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Eight years ago, composer Jake Heggie was attending an event at the Smithsonian Institute when a docent walked up to him and said, “I have a great idea for your next opera.” Now, the opera is here, and it's about two women—one white, one Black—who created a spy ring to smuggle Confederate secrets to the White House.
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Polish countertenor and breakdancer Jakub Józef Orliński talks about his new album with Il Pomo d'Oro orchestra.
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WCPE had deemed operas dealing with race and LGBTQ issues "unsuitable" for broadcast. They reversed course "after careful deliberation...and hearing from our supporters, listeners and the public."
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The world-renowned countertenor and his husband were accused of drugging and raping a young singer in 2010.
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NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Givonna Joseph of Loyola University New Orleans and Gwen Thompkins of WWNO radio about the influence of opera on jazz music.
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The opera brings to light and life the true story of an enslaved man, Omar Ibn Said.
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The celebrated singer, who led an illustrious, jet-setting career, broke the color barrier as the first Black artist to perform at Germany's Bayreuth Festival.
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Grace Bumbry has died. She had one of the most illustrious operatic careers of the 20th century. She was also the first Black singer to perform at the Paris Opera and the Bayreuth Festival in Germany.
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A Jean-Philippe Rameau opera, left unfinished at time of his death and recently completed by a musicologist, gets its premiere 280 years later, with extravagant costumes.
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Opera Ebony was formed when opportunities for Black singers were few and far between. The company celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, but may not survive its 81-year-old founder.