talented pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg.
The performance will feature popular opera arias by Handel, Bizet, and Rossini as well as selections from Spanish opera, Mexican canciones, and songs from The Queen’s Songbook, compositions by Hawaii’s beloved Queen Lili‘uokalani. The concert includes special appearances by guest artists and young rising local talents, baritone Solomon Shumate and soprano Stacee Firestone.
This show is sponsored by Jennifer & Christopher Brahm, Carlyn Clause, Jamie Cross & Charles Antonen, Joan Cucek, Carol & Clive Davies, Sara Nealy, and Lilian Tsai.
For more information and On-Demand viewing, click here.
OPERA! PIKE! PARK!
August 28, 2022 at 4 PM EST
Live opera will once again fill the air in Milford, PA on August 28, 2022, in a free Opera! Pike! Park! concert on the lawn of the Ann Street Park in Milford Borough. Classic arias, Broadway tunes and songs will be performed by singers from the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia.
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Opera! Pike! Park! is part of the Music in the Park series presented by Milford Borough’s Parks and Recreation Committee. Opera! Pike! Park! is family friendly and attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, snacks and beverages.
Opera! Pike! Park! Is free for anyone to attend, however reservations via Eventbrite are required to receive a program. There also are a limited number of seats in folding chairs under the tent.
To make a free Eventbrite reservation, click here.
OCEAN CITY POPS PRESENTS AVA SUPERSTARS
August 24, 2022 at 7:30 PM EST
After last year's blockbuster concert featuring four of the best opera students in the country, Maestro Vince Lee is thrilled to make this concert an annual Ocean City tradition. Two of last year's performers were district winners of the Met Opera competition, and a third made it to the finals- come hear which future superstars will make their debuts on the Music Pier stage!
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Ocean City Music Pier
Moorlyn Terrace and Boardwalk
For tickets, click here.
MUSIC IN ACTION: A CONCERT AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE
MAHLER | KINDERTOTENLIEDER
July 28, 2022 at 8 PM EST
“Music in Action: A Concert Against Gun Violence” is intended to serve as a collective response spoken in our universal language: music.
This benefit concert will open with dis[armed] by Yaz Lancaster, featuring percussion soloists Tamika Gorski and Tyler Hefferon. Scored for percussion duo with tape, this thought-provoking work is the composer’s attempt at exploring the conversation surrounding gun violence, particularly mass shootings and the killing of unarmed Black people by police in the United States. The orchestral portion of the program, conducted by PROTESTRA Founder & Music Director Michelle Rofrano, will feature two works: Soul of Remembrance by Mary D. Watkins and Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children) by Gustav Mahler, featuring soloist Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano. These compositions center around themes of immense loss, but they also afford us a solemn moment to remember and mourn the lives that were lost and begin to heal together as a community.
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PROTESTRA will donate a portion of ticket proceeds to two organizations working to end gun violence at the local and national levels: Save Our Streets (S. O. S.) and Everytown for Gun Safety.
For more information, click here.
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DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER 紅樓夢 (GRANNY JIA - COVER)
June 14, 17, 19, 23, 25, July 1, and 3, 2022
San Francisco Opera brings back their co-production with the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Dream of the Red Chamber. The commission of the 2016 world premiere of Dream of the Red Chamber was initiated and funded by the Chinese Heritage Foundation Friends of Minnesota.
Adapted from a classic of world literature, Dream of the Red Chamber is an opulent exploration of love, lust, and political intrigue in imperial China by composer Bright Sheng and Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang.
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Sung in English with English and Chinese supertitles
For more information, click here.
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MADAMA BUTTERFLY (SUZUKI)
April 8, 10, and 12, 2022
Sung in Italian with English and Japanese supertitles
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Hawaii Opera Theatre closes out the season as planned in April 2022 with a full-scale production of one of opera’s best-loved classics, Madame Butterfly.
Puccini’s iconic work will be directed by Japanese-Canadian Director Aria Umezawa, who will bring a unique vision of the story to life by telling the tale through the eyes of Cio-Cio-san’s son, Trouble. Joining her creative team is local designer Anne Namba returning to HOT.
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MAHLER | SYMPHONY NO. 2 (ALTO SOLOIST)
April 22, 2022
Mahler - recognized as the last great German symphonist, whose epic Symphony No. 2 is "an intense emotional workout which captures the full realm of human passion within its sprawling scope."
Performed by the critically acclaimed USNA Glee Club, the George Washington University Chorus, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, and the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra.
