Latest news with #LAOpera
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
Domingo Hindoyan to become music director of LA Opera for 2026-27 season
NEW YORK -- Domingo Hindoyan will succeed James Conlon as music director of the LA Opera and start a five-year contract on July 1, 2026. The appointment of the 45-year-old Venezuelan-Armenian, the husband of soprano Sonya Yoncheva, was announced Friday night. Conlon has been music director since 2006-07 and said in March 2024 that he will retire after after the 2025-26 season. 'LA is a city that is known by innovation, taking risks in productions and musically,' Hindoyan said in New York, where his wife is currently singing at the Metropolitan Opera. 'The idea is to do new pieces, commissions and modern pieces, something to really have a balance between what is classic and go further as much as we can.' Hindoyan will conduct two productions in 2026-27 and three in each of the following four seasons, LA Opera President Christopher Koelsch said. Koelsch hopes Hindoyan can lead works with Yoncheva, who has not sung a staged production at the LA Opera. Like other companies, the LA Opera has struggled with increased costs following the pandemic and scrapped a planned pair of world premieres over finances. Tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo was a key figure in fundraising for the company as general director from 2003-19. 'Part of my job as a music director and the job of any musician is to really take care of the art form as much as we can," Hindoyan said, "not only on stage, not only studying at home (but also) the connection with the community and the connection to the donors.' Hindoyan was born in Caracas, played violin and is a product of El Sistema, the Venezuelan music education system that was instrumental in the careers of Gustavo Dudamel and Rafael Payare. He was an assistant to Daniel Barenboim at Berlin's Staatsoper unter den Linden. 'Given Barenboim's extremely exacting standards, I was impressed that he had that job and held onto that job," Koelsch said. 'And then I saw a performance of 'Tosca' and was kind of immediately struck by the elegance of the baton technique and just the sort of the absolute clarity of what he was conveying.' Hindoyan has been chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic since the 2021-22 season. He first conducted the LA Opera last November in Gounod's 'Roméo et Juliette.' 'There's a kind of a natural warmth and charisma to him. In my experience, he almost always coaxes the best out of people," Koelsch said. 'The 'Roméo' run for me was kind of a test run of how those qualities resonated inside our building, how it worked with the orchestra and the chorus and the administration and the audiences.'
Winnipeg Free Press
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Domingo Hindoyan to become music director of LA Opera for 2026-27 season
NEW YORK (AP) — Domingo Hindoyan will succeed James Conlon as music director of the LA Opera and start a five-year contract on July 1, 2026. The appointment of the 45-year-old Venezuelan-Armenian, the husband of soprano Sonya Yoncheva, was announced Friday night. Conlon has been music director since 2006-07 and said in March 2024 that he will retire after after the 2025-26 season. 'LA is a city that is known by innovation, taking risks in productions and musically,' Hindoyan said in New York, where his wife is currently singing at the Metropolitan Opera. 'The idea is to do new pieces, commissions and modern pieces, something to really have a balance between what is classic and go further as much as we can.' Hindoyan will conduct two productions in 2026-27 and three in each of the following four seasons, LA Opera President Christopher Koelsch said. Koelsch hopes Hindoyan can lead works with Yoncheva, who has not sung a staged production at the LA Opera. Like other companies, the LA Opera has struggled with increased costs following the pandemic and scrapped a planned pair of world premieres over finances. Tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo was a key figure in fundraising for the company as general director from 2003-19. 'Part of my job as a music director and the job of any musician is to really take care of the art form as much as we can,' Hindoyan said, 'not only on stage, not only studying at home (but also) the connection with the community and the connection to the donors.' Hindoyan was born in Caracas, played violin and is a product of El Sistema, the Venezuelan music education system that was instrumental in the careers of Gustavo Dudamel and Rafael Payare. He was an assistant to Daniel Barenboim at Berlin's Staatsoper unter den Linden. 'Given Barenboim's extremely exacting standards, I was impressed that he had that job and held onto that job,' Koelsch said. 'And then I saw a performance of 'Tosca' and was kind of immediately struck by the elegance of the baton technique and just the sort of the absolute clarity of what he was conveying.' Hindoyan has been chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic since the 2021-22 season. He first conducted the LA Opera last November in Gounod's 'Roméo et Juliette.' 'There's a kind of a natural warmth and charisma to him. In my experience, he almost always coaxes the best out of people,' Koelsch said. 'The 'Roméo' run for me was kind of a test run of how those qualities resonated inside our building, how it worked with the orchestra and the chorus and the administration and the audiences.'
