opera

An English-language opera explores the real lives of Jim and Alice Thompson. Jim was the longest-held American Prisoner of War in the Vietnam War. Opera Fayetteville's performances will be held Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Starr Theater at the Walton Arts Center.

For Joyce DiDonato, the divide between the heralded sounds of the Baroque and the popularity of the Great American songbook is really a false one.

Her new release "Songplay," which includes arias from Vivaldi and Giordani alongside popular jazz standards from the likes of Rogers & Hart,  is a testament to this. 

In Arc, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo oscillates between Baroque master George Frideric Handel and modern opera giant Philip Glass. His debut release on the Decca label is nominated for a 2019 Grammy in the category of Best Classical Solo Voice.

"I say that Handel defined me and Glass changed me, and I wanted to see if somehow might they work together," says Costanzo. "In a way, I began to see Handel as this proto-minimalist, doing what Philip Glass was doing, but just in a different way."

While growing up, mezzo-soprano Sarah Mesko, 33, thought of the age as the "Jesus birthday." Although she may not be the next Messiah, this University of Arkansas alumna's star is certainly on the rise in the music world. 

Mesko, who made her Metropolitan Opera debut last year appearing in Mozart's The Magic Flute, returns to Arkansas this week to open the Faulkner Performing Arts Center's 2018-19 season.

Opera Fayetteville concludes its series of pop-up performances at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks this week.