New York, NY — April 15, 2024 — The 92nd Street Y, New York (92Ny), one of New York’s leading cultural venues, presents Cotton: Denyce Graves, mezzo-soprano and Justin Austin, baritone on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 7:30 pm at Kaufmann Concert Hall. Tickets start at $30 and are available at https://www.92ny.org/event/denyce-graves-and-justin-austin.
Celebrated mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, acclaimed for her riveting performances on the world’s great opera stages, her activism in support of diversity in the arts, and her championing of new music, is featured with exciting rising star baritone Justin Austin and pianist Laura Ward in the New York premiere of this immersive exploration of African American stories through song, poetry, and photography.
A poignant and powerful multidisciplinary work that speaks to the resilience of soul and psyche, Cotton is inspired by photographer John E. Dowell’s haunting images of South Carolina cotton fields – captured in his 2018 exhibit Cotton: The Soft,...
Celebrated mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, acclaimed for her riveting performances on the world’s great opera stages, her activism in support of diversity in the arts, and her championing of new music, is featured with exciting rising star baritone Justin Austin and pianist Laura Ward in the New York premiere of this immersive exploration of African American stories through song, poetry, and photography.
A poignant and powerful multidisciplinary work that speaks to the resilience of soul and psyche, Cotton is inspired by photographer John E. Dowell’s haunting images of South Carolina cotton fields – captured in his 2018 exhibit Cotton: The Soft,...
- 4/15/2024
- by Music MCM
- Martin Cid Music
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...
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...
- 2/28/2023
- by Music Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Music
"Someone will die at the end of the day." A fictionalized Virginia Woolf (Joyce Didonato) announces this as she sullenly stares at a dead bird. She's referring to the plot development of her 1925 novel, "Mrs. Dalloway," and she hasn't decided who will die yet in her novel, which would be considered a modernist masterpiece long after her 1941 suicide. She's also echoing her own suicidal dread. She also doesn't know that she's portending another woman's ending.
Based on Michael Cunningham's novel and the 2002 Paramount Pictures film adaptation directed by Stephen Daldry, "The Hours" opera premiere on the Metropolitan Stage is an ambitious undertaking. Balancing out three women's narratives from different time periods, both text and movie contain multitudes: the exhaustion of ordinary living, mental illness, queer lives, and the connective tissue of literature. This may sound lofty for an opera but the medium has a favorable condition: a large stage...
Based on Michael Cunningham's novel and the 2002 Paramount Pictures film adaptation directed by Stephen Daldry, "The Hours" opera premiere on the Metropolitan Stage is an ambitious undertaking. Balancing out three women's narratives from different time periods, both text and movie contain multitudes: the exhaustion of ordinary living, mental illness, queer lives, and the connective tissue of literature. This may sound lofty for an opera but the medium has a favorable condition: a large stage...
- 12/14/2022
- by Caroline Cao
- Slash Film
The inaugural DC Power Index Prize will honor Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova, Capitol police officer Caroline Edwards and National Institutes of Health bioethicist Christine Grady, among others, at a ceremony on Wednesday.
The prize honors women “who exemplify resilience, foster innovation, exhibit flexibility in times of crisis, and make a social and cultural impact.” Edwards, for instance, testified before the January 6th Committee last month on what she and other officers faced during the Capitol siege. Grady, chief of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, has been a leading voice on the ethical challenges surrounding the Covid crisis.
The DC Power Index Prize was created by magazine editor Joanna Coles, Microsoft’s Teresa Carlson and Paramount Global’s DeDe Lea. Coles created the annual Power 100 lunch in New York.
Others to be honored include mezzo soprano Denyce Graves and actress, singer and activist Melora Hardin,...
The prize honors women “who exemplify resilience, foster innovation, exhibit flexibility in times of crisis, and make a social and cultural impact.” Edwards, for instance, testified before the January 6th Committee last month on what she and other officers faced during the Capitol siege. Grady, chief of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, has been a leading voice on the ethical challenges surrounding the Covid crisis.
The DC Power Index Prize was created by magazine editor Joanna Coles, Microsoft’s Teresa Carlson and Paramount Global’s DeDe Lea. Coles created the annual Power 100 lunch in New York.
Others to be honored include mezzo soprano Denyce Graves and actress, singer and activist Melora Hardin,...
- 7/19/2022
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Washington, D.C. — To the delight of a standing-room-only audience that included the First Family, the Kennedy Center Honors paid hearty tribute on Sunday night to actor-singer Bette Midler, opera bass-baritone Justino Diaz, Motown founder Berry Gordy, “Saturday Night Live” honcho Lorne Michaels and singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.
The event, last staged before a live audience in pre-covid 2020, had been conspicuously ignored by former President Donald Trump following criticism from two honorees in 2017. By contrast, President Joe Biden happily reinstated the tradition of hosting honorees at the White House before attending the production. He and First Lady Jill Biden were joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and husband Douglas Emhoff.