Associated Press
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Domingo Hindoyan to become music director of LA Opera for 2026-27 season
NEW YORK (AP) — Domingo Hindoyan will succeed James Conlon as music director of the LA Opera and start a five-year contract on July 1, 2026. The appointment of the 45-year-old Venezuelan-Armenian, the husband of soprano Sonya Yoncheva, was announced Friday night. Conlon has been music director since 2006-07 and said in March 2024 that he will retire after after the 2025-26 season. 'LA is a city that is known by innovation, taking risks in productions and musically,' Hindoyan said in New York, where his wife is currently singing at the Metropolitan Opera. 'The idea is to do new pieces, commissions and modern pieces, something to really have a balance between what is classic and go further as much as we can.' Hindoyan will conduct two productions in 2026-27 and three in each of the following four seasons, LA Opera President Christopher Koelsch said. Koelsch hopes Hindoyan can lead works with Yoncheva, who has not sung a staged production at the LA Opera. Like other companies, the LA Opera has struggled with increased costs following the pandemic and scrapped a planned pair of world premieres over finances. Tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo was a key figure in fundraising for the company as general director from 2003-19. 'Part of my job as a music director and the job of any musician is to really take care of the art form as much as we can,' Hindoyan said, 'not only on stage, not only studying at home (but also) the connection with the community and the connection to the donors.' Hindoyan was born in Caracas, played violin and is a product of El Sistema, the Venezuelan music education system that was instrumental in the careers of Gustavo Dudamel and Rafael Payare. He was an assistant to Daniel Barenboim at Berlin's Staatsoper unter den Linden. 'Given Barenboim's extremely exacting standards, I was impressed that he had that job and held onto that job,' Koelsch said. 'And then I saw a performance of 'Tosca' and was kind of immediately struck by the elegance of the baton technique and just the sort of the absolute clarity of what he was conveying.' Hindoyan has been chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic since the 2021-22 season. He first conducted the LA Opera last November in Gounod's 'Roméo et Juliette.' 'There's a kind of a natural warmth and charisma to him. In my experience, he almost always coaxes the best out of people,' Koelsch said. 'The 'Roméo' run for me was kind of a test run of how those qualities resonated inside our building, how it worked with the orchestra and the chorus and the administration and the audiences.'
New York Post
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Patti LuPone reveals Audra McDonald is ‘not a friend' following Broadway stars' feud
Everything's coming up roses – except her friendship with Audra McDonald. Patti LuPone got candid on where she and her fellow Broadway performer, 54, stand after years long tension. The actress, 76, told reporter Michael Schulman of the New Yorker that McDonald is 'not a friend.' 8 Patti LuPone speaks onstage during the Emmy FYC Screening Of Marvel Televisions' 'Agatha All Along' at DGA Theater on April 19, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images for Disney Without going into detail, LuPone noted to the outlet that their relationship ended due to an incident years prior. After Schulman asked the singer to share her thoughts on McDonald's current role as Rose in 'Gypsy,' the 'And Just Like That…' actress allegedly sat in silence before turning to the window, letting out a sigh and exclaiming, 'What a beautiful day.' The Post has reached out to a rep for McDonald. 8 Audra MacDonald and Patti LuPone during a break in an LA Opera rehearsal of 'Mahagonny.' Los Angeles Times via Getty Images LuPone previously won a Tony for playing Rose in 2008. McDonald was nominated for a Tony for her part in the musical, which made her the most nominated performer of all time with 11 nods. She has already taken home six Tonys, while LuPone has received three. Although there is no friendship between the two Broadway legends, they have performed together over the years. In 2000, the actresses starred in the New York Philharmonic's concert version of 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.' 8 Audra McDonald and Patti Lupone. