NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC: KELLI O’HARA SINGS BARBER / ERWARTUNG & BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE
David Geffen Hall (Kelli O’Hara: Sept. 18, 19, 20 & 21) / (Bluebeards’s Castle: Sept. 26, 27 & 28)
Broadway’s reigning leading lady sends her voice forth to conquer new realms in a weeklong series of concerts with the Philharmonic singing Samuel Barber’s iconic “Knoxville: Summer of 1915.” Jaap van Zweden will also conduct a Philip Glass World Premiere, commissioned by the Philharmonic, “King Lear Overture,” and selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.
Orchestra and leader next tackle two unsettling one-act operas in boldly staged productions: Arnold Schoenberg’s Erwartung, sung by Katarina Karnéus; and Bella Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, with Nina Stemme and Johannes Martin Kränzle.
PORGY AND BESS / MACBETH / MANON
The Metropolitan Opera House (Porgy: Sept. 23, 27 & 30) / (Macbeth: Sept. 25 & 28) / (Manon: Sept. 24 & 28)
The new season commences with a welcome return of George and Ira Gershwin and Dubose and Dorothy Heyward’s Porgy and Bess to the Met after a nearly 30-year absence. James Robinson’s acclaimed co-production with English National Opera and Dutch National Opera debuts Opening Night. It is joined in September by Verdi’s Macbeth starring (with a capital S) Anna Netrebko and Plácido Domingo; and Massenet’s Manon featuring soprano Lisette Oropesa.
WORK & PROCESS — “THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: THE GERSHWINS' PORGY AND BESS”
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (Sept. 16)
Director James Robinson and choreographer Camille A. Brown discuss their new Met production with Met General Manager Peter Gelb, accompanied by Angel Blue (Bess), Eric Owens (Porgy) and Golda Schultz (Clara) singing highlights.
RESONANT BODIES FESTIVAL: 2019
Roulette (Sept. 3-5)
Nine of the most virtuosic voices in contemporary music, including vocalist and composer Kate Soper, and Met opera diva Stephanie Blythe, program their own unconventional recitals for a three-day festival at this artist-driven outpost of the new and alternative, now settled in Brooklyn.
A NIGHT OF WOMEN COMPOSERS: FROM CLARA SCHUMANN TO MEREDITH MONK
National Sawdust (Sept. 27)
Another offbeat Brooklyn venue presents another fascinating evening: music by Clara Schumann, Ellen Reid, Emma O'Halloran, Mary Lou Williams, Missy Mazzoli, Meredith Monk, and Paola Prestini, performed by Timo Andres, Nico Muhly and many others, including the Young People's Chorus of New York City and the National Sawdust Ensemble.
“ONLY AT MERKIN WITH TERRANCE MCKNIGHT:” RON CARTER
Merkin Hall (Sept. 28)
Jazz’s greatest living double-bassist spends an evening with WQXR radio personality Terrance McKnight, recalling his career but also, as always, looking forward, performing music by Bach, Ravel and Donny Hathaway with his eight-person ensemble.
THE WILLIAM R. MILLER GRAND ORGAN RECITAL: JEREMY FILSELL
Saint Thomas Church (Sept. 27)
The new Director of Music at the church inaugurates his tenure and opens the centennial season with an organ recital featuring French twentieth-century repertoire that is his specialty and a work by former Saint Thomas chorister Julian Wachner, among others.
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER: CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT
The Rose Theater (Sept. 27 & 28)
The finest young singer in jazz performs The Ogresse, a new original work created by Salvant, who will front L’Orchestre L’Ogresse, a 13-piece chamber ensemble comprised of top-shelf jazz players and the MIVOS string quartet, as marshalled by composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue.
