Opera

In terms of talent, glamour and wide appeal, few opera singers today rank as high as mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. No wonder there's quite a buzz at the Peabody Conservatory, where Graves will join the voice faculty in the fall. People are still talking about a master class that Graves gave at the conservatory last September. "She didn't know she was auditioning," said Phyllis Bryn-Julson, the distinguished soprano who chairs the voice department. "It was a phenomenal day for the students.

It's a story that simply won't go away. It's an upper-class soap opera, and even after the passage of 75 years it still packs a sentimental punch and draws a willing audience into the glittering world of the British aristocracy. It is the saga of England's Edward VIII (he reigned for less than a year and was never crowned), who found it simply impossible to continue with his royal responsibilities without the love of an ambitious commoner from Baltimore, Wallis Warfield Simpson, the Belle of Biddle Street, who was determined to bag a royal and crash her way into the upper strata of British society.

With regard to the production of "Porgy and Bess" to be presented at Morgan State University ("Morgan State to stage 'Porgy and Bess,'" March 23), it is interesting to note that the role of Sportin' Life was created by Avon Long, who along with Anne Brown, creator of the role of Bess, were graduates of Frederick Douglass High School. At Douglass, Brown and Long were taught by H. Llewelyn Wilson, Baltimore's most prominent black music educator. Wilson also taught at Morgan and was the conductor of the Colored Symphony Orchestra and Colored Chorus, which, along with the Colored Municipal Band and Colored Park Band, were funded by the Baltimore Municipal Department of Music.

The nine young adult performers who participated in the Howard County Arts Council's Rising Star competition all deserve to be considered winners, but only one of them went home with the $5,000 first prize. It was awarded to Samantha McEwen at the 15th annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County March 24 in the Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center at Howard Community College. The 500 audience members acknowledged all nine performances with enthusiastic applause and also filled out ballots that were tabulated at the end of the event.

It's a kind of a musical homecoming. "Porgy and Bess," the first and, many would say, greatest American opera, returns to Baltimore after a long absence with a large-scale production this week at Morgan State University, featuring several well-established singers who have come back to their alma mater for the occasion. In a way, the character of Bess is coming home, too. The creator of that role, Baltimore-born soprano Anne Brown, studied at what was then Morgan College before moving to New York and sharing the spotlight at the 1935 premiere of "Porgy and Bess.

A Baltimore man suing Live Nation has added the Lyric Opera House to the lawsuit, alleging the theater received "kickbacks" from the behemoth concert promoter. Both the Lyric and Live Nation moved to dismiss Thursday. The lawsuit comes as Live Nation prepares to settle a separate, $22.3 million class action lawsuit over its service fees. Andre Bourgeois filed a class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its corporate parent, Live Nation, in June in Baltimore's U.S. District Court.

As Anne Arundel Community College celebrates its 50th anniversary, Opera AACC marks its own milestone as a company now in its 10th year. Founded by musician Douglas Brandt Byerly as artistic director, Opera AACC provides professional training for young artists and students and quality productions for the community. Over the past decade, Opera AACC has created many professional-level opera productions designed to be accessible to younger audiences who might be discovering a new art form, while also appealing to more seasoned opera lovers.

A bearded lady, a flock of prostitutes, a machine that supposedly turns stones into bread — just a few of the off-kilter elements in "The Rake's Progress," the brilliant opera with music by Igor Stravinsky. Widely viewed as a masterwork since its premiere in Venice in 1951, but not staged with great frequency, the piece provides a vehicle for Peabody Opera Theatre's first production in the Modell Center at the Lyric. "It's exciting to help contribute to the season that is bringing grand opera back to Baltimore," said Peabody Institute director Jeffrey Sharkey.

Compass Rose Studio Theater is a new company that opened its first production in Eastport Shopping Center on Oct. 21. Running Thursdays to Sundays through Nov. 20 is the Pulitzer Prize-winning work "Lost in Yonkers. " A welcome addition to our area, this new theater is also the home of a recently established acting school founded and directed by Lucinda Merry-Browne, who left her artistic director position at Bay Theatre to start this new theater teaching company. Her new venture is already paying dividends in supplying several talented cast members to this enjoyable opening "Lost in Yonkers" production.