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images LuPone and McDonald also costarred in the LA Opera production of 'Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny' in 2007. During her profile, the 'Agatha All Along' alum didn't hold back while talking about a separate issue she has with Kecia Lewis after the pair had words on social media last year. The 59-year-old uploaded a clip to Instagram in which she chastised LuPone for calling the musical 'Hell's Kitchen' 'too loud.' 8 Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone pose at the Drama League's 27th Annual All-Star Benefit Gala. FilmMagic Lewis said, 'These actions, in my opinion, are bullying. They're offensive, they are racially microaggressive, they're rude, they're rooted in privilege. And these actions also lack a sense of community and leadership for someone as yourself, who has been in the business as long as you have.' She concluded her message by sharing some advice for LuPone and other Broadway stars. 'Let's continue fostering an environment on Broadway that recognizes and values all shows for their unique contributions and energy, and that celebrates the diversity of voices and sounds and stories that we all bring to the stage,' Lewis suggested. 'Ms. LuPone, I respectfully submit to you that you owe us an apology — not flowers. Thank you for listening.' LuPone was starring alongside Mia Farrow in the play 'The Roommate' at the time and shared a wall with the musical. She said she could hear the show's sound cues, which were too loud. 8 Audra McDonald attends the 2025 Met Gala. Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue 'She calls herself a veteran? Let's find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn't know what the f–k she's talking about,' LuPone said about Lewis' video. 'She's done seven. I've done 31. Don't call yourself a vet, bitch!' Schulman then told the 'American Horror Story' actress that McDonald had responded to Lewis' post with two heart emojis and two clapping emojis. 'Exactly,' LuPone replied. 'And I thought, 'You should know better.' That's typical of Audra.' Elsewhere in the interview, the Hollywood vet addressed her 'painful' seven year on-off relationship with ex Kevin Kline. 8 Patti LuPone attends the Disney's 'Agatha All Along' Los Angeles Official Emmy FYC Event. FilmMagic The two dated in the 1970s, with LuPone confessing to The New Yorker, 'I took an instant dislike to him.' 'He looked like Pinocchio to me,' she expressed. 'He had skinny legs and he was tall, and I didn't really see the handsomeness.' But soon after, LuPone and Kline, 77, began 'feeling each other up' in the back of an art-appreciation class. As she put it, 'He was a Lothario.' While together, LuPone and Kline starred alongside one another in the 1975 Broadway musical 'The Robber Bridegroom.' 8 Kecia Lewis accepts the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical award for 'Hell's Kitchen.' Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions 'It was a painful relationship,' LuPone detailed. 'I was his girlfriend when he wanted me to be his girlfriend, but if there was somebody else he would break up with me and go out with that person. And I, for some reason, stuck it out — until I couldn't stick it out anymore.' Kline went on to marry Phoebe Cates in 1989. The pair have two kids, Owen and Greta. For her part, LuPone tied the knot with Matthew Johnston in 1988 and welcomed son Joshua Luke Johnston shortly after. 8 Kecia Lewis performs at the 77th annual Tony Awards. Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions Decades into her career, in 2024, the superstar spoke candidly about belonging on the stage. 'This is all the way I was born, more indication that I was born to the boards,' she told The Grand Tourist. 'I was born to do what I do. My voice is a result of a lack of knowledge, quite frankly. When I was growing up, I'd sing along to Dionne Warwick in those keys, not my keys. I didn't even know what my keys were. And I sang along to rock and rollers. I sang along to when I was growing up. That was my music because that was the beginning of it.' Now, with an upcoming role on Season 3 of 'And Just Like That…,' LuPone predicted what work she wanted to do more of at the time. The musician, who described herself as 'funny, curious, a tourist,' during the chat, stated, 'I'd like to end my career on TV or in film,' because 'it's easy.'