GIRLS OF YELLOW DIAMONDS
SONGS OF ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN
March 11, 2022
In honor of the 2021 Atlanta Shootings and International Women's Day, Wear Yellow Proudly programs a recital featuring the compositions of Asian women composers and librettists to uplift the beautifully diverse narratives of Asian-American women. Joining her are fellow mezzo-sopranos Pauline Tan and Sophia Maekawa and pianist Ting Ting Wong.
DURUFLÉ REQUIEM (ALTO SOLOIST)
February 24 - 25, 2022
Radu Paponiu conducts the Naples Philharmonic and Naples Philharmonic Chorus, prepared by Jeff Faux.
The entire program includes Albert Franz Doppler's Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise and Joseph Bologne de Saint-Georges’ Symphony No. 1.
A CELEBRATION OF OPERA!
November 12 - 30, 2021
Since AVA’s last live performance in February 2020, we felt the most appropriate way to kick off our new season with a concert of exciting opera moments! This concert will feature Act III of Verdi’s Rigoletto, Act II of Puccini’s La bohème, and ensembles from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Thomas’ Mignon, Lehár’s The Merry Widow, Beethoven’s Fidelio, and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.
Conductors of the AVA Opera Orchestra:
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Christofer Macatsoris
Audrey Saint-Gil
David Antony Lofton
Richard A. Raub
Robert Kahn, guest conductor
Stage Director: Richard Troxell
Buy tickets to the performance here.
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x2: POULENC TRIO
Thursday, August 5, 2021 at 7:30 PM PST
Live in Hahn Hall
The most talented apprentices meet master mentors.
Music from baroque to brand-new, performed by two or more artists.
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FRANCIS POULENC Trio
Lauren Keating oboe, Julian Gonzalez bassoon, Jonathan Feldman* piano
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LEONARD BERNSTEIN Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
Richie Hawley* clarinet, Conor Hanick* piano
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JENNIFER HIGDON A Gentle Notion
Richie Hawley* clarinet, Conor Hanick* piano
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SAMUEL BARBER Summer Music, Op. 31
Julia Pyke flute, Alisha Zamore clarinet, Eugene Izotov*oboe, Vincent Igusa bassoon, Gabrielle Pho horn
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FRANK BRIDGE Three Songs for Voice, Viola, and Piano
Alice Chung mezzo-soprano, Jay Julio viola, John Churchwell* piano
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*faculty artist
Buy tickets to the performance here.
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LIVING VOICES: AN AFTERNOON OF NEW SONG
Sunday, July 18, 2021 at 4 PM PST
Join us Sunday afternoon for a concert of works by living, all-female composers, performed by the Vocal Institute fellows and instrumentalists.
100 tickets offered at the $10 Community Access price for this in-person event at the downtown Lobero Theatre.
Buy tickets to the performance here.
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COOPER-BING COMPETITION FINALS
Sunday, May 16, 2021 at 3 PM EST
The Cooper-Bing Competition Finals are virtual this year. The Cooper-Bing Competition aims to encourage emerging artists and celebrate the next generation of opera stars.
Watch Ms. Chung's winning aria Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix.
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A VERY MEROLA HOLIDAY
Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 4 PM PST
Celebrate the holiday season with Merola alums soprano Maria Valdes, mezzo-soprano Alice Chung, tenor Casey Candebat, bass-baritone Christian Pursell, and pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg.
This recital is generously sponsored by Jennifer and Chris Brahm.
Alice Chung is generously sponsored by Patrick Wilken and David Dickson.
Maria Valdes is generously sponsored by Bob and Terri Ryan.
Casey Candebat is generously sponsored by Bernice Lindstrom.
Christian Pursell is generously sponsored by Peter and Jayne Davis.
Ronny Michael Greenberg is generously sponsored by Barbara Bruser and Richard Clark.
Ticket purchasers will receive a link to view the event on Zoom in advance of the event on December 12.
Portions of this recital will be pre-recorded for the purpose of this original broadcast.
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RUSSIAN ROMANCES
Saturday, December 12, 2020
The Academy of Vocal Arts presents Russian Romances with Ghenady Meirson at the piano.
This recital will be virtual. Tickets and more details will be available here.
MORE DETAILS COMING SOON
MILDRED MILLER INTERNATIONAL VOCAL COMPETITION
Friday, November 6, 2020
The Mildred Miller International Voice Competition was founded in 2011 to identify and nurture talented young singers. The competition is named for Pittsburgh Festival Opera founder Mildred Miller Posvar.
