El Puerto Rico is a project of the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA) and the Victory Players and Music Director Tianhui Ng, with support from New England Public Media . The rhythms of the bomba , Puerto Rico’s traditional dance music, are the underpinnings of Johanny Navarro ’s work Belén: Un Canto Sagrado a mis Ancestros (“A Sacred Chant to my Ancestors”). These rhythms are rooted in the African and indigenous heritage of the Caribbean. Much like a translator moves ideas from one language to another, Navarro reworks the rhythms and sounds of the bomba for the Victory Players, honoring the past and exploring new musical possibilities. Victory Players: Nathan Ben-Yehuda, piano Clare Monfredo, cello Giovanni Pérez, flute Robert Rocheteau, percussion Eric Schultz, clarinet Elly Toyoda, violin Tianhui Ng, Artistic Director Angela Santiago, Ensemble Manager Johanny Navarro often incorporates Afro-Carribean elements in her music. Her piece Celebration was selected by the Arts Club of Washington D.C.to commemorate their 100th anniversary. In 2016, she made her debut with Symphony Orchestra of Puerto Rico. Navarro studied music at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico. Continue reading. . .

song SLAM: Fashioned after traditional poetry slams and storytelling events like The Moth , each Sparks & Wiry Cries song SLAM gives teams of composers and performers a chance to present world premieres of art song and compete for audience-awarded cash prizes. Regional song SLAMs are produced with partnering local organizations. Since the inaugural song SLAM of 2016, our first-come, first-served registration often fills in under 30 minutes of opening and our song SLAM audiences are typically sold out and/or standing room only. The song SLAM was developed to bring in new, energized, invested audiences for art song, while removing barriers and gatekeepers for performers and creators.

“…a splendid recital with pianist Kathleen Kelly. . . Villalón gave a spring-like bounce to Hugo Wolf’s “Frühling übers Jahr,” assisted by Kelly’s perky touch at the piano. . . Kelly gave a convincing rendition of the enigmatic sounds of an Aeolian harp in Wolf’s “An eine Äolsharfe.” . . . The first half concluded with two songs that featured climactic crescendos of sound, beginning with Rachmaninoff’s “Dream,” in which Kelly’s accompaniment broadened like sleep’s spreading wings." – Washington Classical Review

"You don’t often hear opera audiences laughing out loud – constantly and with abandon – as they did during this evening...Tara Faircloth in her Lyric directorial debut went for guffaws and got them, in abundance." - Chicago Tribune "Lyric’s The Barber of Seville is jubilant, uproarious. The season opener is as much fun as you can have at the opera." - Chicago Reader

"The role of Carmen is a landmark in the world of opera, and it requires a mezzo-soprano with skill, strength, sex, and a dang good set of pipes. Without a woman like that, the show falls flat. UFO&MT’s Carmen features Audrey Babcock, as Carmen, who perfectly satisfies all the requirements for the role. Babcock is a force to be reckoned with. Full of life, sex, and a killer voice, Babcock is a hurricane that no one can resist. And who would you want to? She is sure and comfortable in her skin—or should I say Carmen’s skin—and she is the main reason this production is great. Her delivery of the classic Habenera, “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle,” is wonderful, as is every one of her arias. And she can play the castanets!" - Utah Theatre Bloggers "Mezzo-soprano Audrey Babcock gives us a Carmen that is traditional in all respects. She’s hedonistic, impetuous and hot-tempered – the quintessential Spanish woman, as imagined by Bizet, a Frenchman. Ms. Babcock’s performance is superb. She seems to be born to play Carmen (in fact, as UFOMT founding director Michael Ballam suggests – half jokingly, perhaps – Ms. Babcock may have played that role more often than anyone else alive). Ms. Babcock’s voice ranges from flirtatious to sultry and seductive, but is always rich and velvety. Her interpretation of the “Habanera” is a declaration of independence to which her would-be suitors should have listened more closely. Ms. Babcock is the perfect Carmen, destined to tempt men to their destruction and ultimately her own." - Cache Valley Daily " Audrey Babcock played the whore Aldonza, whom Don Quixote sees as the beautiful Lady Dulcinea. Babcock’s fierce attitude and demanding acting combined with her bewitching operatic voice make her a strong force to be reckoned with. Her desperation is sadly too relatable as she says, “See me as I really am… I am no one, I am nothing.”" - Utah Theatre Bloggers " Ballam stars opposite the incomparable Audrey Babcock as the fiery Aldonza. In addition to her memorable turns as Carmen, Ms. Babcock has drawn critical acclaim for this role in many previous venues and she plays it here to the hilt. Her performance is electrifying." - Cache Valley Daily

