Meet Forrópera star Felipe Hostins

Get to know accordionist FELIPE HOSTINS, who stars with wife CHRYSTAL E. WILLIAMS in Forrópera, our next Sunday Spotlight with Baltimore Concert Opera (streaming Feb. 7 & 10).

KEY PLAYER: An in-demand touring and recording musician who’s performed all over the globe, Felipe began playing the accordion at just 3 years old with his grandfather, Valmor Hostins. After completing his studies at the School of Music Amormega in his hometown of Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Felipe went on to tour and collaborate with Latin music giants including Téo & Edu, Padre Fábio de Melo, Eliano Braz, Davi Vieira, Mauro Refosco, and more. 

LOVE SONGS: Felipe specializes in Brazilian rhythms including forró (a type of folk music and dance with origins in northeast Brazil) and música gaúcha, but perhaps the music closest to his heart is Forrópera, a genre he created with his wife, mezzo-soprano Chrystal E. Williams. [Read more about Chrystal here.] Combining forró (which translates to “for all”) and opera (which means “work of art”), the couple hopes that this joyous blending of Brazilian folk and classical music will break down barriers and diversify audiences while fostering unity, peace, and understanding through music. 

Felipe and Chrystal’s repertoire includes everything from Bizet and jazz to forró and spirituals, but we’re especially blown away by “Meu Brasil de Cristal”, a gorgeous piece Felipe composed specifically for Chrystal. Get a sneak peek of the couple performing the song and hear the poignant story behind it here:

Streams Feb. 7 (2 pm) and Feb. 10 (7:30 pm); Tickets: $15 per household

Also: Meet Chrystal E. Williams and hear how Chrystal and Felipe created Forrópera

Meet Forrópera star CHRYSTAL E. WILLIAMS

Get to know mezzo-soprano CHRYSTAL E. WILLIAMS, who stars with husband Felipe Hostins in Forrópera, our next Sunday Spotlight with Baltimore Concert Opera (streaming Feb. 7 & 10).

PREVIOUS OD APPEARANCES: OD fans may remember Chrystal from her stunning performances as Charlotte in our concert production of Werther and last summer’s Al Fresco Arias. Other recent appearances include her Met Opera debut as Maketaten in Akhnaten (2019), Rebecca Parker in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with Seattle Opera (2019), and The Stewardess in Flight with Minnesota Opera (2020).

MUSICAL CALLING: An alum of the Academy of Vocal Arts and Yale School of Music, Chrystal credits her opera awakening to seeing the great Leontyne Price perform live while on a student trip to NYC. “You couldn’t help but be inspired by her, and it occurred to me that I could help people doing what she was doing,” Williams told Classical Singer magazine in a recent interview. “If I could make people feel what I was feeling and experience what I was experiencing, then I could help people through music.” 

GIVING BACK & BREAKING BARRIERS: “For me to be able to see someone like Leontyne Price made all the difference in the world,” Williams continued in her CSM interview. “There was someone who looked like me, singing opera professionally. I needed that. To be able to go into schools now and have that kind of an impact, where young people can see someone whose skin looks like theirs and whose hair looks like theirs and sings opera—that has a huge effect on the entire direction of the future of the art form.” She also founded the Chrystal E. Williams scholarship in 2004 to help support students pursuing performing arts careers.

Chrystal and husband Felipe, an accordionist who’s toured with world music greats including João Lucas e Marcelo and Guilherme e Santiago, are also breaking barriers with Forrópera, their super-catchy amalgam of opera and forró (a type of traditional folk music and dance with origins in northeast Brazil). “Music is music. We really just wanted to highlight that there are no barriers, no walls, and all this kind of other stuff. It’s just great theater!” says Chrystal. “We also wanted to use Forrópera to foster unity, peace, and understanding through music because a lot of times it literally came down to black and white audiences… We just wanted to create a space of unity and harmony where all can just go and be and enjoy music and enjoy art.”

