I Love To Hear My Students Sing!
Every couple of months I schedule a Studio Class for 2, 3, or 4 singers. These classes have multiple purposes. For one, we work on repertoire with a goal in mind. For another, the class provides a valuable performance opportunity, however informal. The students sing for each other, and a pianist is engaged so that I can…
Read MoreHow I Celebrate Black History Month
I have had a subscription to Opera News most of my life. This started back in the 1950s when my Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Ross, semi-pro classical singers and opera fans, initiated little Jan into the world of classical music and opera. I will be forever grateful for that. I have kept a few of…
Read MoreAvocational Musicians in Love with their Art
Last Sunday (Feb. 19), I had the privilege of hearing a chamber music concert at the National Opera Center in NYC. Now, it may seem a bit strange for an opera singer to blog about chamber music…frankly, I know very few singers who give instrumental music a passing glance. I fell in love with chamber…
Read MoreIt’s that time again…Met HD broadcast of Dvorak’s “Rusalka” on 2/25
Here I am again, nagging everyone to take advantage of the so-enjoyable Live in HD Met broadcasts. This Saturday, 25 February, is Dvorak’s Rusalka, which is “roughly” the story of The Little Mermaid, a water sprite who falls in love with a human prince and appeals to a witch to turn her into a mortal human. This…
Read MoreAn Important Wagnerian Date
On this day in 1883, Richard Wagner passed away at Ca’ Vendramin Calergi (currently referred to as Palazzo Vendramin) in Venice (see my earlier post about visiting this site in June of 2016). For those of us who love Wagner (count me in), this is a date to commemorate by listening to some of his sublime…
Read MoreMaking a Video in my Studio
On Saturday, February 11, Max MGrath recorded a video for use with upcoming competitions. He recorded 3 opera arias, 2 musical theatre pieces, and a song by Kurt Weill. We are so grateful that the wonderful Elizabeth Blood was on hand to accompany, and Debora Cote of Ave Productions was the talented videographer. You can find contact…
Read MoreLegendary Soprano Leontyne Price Turns 90 Today
Leontyne Price is considered one of the greatest operatic sopranos of all time, and indisputably the most accomplished black woman in opera history. This world renowned icon and legend turns 90 today. She was a superstar at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and worldwide. One cannot begin to scratch the surface in exploring her talents, accomplishments, and…
Read MoreJanice and Cindy’s Cultural Venetian Adventure
In June of 2016, I spent a glorious week in Venice with my close friend and colleague Cindy Sadler. We had met in the 1990s while performing in Arizona Opera’s Ring Cycle. Cindy was the only artist who had appeared in all four operas (as Erde, Schwertleite, and First Norn), while I sang the role of Fricka…
Read MoreBrief Review of Met’s Romeo et Juliette
Last Saturday, 21 January 2016, my friend Anne Orio and I had a thoroughly delightful afternoon at the Live from the Met HD broadcast of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the Hooksett Cinemagic. What could be more tragically beautiful than this story of doomed young lovers? I had only heard this opera live one other time,…
Read MoreOpera Concert on 12/30/2016
This is a few weeks after the fact, but here goes. On Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, I heard 6 talented singers present a program of opera arias and scenes at Christ Church in Exeter, NH http://christchurchexeter.org. My student Max McGrath http://maxmcgrath.com sang one of his “signature” arias, “Ah, la paterna mano” from Verdi’s Macbeth, and quite beautifully,…
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