In 2009 co-founders Martha Guth and Erika Switzer created Sparks & Wiry Cries as an online magazine contextualizing art song through recordings, interviews, and articles by prominent artists and scholars. This is the online hub of Sparks & Wiry Cries and where it all began. Contributors include: Will Liverman, Fleur Barron, Dr. Te Oti Rakena & Dr. Tessa Romano, the late James Primosch, Elly Ameling, Dr. Minnita Daniel Cox, the late Deen Larsen, Susan Youens, Michael Musgrave, and Jean Bernard Cerin.

"Under the direction of conductor Elizabeth Askren, the orchestra beautifully plays the music of Britten and lulls the audience into a dreamlike state from the beginning of the show." - Broadway World "Elizabeth Askren’s conducting captured the score’s magic" - Wall Street Journal "Elizabeth Askren conducted a revelatory reading of Britten’s multi-faceted, difficult to categorize score. From the first haunting string glissandi, Maestra Askren elicited a haunting effect that soon morphed from the ‘spiritual’ fairy realm to the ‘spirited’ human scape and beyond, to the Music Hall sensibilities of the Mechanicals. Britten was a master orchestrator, and Askren inspired virtuosic achievements from the pit, from seamless ensemble playing to exposed, characterful solos, all beautifully rendered." - Opera Today

"Wolf Trap’s “Ariadne” offers effervescent treat in the dog days of summer " | - Washington Classical Review "The Wolf Trap Opera’s “Ariadne auf Naxos” gets it right....Director Tara Faircloth used the supporting cast to advantage in a production that was at once fairly conventional — set around the time the opera was written, in the early 20th century — and quietly inventive, particularly in its use of the backstage area in Act II, so you could see what was happening on the fictive stage and what was going on behind the scenes." - Washington Post

"Each individual singer, and member of the Groot Omroepkoor inhabited their role with distinctive individual presence, mindful of the overall whole. . . Bass-baritone Seth Carico as the Snow Queen, Reindeer and Clock, was to the point, and magnificently clear. . . Owen Willetts (Castle Crow) was in fine fettle, combined fluently with Paul Curievici's Forest Crow, both equal to their counterpart support, the Prince and Princess, Lucas van Lierop and Rainelle Krause . – Bachtrack "Rainelle Krause's fine coloratura soprano reached the balcony as Princess with the top notes unscathed." – OperaMagazine.nl (translated from Dutch)

" The glamorous, imperious soprano Marie-Eve Munger perhaps didn’t quite look the part of a pious martyr, but her exquisite singing all but transported one to heaven. Munger’s sound shimmered as she sang the lovely, often poignant, arias that Handel composed for Theodora. The expressiveness of her singing was enhanced through the graceful ornamentation with which she adorned the reprises of the melodies in the da capo arias. . . The surprise was that Munger and Costanzo, so dissimilar in temperament and voice, were as one in their duets together." – Seen and Heard International

"Chía Patiño did a great job as stage director. She and her team managed to get us into the story through a stage with modules (representing the ship, the river and the jungle), a magnificent light show and the performance of several puppeteers. The stage work of the singers and the costumes were also very convincing. . . Adriana Zabala and José Julián Frontal represented a credible married couple in crisis formed by Paula and Álvaro, demonstrating excellent vocal and theatrical skills. Zabala was masterful in her solo “Álvaro! God!". - Bachtrack (translated from Spanish)

The accomplished pianist explains the work that goes into making awe-inspiring music. Episode Notes Host June Thomas talks to musician, conductor, and singing coach Kathleen Kelly. In the interview, Kathleen describes her daily musical practices and explains the tricky work of accompanying singers on piano. She also describes the qualities every great conductor needs. After the interview, June and co-host Rumaan Alam talk about what happens when countries adequately fund the arts. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Kathleen plays one of her favorite piano pieces, and then June and Kathleen try to define “talent.” Listen to full interview.