Also: Meet Chrystal’s husband and co-star, Felipe Hostins, and get sneak peek at Forrópera

Streams Feb. 7 (2 pm) and Feb. 10 (7:30 pm); Tickets: $15 per household

Get to know mezzo-soprano HANNAH LUDWIG

RISING STAR: Hailed for a tone that is “chocolaty and large, yet with focus and agility” (New York Times), Ludwig recently wowed Baltimore audiences as Giovanna Seymour in Baltimore Concert Opera’s production of Anna Bolena (2019 - listen to a clip here). Other notable appearances include her Dallas Opera debut as Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte (2019) and her Opera Philadelphia debut as Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor (2018). Of her Alisa, the Broad Street Review raved: “Her performance builds upon a series of fine portrayals during her student days at the Academy of Vocal Arts; if she continues to bring such distinction to comprimaria assignments, leading roles at major houses cannot be far behind.”

PAUSE AND EFFECT: As predicted, Hannah’s 20/21 performance calendar was the stuff of mezzo dreams—until COVID hit. With her career suddenly on pause, the Philly-based singer did what artists do—she channeled and processed her emotions through her art. The result: SONGS FROM A DISTANCE, a stripped down, devastatingly raw yet hopeful recital conceived and created with pianist Laura Ward.

HIGH NOTES AND HEALING: “SONGS FROM A DISTANCE is one perspective of a performer in crisis,” says Hannah. “The separation between performers and the stage means a loss of their purpose, spirituality, and passion… this program is designed to reflect the impacts on a performer’s mental health, their community, the city in which they reside, and the loss of loved ones and friends.” Expect to hear songs by Schubert, Dominick Argento’s Pulitzer Prize-winning From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, and John Musto’s hauntingly beautiful Shadow of the Blues (based on the poetry of Langston Hughes). In addition to a post-performance Q&A with Hannah, the program will feature mental health resources and ways you can donate to artist relief funds.

Songs from a Distance photos by John Matthew Myers Photography

SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT: HANNAH LUDWIG & LAURA WARD - SONGS FROM A DISTANCE; STREAMING JAN. 24 (2 PM) & JAN. 27 (7:30 PM)

Get to know tenor Jack Swanson

A ROYAL DEBUT Jack made his OperaDelaware debut as the dashing Prince Ramiro in our 2017 production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola. WHYY raved: “Jack Swanson applied his ringing, powerful tenor to the demanding role… consistently note-perfect in the score’s difficult runs with their enormous range and rapid articulation.” A 2018 Richard Tucker Career Grant winner, Jack has become one of opera’s most sought-after tenors. Notable appearances include Rodrigo in Otello with Oper Frankfurt, the title role of Candide with Los Angeles Opera, and Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri with Santa Fe Opera.

THE (NEARLY) NAKED TENOR For his recent performance as Count Almaviva in Den Norske Opera & Ballet’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jack, ahem, bared more than just his soul onstage, cheekily tagging his behind-the-scenes rehearsal photos with the hashtag #freethenipple. Check out a clip of his delightful performance of “All'idea di quel metallo” here.

SONGS OF LOVE AND LOSS We’re thrilled to feature Jack and pianist Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell in our next digital SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT, premiering Jan. 10 at 2 pm, with a rebroadcast on Jan. 13 at 7:30 pm. This gorgeous, cinematic recital, filmed at the historic Triune Masonic Temple in St. Paul, Minnesota, features a mix of operatic favorites by Puccini and Rossini along with classics by Bernstein and Schumann’s Dichterliebe.

---

WATCH TRAILER

Covid-19 Updates & Special Content

Thank you for checking in with us during these challenging times. We appreciate your support!

Back in March 2020, we created a special blog — linked from our homepage — to keep our patrons updated about performance cancellations and special events. With our pivot to digital and outdoor performances, that blog is no longer front and center on our site. If you’d still like to review the content, it is available here.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and we look forward to seeing you in person in 2021!