Miami Music Festival (MMF) has announced its third season, with the expansion to eight-week programming, the introduction of the unprecedented Miami Wagner Institute, an orchestral tribute to celebrated violinist Ida Haendel, an increase to six full-scale opera productions, and the welcome of several renowned guest artist and faculty members through the months of June and July.
The announcement of a professional division with the Miami Wagner Institute heralded news of an elite, one-of-a kind, tuition-free program for young professional dramatic singers led by program director and Metropolitan Opera soprano Christine Goerke. Launching July 5-16, the creation of the Miami Wagner Institute aims to provide much-needed training and professional-level performance opportunities for the unique demands of the dramatic Wagnerian singer.
The inaugural Wagner program culminates with a return to South Beach’s premier venue, the New World Center, in an MMF gala concert featuring two of the world’s most in-demand Wagnerians in excerpts from Die Walküre; Christine Goerke, “Brünnhilde” in upcoming productions at the Metropolitan Opera and Bayreuth, and international bass-baritone Alan Held, “Wotan” in productions at the Canadian Opera Company and Washington National Opera. They will be joined by featured singers from the Wagner Institute, and the MMF Symphony Orchestra. MMF’s gala concert also will feature Strauss’ Suite from Der Rosenkavalier and excerpts from Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
This season, the MMF Opera Institute increases to six mainstage productions presenting classic stagings of Puccini’s La bohème and Gianni Schicchi, Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and Robert Ward’s retelling of The Crucible in a provocative setting of social commentary.
MMF also continues its popular Family Opera Series with family-friendly productions of Mozart’s The Magic Flute in English, and Ravel’s whimsical L’enfant et les sortilèges. The Studio Program will also undertake two lesser-known chamber operas, Giordano’s Mese Mariano and Offenbach’s La chanson de Fortunio, marking two South Florida premieres.
In an opening July 9t concert, the MMF Symphony Orchestra begins their season with Mahler’s Symphony No. 6. MMF then honors legendary international violinist Ida Haendel and her illustrious career as one of history’s great musicians in a “best-of” festival concert on July 23. Winners of the MMF Concerto Competition will perform in honor of Ms. Haendel, which also will feature the MMF Symphony Orchestra in Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra, as well as the MMF Piano Institute’s Concerto Competition winner.
The MMF Piano Institute welcomes a new team of artistic giants to the faculty including international soloists and pedagogues Yoheved Kaplinsky (chair of Piano Department, Juilliard), Anton Nel, Di Wu, Ching-Yun Hu and Alexandre Moutouzkine. These acclaimed teaching artists will conduct faculty recitals and masterclasses open to the public. The Piano Institute continues its annual Concerto Competition, while expanding to include collaborative training in chamber music and opera, along with a traditional solo curriculum focus.
A nationally recognized classical music festival primarily staged during Miami’s summer “off-season,” the Miami Music Festival has become an international destination for young artists preparing for the rigors of the professional music industry and a welcome addition to South Florida’s blossoming cultural dynamic. With the 2015 festival praised as “a highly varied program at a skill level that… could have passed for professional” (South Florida Classical Review), and admired “for giving pre-professional artists a literal and metaphoric stage to sharpen their crafts” (Forbes Travel Guide), MMF’s future growth is poised for even greater success.
Miami Music Festival is made possible through partial grant funding and sponsorship including assistance from Miami Dade County, Culture Builds Florida, The Miami Foundation, Citizens Interested in the Arts, The Plutzik Goldwasser Foundation, and Steinway Piano Gallery.
For a complete listing of artists, concerts and performance dates and locations visit the festival’s website at www.miamimusicfestival.com.
