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New York City Opera’s Bryant Park summer series continues with From Vienna to Broadway!, a charming review of songs, duets, and ensembles that takes the audience on a musical journey through the 20th century. Beginning with Lehar’s The Merry Widow from 1905 and culminating with Sondhiem’s A Little Night Music from 1973, and in between featuring works by Herbert, Romberg, Gershwin, Loesser, and Bernstein, this performance features a stellar cast of seven New York City Opera stars. Performances are designed to be enjoyed casually – no tickets required – with ample seating available and free picnic blankets for audience members to borrow. For more information, visit https://bryantpark.org/calendar/event/new-york-city-opera-from-vienna-to-broadway/2023-08-18.

For anyone unable to attend in person, free livestream broadcasts of the performances will be available nationwide via Bryant Park’s website and social media platforms.

“We are delighted to return as a part Bryant Park Picnic...

New York City Opera’s Bryant Park summer series continues with Tenor Alessandro Lora in Concert on Saturday, August 19th at 7pm. An exciting young talent, tenor Alessandro Lora of Vicenza, Italy will perform a crowd-pleasing concert of diverse Italian repertoire including folk, popular, and traditional Neapolitan songs alongside operatic favorites, sure to delight the whole family. Featuring the New York City Opera Orchestra, the concert will be led by two great conductors, Maestro Maurizio Barbacini and Maestro Diego Basso, founder of the Orchestra Musico Sinfonica Italiana and the prestigious Art of Voice Academy. Produced in cooperation with Sandro di Benedetto, Bruno Benetti, and OneArt, the evening promises to be an unforgettable night of classic Italian romance and passion, sure to bring the audience to their feet.

Entry is on a first-come, first-served basis. Performances are designed to be enjoyed casually – no tickets required – with ample seating available and free...

New York City Opera proudly announces the winners of the 2023 Duncan Williams Voice Competition. Hosted by J’Nai Bridges, the competition spotlights Black and Latinx singers and awards over $50,000 in prize money. On February 3, 2023 at Manhattan School of Music, 11 winners were announced in 4 categories: The Emerging Artists category, awarding $8,000 to Cierra Byrd, Daniel Rich, and César Andrés Parreño; the Developing Artists category, awarding $5,000 to Elizabeth Hanje, Benjamin Ruiz, and Jazmine Saunders; the Encouragement Award, awarding $3,500 to Joseph Parrish; and the Black and Latinx Song Presentation category, awarding $750 to Daniel Espinal, Kresley Figueroa, Lwazi Hlati, and Ardeen Pierre.

The Duncan Williams Voice Competition is named for baritone Todd Duncan and soprano Camilla Williams, the first African American singers to sing with a major United States opera company when they made their debuts with New York City Opera in 1945 and 1946, respectively. The Duncan Williams Voice Competition aims to address systemic barriers faced by...

Anyone who loves opera and classical music was stunned by the announcement this morning of the death yesterday of the opera singer Shirley Verrett at the age of 79.

One of the truly great singers from the 50′s until the mid-80′s Verrett along with other African-American opera singers such as Leontyne Price, Grace Bumbry and Martina Arroyo broke through opera’s “color line” and was known for her uniquely fiery intensity and powerful voice. Truly one of the last of the great ones.

Among her many roles no doubt her signature role was as Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s opera of the Shakespeare play Macbeth. Here’s a clip of Verrett singing the role in a 1987 film version of the opera. One of a kind and truly irreplaceable.

American opera singer Richard T. Gill has died, aged 82. He passed away in Providence, Rhode Island on Monday, October 25 after suffering heart failure.

Gill, an economist and longtime faculty member at America's esteemed Harvard University, quit his tenured job after discovering his voice through formal vocal training, which he began as an anti-smoking regimen at age 40.

He went on to perform featured roles with the New York City Opera in the early 1970s after a few years of study and later joined the Met, where he sang alongside opera greats including Placido Domingo, Beverly Sills, Kiri Te Kanawa and Shirley Verrett, between 1973 and 1976.

Gill's roles included Panthus in "Les Troyens", Frere Laurent in Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette", the Commendatore in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and the King in Verdi's "Aida". He retired from opera in the mid-1980s, and went on to publish several academic books, including "Our Changing Population", "Posterity Lost: Progress,...

Lee Summers' Just A Piano Concert Series has presented numerous top artists such as Broadway/TV's, Roz Ryan, Tony Award Winner, Lillias White, Tony Award Winner, Adriane Lenox, recording sensation Alyson Williams ("Just Call My Name"), Marva Hicks (Caroline or Change), Julie Reiber (Wicked), Crystal Mone Hall (Rent) Shoshana Bean (Hairspray/Wicked), Kevin-Anthony, co-founder of "Black2 Broadway" Opera's diva Shirley Verrett's vocal protégé Erika Banks - The Little Mermaid's, Zakiya Young Mizen (Featuring Norm Lewis) - Drowsy Chaperone's Kecia Lewis-Evans featuring Tony Award Winner, Lachanze and Tony Award Winner/3 Time Grammy Nominee, Melba Moore.