Forbes
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Met Opera Husband-And-Wife Stars Jack Swanson And Katherine Henly Talk Travel And Opera
Husband-and-wife Jack Swanson and Katherine Henly. It's a family affair at the Met Opera for Jack Swanson and Katherine Henly, husband and wife duo hailing from the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Both opera stars have made their Met debuts this season, with soprano Katherine as a Niña in Golijov's Grammy Award-winning 'Ainadamar,' which premiered in October, and tenor Jack Swanson as Count Almaviva in 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia,' who picked up the role on May 16 from Lawrence Brownlee. Barbiere di Siviglia will stream Live in HD to cinemas around the world on Saturday, May 31, at 1PM ET. In addition to Jack and Katherine, a third special member of the family also made their Met debut. Katherine was 8 months pregnant with their son (and first child) when she debuted, and 9 months (just 12 days away from giving birth!) when she performed in the final performance of 'Ainadamar.' The couple, who has performed around the world together (they met at LA Opera during a production of 'Candide'), spoke to me about their favorite spots in New York, where they love to travel together (for work and for pleasure), their favorite pieces of career advice, and more. Jack Swanson, Katherine Henly, and their son. favorite opera that's not my own is: Jack: My favorite opera is Puccini's 'Fanciulla del West!' Katherine: Puccini's 'La Bohème' is one of my favorites of all time. There is so much subtle beauty woven into it, down to the placement of every rest, and I love playing Musetta—she has so much fun but also has such a caring heart, and her music is a real joy to sing. My pre-performance ritual is: Jack: I start the day with the same vocal exercise, making sure I'm free, relaxed, and that my technique is lined up and in a good place. On a performance day, I like to do some mild cardio, sometimes just a long walk, and I spend most of the day resting. When singing Rossini, I always make sure to sing the most difficult, florid passages as part of my pre-show warm-up! Katherine: It's changed a bit now that my son is here! I always make sure to move my body, so that it's warmed up and feels connected and able to support making the music and storytelling happen. I eat a good meal early in the day so that by performance time I'm fueled up but not too full, and I'm big on hydrating in advance. I still do those things, but my schedule also revolves around when my son needs to eat and sleep! I get performance ready early so that the last thing I can do before I go onstage is feed him and hopefully get him to sleep. I Katherine, what was your experience like being pregnant at the Met and making your debut? Katherine: The Met was so accommodating, and it was an experience I will forever cherish. The costume department was so kind to me and made all of my costumes expandable as I grew into the final month of my pregnancy, and the cast and creative teams truly looked out for me and felt like family. So often we are led to believe that pregnancy and motherhood are limiting to women, but in fact the opposite is true; becoming a mother has been the most strengthening, heart-bursting and expansive experience, in every way. After a performance I: Jack: EAT! I tend to eat very little before a performance, as I don't love the feeling of singing or moving around on stage with a full stomach. So, I usually do my most serious and ferocious eating after the show. Katherine: I am always wide awake and fired up after a performance, it takes me a long time to wind down. I love going out for a bite with my fellow performers or family and friends and celebrating in some way. One of my favorite aspects of performing is how it brings us all together. The next day I try to work in as much rest and resetting as possible so that I am fresh and ready to do it all again! My must-have travel item is: Jack: My Bose headphones. You'd think I'd always be listening to tenors, which of course happens occasionally, but most of the time I just use them to decompress. Noise-cancel and meditate!Katherine: A comfortable travel pillow! Great for adults and babies alike! The destination I love to travel to most for work with my significant other is: Jack: This is a tough one, but last year we had the opportunity to travel all over Spain, and for the two of us, it was really a perfect fit. Luckily, we have more travel and work in Spain soon. Katherine:Tough to pick! We first met working at LA Opera together on a production of Candide, so LA will always be a special place for us! We left a lock with our names on it in Cologne, Germany on the Hohenzollern Bridge when we performed in Street Scene together for Oper Köln. We've since spent a lot of time working together in Norway, which we've loved, and last year we had the chance to travel in Spain and we absolutely fell in love with it. We are looking forward to more time there in the future! My favorite travel destination for vacation (not work) with my significant other is: Jack: When not working, we really love to camp. One of my favorite trips was our adventure to Jackson Hole, Wyoming with our rooftop tent. Katherine: Also tough to pick, but we have really loved our time in Ireland and Italy and are always looking forward to returning for work or vacation! We also love to camp and one of our first big vacations together was a road trip with our rooftop tent that took us from Utah, through Wyoming and on to Minnesota. We love any excuse to get out in nature! My favorite restaurant in New York is: Jack: I've discovered that the BEST New York pizza slice is from Upside Pizza on Broadway and 112th. Don't skip the garlic knots. Katherine: Victor's Cafe on W 52nd. The most amazing food. My father played lead trumpet on Miss Saigon at the Broadway Theatre nearby for the 10 year run until I was 12 years old and Victor's became my family's go-to place for celebrating. I have a lot of great memories there. My favorite spot near the Met opera is: Jack: Too many to count, but you'll often find me with a coffee, sitting in Richard Tucker Park, just trying to soak in the inspiration and understand how he got his high notes to sound the way he did. Katherine: There are so many, but I love to sit under the trees across from The Performing Arts Library and Lincoln Center Theater, it's so peaceful and inspiring to be near so much incredible art happening.