Join Pittsburgh Festival Opera as we have a weekend celebrating
the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition: Mezzo-Soprano Edition!
Nov. 6, 7pm EST: Watch the finalists and cast your vote for audience favorite
Nov. 7, 7pm EST: Enjoy a Tribute to Mildred Miller Posvar and the Tenth Anniversary of MMIVC
Nov. 8, 7pm EST: See the winners announced
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GIARGIARI BEL CANTO COMPETITION
Monday, October 26, 2020
AVA’s annual favorite vocal competition returns, from the comfort of your own home! The Giargiari Bel Canto Competition has seen such international opera stars as Angela Meade, Stephen Costello, Michael Fabiano and Ailyn Pérez win prizes over its 40 year history. Now is your chance to hear the future stars of opera, right from your house! The competition will be streamed via YouTube.
". . . none was more exciting than mezzo Alice Chung—who I’ll go out on a limb and say might be the most interesting and promising resident artist I’ve found at AVA in the past decade. The voice is huge and gorgeously colored, and in performance, she’s excelled at everything from the comic Despina to the formidable Zia Principessa of Suor Angelica. Here, she sang Azucena’s “Condotta ell’era in ceppi” with an actual feel for the score’s intricacies. . .and a riveting dramatic intensity." - Parterre
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"Here, in a long and famously outlandish melodramatic narrative, every word and emotion had specificity and punch, and the voice rings out with grandeur." - Parterre
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Click here to watch
CANCELED: Hänsel und Gretel (Die Hexe)
Monday, July 7, 2020
In place of the canceled performances of the opera due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Music Academy of the West Vocal Institute introduces you to several characters in Humperdinck’s classic fairytale opera utilizing the creative direction of James Darrah and illustrations and animations by Yuki Izumihara and Yee Eun Nam.
Click to watch it here.
CANCELED: L'enfant et les sortilèges
(Maman/La libelulle)
Saturday, July 4, 2020
All LIVE Music Academy of the West productions have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click here to check out Music Academy of the West.
CANCELED: Beethoven's Symphony no. 9
(Alto Soloist)
Sunday, June 7, 2020
​Performance with the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra at Verizon Hall has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click here to learn more about the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute.
CANCELED: Elektra (Die Schleppträgerin)
Friday, May 15 - Tuesday, May 19, 2020
All live performances of Elektra with the Philadelphia Orchestra have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click to learn more about the Philadelphia Orchestra here.
CANCELED: Un ballo in maschera (Ulrica)
Saturday, April 25 - Saturday, May 9, 2020
All performances of Verdi's Un ballo in maschera have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click to learn more about the Academy of Vocal Arts here.
CANCELED: Jubilate! A Concert of Sacred Music (Alto soloist)
Saturday, March 14 - Sunday, March 15, 2020
All performances have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click to learn more about the Academy of Vocal Arts here.
BEETHOVEN MASS IN C MAJOR (Alto soloist)
Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 3 PM ET
Performance with the Bucks County Symphony Orchestra
Click to learn more about the Bucks County Symphony Orchestra here.
SCHWABACHER DEBUT RECITAL
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
The Merola Opera Program and San Francisco Opera presents a series of Schwabacher Debut Recitals. The recital will be at the War Memorial Veterans Building in the Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater.
With baritone Laureano Quant and pianist Nicholas Roehler
Presented by the Merola Opera Program and San Francisco Opera
Featuring music by Santoliquido, Berlioz, Mahler, and Bolcom
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Click here to read the review from The Berkeley Daily Planet
CARMEN (Mercédès) (Carmen cover)
Friday, October 25, 2019 at 7:30 PM CST
Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 2:30 PM CST
Tulsa Opera presents Carmen at Chapman Music Hall in the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.
Georges Bizet’s captivating opera Carmen tells the story of a fiery, independent woman who drives a Spanish soldier to choose between duty and freedom. Conductor Roberto Kalb and director Harry Silverstein return after collaborating on The Barber of Seville in 2018.
MEROLA GRAND FINALE
Saturday, August 17, 2019 at 7:30 PM PST
The Merola Opera Program concludes the summer with the Merola Grand Finale with Maestro George Manahan at the helm and Merolini stage director Greg Eldrige. Performing on the set of Billy Budd on the San Francisco Opera stage in the War Memorial Opera House with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. Featuring in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites (Mere Marie) and Thomas's Hamlet (Gertrude).