The wait by audiences was fully rewarded as the 44-year-old Honors program delivered a seemingly nonstop parade of A-list participants offering heartfelt tributes and rousing entertainment for the honorees gazing down from the president’s box. The show will air Dec.
The event, last staged before a live audience in pre-covid 2020, had been conspicuously ignored by former President Donald Trump following criticism from two honorees in 2017. By contrast, President Joe Biden happily reinstated the tradition of hosting honorees at the White House before attending the production. He and First Lady Jill Biden were joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and husband Douglas Emhoff.
The wait by audiences was fully rewarded as the 44-year-old Honors program delivered a seemingly nonstop parade of A-list participants offering heartfelt tributes and rousing entertainment for the honorees gazing down from the president’s box. The show will air Dec.
- 12/6/2021
- by Paul Harris
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s National Memorial Day Concert, the annual tribute to members of the military and their families, will once again be a pre-taped event with performances and tributes from around Washington and other parts of the country, but that doesn’t mean that it’s any less moving.
The Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions on the Capitol grounds prevent the traditional large-scale live concert, but producers have planned a lineup that includes Gladys Knight, Vince Gill, Sara Bareilles, Alan Jackson, Denyce Graves, The Four Tops and Brian d’Arcy James, along with Kathy Baker and Joe Morton.
Among the highlights will be a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, in which Steve Buscemi hosts a segment against a backdrop of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York. “A morning that began so sunny and bright was the beginning of America’s darkest hours, images that can never be erased from memory,...
The Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions on the Capitol grounds prevent the traditional large-scale live concert, but producers have planned a lineup that includes Gladys Knight, Vince Gill, Sara Bareilles, Alan Jackson, Denyce Graves, The Four Tops and Brian d’Arcy James, along with Kathy Baker and Joe Morton.
Among the highlights will be a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, in which Steve Buscemi hosts a segment against a backdrop of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York. “A morning that began so sunny and bright was the beginning of America’s darkest hours, images that can never be erased from memory,...
- 5/27/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
The National Memorial Day Concert will again forgo the live setting on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in favor of a series of taped performances, with plans for the event to commemorate 9/11 and Gold Star families, along with other tributes.
The May 30 event, honoring active military, veterans and their families, has traditionally gone live with the Capitol and National Mall as a backdrop, but the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has scuttled plans for a large-scale concert gathering.
Instead, producer Capital Concerts is shooting performances at key D.C. locations and elsewhere – sans Zoom segments. The lineup includes Colin Powell, Gladys Knight, Vince Gill, Sara Bareilles, Alan Jackson, Denyce Graves, The Four Tops, Brian d’Arcy James and the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jack Everly. There also will be a Salute to Services with the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the Pentagon, and a special message from General Mark A. Milley,...
The May 30 event, honoring active military, veterans and their families, has traditionally gone live with the Capitol and National Mall as a backdrop, but the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has scuttled plans for a large-scale concert gathering.
Instead, producer Capital Concerts is shooting performances at key D.C. locations and elsewhere – sans Zoom segments. The lineup includes Colin Powell, Gladys Knight, Vince Gill, Sara Bareilles, Alan Jackson, Denyce Graves, The Four Tops, Brian d’Arcy James and the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jack Everly. There also will be a Salute to Services with the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the Pentagon, and a special message from General Mark A. Milley,...
- 5/4/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Of all the songs President Joe Biden might have quoted during his inaugural address on Wednesday, a song that many people know as a Norah Jones track from a Ken Burns documentary might not have been the first guess.
The song, “American Anthem,” was written by songwriter Gene Scheer and was first sung by Denyce Graves in 1998 for President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton at the Smithsonian Institution during the launch of the “Save America’s Treasures” initiative. It was subsequently performed at other ceremonies, was covered by Patti Labelle and sung by Graves at George W. Bush’s 2005 inauguration; its performance today may tie in with Biden’s unity theme.
Jones’ version dates from 2007 and was featured in “The War,” Burns’ documentary about World War II. Written by Gene Scheer,” it’s an outlier in Jones’ extensive catalog, featured on none of her albums and only available on the series’ soundtrack album.
The song, “American Anthem,” was written by songwriter Gene Scheer and was first sung by Denyce Graves in 1998 for President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton at the Smithsonian Institution during the launch of the “Save America’s Treasures” initiative. It was subsequently performed at other ceremonies, was covered by Patti Labelle and sung by Graves at George W. Bush’s 2005 inauguration; its performance today may tie in with Biden’s unity theme.
Jones’ version dates from 2007 and was featured in “The War,” Burns’ documentary about World War II. Written by Gene Scheer,” it’s an outlier in Jones’ extensive catalog, featured on none of her albums and only available on the series’ soundtrack album.
