ClassicalFrom Football To Opera: Singer Morris Robinson Takes Center StageFebruary 3, 2016Once Robinson dreamed of fame on the football field. Now, he's moving audiences across the world with the power of his voice, and changing the face of opera.
ClassicalWith More Story To Tell, Opera 'Appomattox' Gets An UpdateNovember 16, 2015Creators Philip Glass and Christopher Harmon say the racial unrest in the U.S. since the work first premiered in 2007 forced them to address "changes in the way this country understands itself."
ClassicalFarewell To Blackfaced Otellos At The MetSeptember 25, 2015When the curtain rises on the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Verdi's Otello tonight, opera fans will quickly notice what's not there.
ClassicalOne Feisty Victorian Woman's Opera RevivedJuly 23, 2015A skilled mountain climber who knew Tchaikovsky and Brahms, Ethel Smyth was a big personality whose politically charged opera The Wreckers gets its first fully staged production in the U.S.
ClassicalJon Vickers, Intense Canadian Tenor, Dies At 88July 13, 2015With his large, electrifying voice and his penetrating portrayals, Canadian tenor Jon Vickers thrilled opera lovers for more than 30 years.
ClassicalUnearthed In A Library, 'Voodoo' Opera Rises AgainJune 29, 2015The Harlem Renaissance opera Voodoo has not been performed since 1928. A Columbia University researcher rediscovered the score, and now the Harlem Opera Theater hosts two performances.
ClassicalHow The Met Opera's Chorus Master Gets 150 To Sound Like OneApril 23, 2015Donald Palumbo is the Metropolitan Opera's chorus master. He tells Fresh Air about "stagger breathing," how singers protect their voices and how he never had formal training.
ClassicalBryan Hymel's Hefty High CsMarch 3, 2015A young tenor from New Orleans elegantly launches high Cs in a stirring but punishingly difficult Rossini aria. This is why we listen to opera!
Insight With Vicki GonzalezDavis-Based Opera Baritone, Malcolm MacKenzieFebruary 3, 2015Davis-raised opera baritone Malcolm MacKenzie is performing with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra this Saturday night. MacKenzie is fresh off a production of "Carmen" (playing Dancaire) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York this past fall. Listen / download audio Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
ClassicalMarian Anderson's Groundbreaking Met Opera MomentJanuary 9, 2015Sixty years ago, opera singer Marian Anderson made her long overdue debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera. She was its first African-American soloist. Listen /Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