"Then came what may well have been the vocal and dramatic highlight of the concert —mezzo-soprano Alice Chung as Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, and baritone Tim Murray as Hamlet in a gut-wrenching scene from Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet." - The Berkeley Daily Planet
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"One of the best performances of the evening came from mezzo-soprano Alice Chung as Gertrude in Thomas' Hamlet. Her voice is simply vivid ..." - The Opera Tattler
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"Ms. Chung’s presence was powerful even as Mr Murray castigated her for the death of her husband, Hamlet’s father. Their voices gave the Mother-Son relationship a new dimension beyond the usual lascivious Queen and up-tight Prince." - LivelyFoundation.org
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"A special note, however, had to be made for hair-raising production of a duet from seldom-seen Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet,...found the regal-sounding Chung as Gertrude (Hamlet’s mother) moving from emotion to emotion – concern, confusion, denial and guilt – all within a single scene; it was truly a formidable experience! She had great rapport with her “sparring partner”, baritone Tim Murray..."
- Parterre.com
SCHWABACHER SUMMER CONCERT (Azucena)
Thursday, July 11, 2019 at 7:30 PM PST
Saturday, July 13, 2019 at 7:30 PM PST
The Merola Opera Program opens this summer with the Schwabacher Summer Concert, featuring extended scenes with orchestra from La Rondine (Suzy), Lucia di Lammermoor (Alisa), Die schweigsame Frau (Carlotta), Faust (Siebel), Il trovatore (Azucena).
Craig Kier, Conducter
Jose Maria Condemi, Director
"...the singer that really had me on edge and paying attention was mezzo-soprano Alice Chung, whose Azucena is strong and otherworldly." - The Opera Tattler
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"In the role of Azucena, mezzo-soprano Alice Chung was stupendous! Her husky voice is admirably suited to the role of this tormented Gypsy woman; and Alice Chung sang with great gusto and enormous vocal range." - The Berkeley Daily Planet
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE (Gertrude)
Saturday, April 27 – Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Generously sponsored by Judith Broudy
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The classic Shakespeare story of two star-crossed lovers, which is beloved by all.
Jeffrey Marc Buchman, Stage Director
Steven Mosteller, Conductor
Click to learn more about the Academy of Vocal Arts here.
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RUSALKA (Ježibaba)
Wednesday, January 16 - Saturday, February 2, 2019
The Academy of Vocal Arts presents Dvorak's Rusalka for the first time.
Music director Luke Housner and stage director K. James McDowell.
"Her rich, well-supported instrument thunders through Jezibaba’s warnings to Rusalka..."
SUOR ANGELICA (La Zia Principessa/La Badessa)
Saturday, November 3 - Tuesday, November 27, 2019
​The Academy of Vocal Arts presents Suor Angelica and Le villi under the baton of Maestro Macatsoris and Maestro Richard Raub, directed by David Gately.
"...a columnar mezzo with power and sheen." - Parterre.com
IL TROVATORE (Azucena cover)
Saturday, July 14 - Friday, August 3, 2018
Central City Opera House
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Joachim Schamberger, Director
John Baril, Conductor
Learn more about Central City Opera here.
BEETHOVEN FANTASIA IN C MINOR (Alto soloist)
Friday, April 13 - Sunday, April 15, 2018
Helzberg Hall
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
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Michael Stern, Conductor
Learn more about the Kansas City Symphony here.
RIGOLETTO (Giovanna)
Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 11, 2018
​Muriel Kauffman Theater
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
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David Charles Abell, Conductor
David Gately, Director
Learn more about the Lyric Opera of Kansas City here.
HÄNSEL UND GRETEL (Die Hexe)
Thursday, October 26 - Sunday, October 29, 2017
White Recital Hall
James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
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Fenlon Lamb, Director
See production image here.
EUGENE ONEGIN (Larina)
Saturday, September 30 - Sunday, October 8, 2017
​Muriel Kauffman Theater
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
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Ari Pelto, Conductor
Tomer Zvulun, Director
Learn more about the Lyric Opera of Kansas City here.
SCHWABACHER SUMMER CONCERT
(Augusta Tabor, Santuzza)
Thursday, July 6 - Sunday, July 9, 2017
Thursday: San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Sunday: Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University
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Anne Manson, Conductor
David Lefkowich, Director
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Featured in scenes of The Ballad of Baby Doe (Augusta Tabor), Cavalleria Rusticana (Santuzza), and Street Scene (Mrs. Olsen)
"a force of nature — with a sound both powerful and appealing" - San Francisco Classical Voice