- 1/20/2021
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Thirteen’s American Masters series and Philip Gittelman Productions, in association with Black Public Media, will develop a new documentary on opera singer Marian Anderson for PBS, sources exclusively tell IndieWire.
Affectionately known to audiences as “The Lady from Philadelphia” and “The People’s Princess,” the contralto, who died in 1993, is credited with breaking down barriers for African Americans in the arts, and galvanizing a fledgling civil rights movement with a 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington in a brave protest against racial intolerance.
In 1936, Anderson became the first black artist to perform at the White House, and, in 1955, the first African-American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.
Balancing her public triumph with her personal struggles and resilience, the documentary will trace Anderson’s impact as a talent whose career was steered by the limits imposed by racism and segregation. Despite racial prejudice, she became an internationally renowned star...
Affectionately known to audiences as “The Lady from Philadelphia” and “The People’s Princess,” the contralto, who died in 1993, is credited with breaking down barriers for African Americans in the arts, and galvanizing a fledgling civil rights movement with a 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington in a brave protest against racial intolerance.
In 1936, Anderson became the first black artist to perform at the White House, and, in 1955, the first African-American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.
Balancing her public triumph with her personal struggles and resilience, the documentary will trace Anderson’s impact as a talent whose career was steered by the limits imposed by racism and segregation. Despite racial prejudice, she became an internationally renowned star...
- 5/13/2020
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Lyric Opera of Chicago will soon present Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, starring Steven Pasquale as carousel barker Billy Bigelow, Laura Osnes as his true love, millworker Julie Jordan, Jenn Gambatese as Carrie Pipperidge, Denyce Graves as Nettie Fowler, Matthew Hydzik as Enoch Snow, Tony Award winner Jarrod Emick as Jigger Craigin, two-time Tony Award nominee Charlotte d'Amboise as Mrs. Mullin, and two-time Tony Award nominee Tony Roberts as the Starkeeper. Carousel will run April 10 to May 3 at the Civic Opera House opening night April 11.Below, check out photos of Osnes and Pasquale, as featured on Lyric Opera Theatre of Chicago's Facebook page, as they pose in character...
- 2/19/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
New York — Jazz composer Terence Blanchard couldn't have imagined how timely his opera about a gay boxer would become when he accepted a commission three years ago.
Blanchard's "Champion" – with a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael Cristofer – is based on the life of former world welterweight and middleweight champion Emile Griffith. Its world premiere at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis on Saturday comes just weeks after NBA center Jason Collins became the first active male pro athlete from one of the four major North American team sports to come out as gay.
Griffith's greatest triumph came in a nationally televised welterweight title bout in 1962 when he knocked out Benny "The Kid" Paret by battering him with 17 punches in seven seconds, sending his rival into a coma. Paret died 10 days later.
At the weigh-in, the Cuban-born Paret had angered Griffith by using an anti-gay Spanish slur. Thirty years later,...
Blanchard's "Champion" – with a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael Cristofer – is based on the life of former world welterweight and middleweight champion Emile Griffith. Its world premiere at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis on Saturday comes just weeks after NBA center Jason Collins became the first active male pro athlete from one of the four major North American team sports to come out as gay.
Griffith's greatest triumph came in a nationally televised welterweight title bout in 1962 when he knocked out Benny "The Kid" Paret by battering him with 17 punches in seven seconds, sending his rival into a coma. Paret died 10 days later.
At the weigh-in, the Cuban-born Paret had angered Griffith by using an anti-gay Spanish slur. Thirty years later,...
- 6/13/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Two-time Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep (right), singer Barbara Cook, singer and songwriter Neil Diamond, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and saxophonist and composer Sonny Rollins will receive the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' 2011 Kennedy Center Honors. The Kennedy Center Honors ceremony will be held on Sunday, December 4, on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage. The Kennedy Center Honors medallions will be presented on Saturday, December 3, at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. An edited version of the ceremony will be broadcast on CBS for the 34th consecutive year as a two-hour primetime special on Tuesday, December 27, at 9:00 p.m. (Et/Pt). The event will be produced by George Stevens Jr. and Michael Stevens. From the Kennedy Center Honors' press release: "The Honors recipients recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts—whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures,...
- 9/7/2011
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
Brandon T Jackson, who’s been getting some pub on this blog recently, is 26 years old today. He was last seen in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and, as we recently reported, will co-star with Martin Lawrence in Big Momma’s House 3. He’s currently filming Lottery Ticket with Ice Cube and Bow Wow, which is scheduled for a release later this year.
Wanda Sykes is 46 today. The star of Curb Your Enthusiasm and The New Adventures Of Old Christine, currently hosts her own late night variety show, which airs Saturday nights on Fox.
And lastly, opera singer, Denyce Graves, is 47 today. As a mezzo-soprano, she made her professional debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1995 and has appeared at many opera houses. Though her repertoire is extensive, her signature part is the title role in Bizet’s Carmen.
That’s it! To take us out, here’s...
Wanda Sykes is 46 today. The star of Curb Your Enthusiasm and The New Adventures Of Old Christine, currently hosts her own late night variety show, which airs Saturday nights on Fox.
And lastly, opera singer, Denyce Graves, is 47 today. As a mezzo-soprano, she made her professional debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1995 and has appeared at many opera houses. Though her repertoire is extensive, her signature part is the title role in Bizet’s Carmen.
That’s it! To take us out, here’s...
- 3/7/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
In a custom-made gown by Donna Langman, Opera star Denyce Graves married transplant surgeon Dr. Robert Montgomery, dressed in a traditional black Scottish kilt, Saturday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. "I wanted my wedding to be a declaration of [the] love in our hearts," says Graves. At the reception, Graves donned both a white silk gown by Donna Langman and a Vera Wang champagne chiffon dress, while guests enjoyed the scenery of the historical Anderson House including a reflecting pool and sculptures."Robert and I are cut from the same fabric," says Graves. "We have the same sense...
- 9/13/2009
- by Jessica Herndon
- PEOPLE.com
Katie Holmes had quite the captive audience Sunday night in D.C. In the audience was her No. 1 fan, husband Tom Cruise, as well as the woman she was portraying. The 20th annual PBS Memorial Day Concert, which paid tribute to the sacrifices of American men and women in uniform, was broadcast live from the West Lawn of the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol Building where it took place. Holmes, who wore a simple black dress, shared the stage with her Broadway costar Dianne Wiest. Together, they told the story of Staff Sargent Jose Pequeno, of Sugar Hill,...
- 5/26/2009
- by Susan Mandel
- PEOPLE.com
Video performances during PBS' National Memorial Day Concert on Sunday, May 24 have hit the web, some of which featured "American Idol" alum Katharine McPhee. They showed the 25-year-old singer making a duet with pianist Lang Lang in a song titled "America the Beautiful" and performing solo in another track called "Somewhere".
Another musical guest hitting the annual event at the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol was Trace Adkins. He performed solo in "Til the Last Shot's Fired", one of the songs from his 2008 album "X". He also collaborated with Katharine, Denyce Graves and Colm Wilkinson in "This Is My Country".
Greater than that, the gig was also attended by Hollywood public figures, including Katie Holmes, Gary Sinise, Joe Mantegna, Dianne Wiest, Laurence Fishburne and Brian Stokes Mitchell. They took the stage during Trace and Katharine's duet song.
Katharine McPhee singing "America the Beautiful" with Lang Lang:
Katharine McPhee...
Another musical guest hitting the annual event at the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol was Trace Adkins. He performed solo in "Til the Last Shot's Fired", one of the songs from his 2008 album "X". He also collaborated with Katharine, Denyce Graves and Colm Wilkinson in "This Is My Country".
Greater than that, the gig was also attended by Hollywood public figures, including Katie Holmes, Gary Sinise, Joe Mantegna, Dianne Wiest, Laurence Fishburne and Brian Stokes Mitchell. They took the stage during Trace and Katharine's duet song.
Katharine McPhee singing "America the Beautiful" with Lang Lang:
Katharine McPhee...
- 5/26/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Michelle Obama is going back to school - and taking Alicia Keys, Sheryl Crow and astronaut Mae Jemison with her. The first lady is being joined by the women - as well as Denyce Graves, Kerry Washington, Debbie Allen, Maggie Daley, Lisa Leslie, Bobbi Brown, Dominique Dawes, Phylicia Rashad, Alfre Woodard, Penny Pritzker and Gen. Ann Dunwoody - to speak to students in Washington, D.C.-area high schools about setting career goals. The Thursday visits are part of Women's History Month, reports The Washington Post. Table manners alert: The special day will wrap up with dinner at the White House,...
- 3/19/2009
- PEOPLE.com
WASHINGTON -- President Bush takes the oath of office for his second term at noon EST today amid security that has turned the city into a maze of concrete barriers and steel security fences and has raised questions about the cost of the inaugural celebration. Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who is suffering from thyroid cancer, is scheduled to swear in Bush, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., is scheduled to swear in Vice President Dick Cheney. The U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club, the U.S. Marine Band and mezzo-sopranos Denyce Graves and Susan Graham will perform, as will Guy Hovis, a vocalist from Tupelo, Miss., who performed on The Lawrence Welk Show. He will sing "Let the Eagles Soar," a song written by Attorney General John Ashcroft. Once the inauguration parade winds its way down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House, the parties begin as the nine official inaugural balls kick off the evening.
- 1/20/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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