Jake Gardner

Join Brooklyn-born Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Joe Sexton for an in-person conversation with NY1 Political Anchor and host of 'Inside City Hall' 

Join author Joe Sexton and actor/narrator Dion Graham at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights on September 27 for a book event discussing 'The Lost Sons of Omaha.'

The season includes two mainstage productions at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and Tosca and two add on experiences- a night of glamour at the Kauffman Center with Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood and live performances of Amahl and the Night Visitors.

A group of stars has joined forces for a new video, called Return, created to boost spirits for the performing arts industry and raise funds for the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and entertainment benevolent funds across Australia.

Manilla Street Productions has announced the complete cast of 24 actors who have been chosen for the Australian premiere production of THE BEAUTIFUL GAME at Chapel off Chapel from 13-29 September 2019.

Lyric Opera of Chicago kicks off 2019 with two acclaimed productions: the return of the new production of Puccini's captivating and tragic love story La boheme, and the Midwest premiere of a beloved production of Massenet's Cendrillon, based on the Cinderella story. La boheme is a quintessentially Italian opera and the plot is forever youthful and eternally fresh. Cendrillon features an enchanting blend of wit, sensitivity, and elegance against the backdrop of a familiar storybook kingdom.

Lyric Opera of Chicago's new coproduction of Puccini's La boheme opens the company's 64th season tomorrow -- Saturday, October 6, at 6:30pm. There are five performances through October 20 and six additional performance Jan. 10-25 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago. Tickets start at $49 and are available now at  lyricopera.org/Boheme or at 312-827-5600.

Composer Thea Musgrave is celebrating these days. It's not just that she's marking her 90th birthday on May 27 with a concert in New York, but that the concert is showcasing a gaggle of world premieres, US premieres and NY premieres (along with more familiar works), which highlight her rich musical vocabulary and keen sense of drama.

Bass-Baritone Jake Gardner discusses the continued resonance of SWEENEY TODD, his approach to acting and performance, and being scared sh-tless by the infamously cut self-flagellation scene.

When Stephen Powell's Sweeney Todd lunges at the audience in vengeful anger declaring, "No ones in the chair, come on! Come on! Sweeney's waiting, I want you bleeders," It's hard to think of anything more thrilling. And yet, Powell's performance along with a glorious 28 piece orchestra only partially makes-up for the Virginia Opera Company's rather uneven production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Houston Grand Opera's 2014–15 season, the company's 60th anniversary season, includes the world premiere of A Christmas Carol by Iain Bell—the company's 55th new commission —from award-winning Dickens authority Simon Callow; the continuation of HGO's first Ring cycle, with the American premiere of La Fura dels Baus's groundbreaking take on Die Walküre; the American premieres of Sir Nicholas Hytner's The Magic Flute and Lee Blakeley's Sweeney Todd; a 60th Anniversary Gala Concert featuring mezzo-soprano (and HGO Studio alumna) Joyce DiDonato; and a host of career-shaping role debuts that speak to Patrick Summers's gift for casting. Together with the company's first presentation of John Cox'sOtello, and the returns of Göran Järvefelt's beloved Così fan tutte and Michael Grandage's hit staging of Madame Butterfly, these rich offerings serve once again to illustrate some of the ways that HGO—still the only opera company with two Grammys, two Emmys, and a Tony—epitomizes “one model of what a forward-looking opera company could be” (Greg Sandow, Arts Journal).

Houston Grand Opera capped a financially and artistically successful 2013–14 season by presenting Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger —the Polish-Jewish composer's long-suppressed Holocaust opera—to wide acclaim at New York's Park Avenue Armory as part of the Lincoln Center Festival, July 10–13. Earlier this year, HGO gave the American premiere of the work in Houston with the same cast. There was special praise for the production and performances, conducted by HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers. New York magazine described David Pountney's staging as “a multi-story set so vivid you can practically smell the machine oil and coal smoke,” while the Financial Times said: “The production, imported from Houston, is imposing in every way.” The New York Times called the cast “flawless,” adding: “The conductor, Patrick Summers, drew a surging, textured, richly detailed performance of this challenging score (lasting three hours) from the inspired musicians of the Houston Grand Opera.” WQXR's Operavore summed up the import of the performances: “The Passenger shows how a Holocaust opera can hold the stage while examining important, complex issues—and could certainly point the way for future composers to deal with such important but delicate subject matter.”

Coming to Raleigh's Fletcher Opera Theater tonight, October 3 and October 5 and 6 is a fully staged operatic production of Mozart's Così fan tutte (or 'The School for Lovers') presented by the North Carolina Opera (Sung in Italian with English supertitles).

Coming to Raleigh's Fletcher Opera Theater on October 3, 5 and 6 is a fully staged operatic production of Mozart's Così fan tutte (or “The School for Lovers”) presented by the North Carolina Opera (Sung in Italian with English supertitles).

On Monday, July 29 the North Carolina Opera announced its new season at a kick-off event hosted by CAM Raleigh. Over 250 fans and friends of the organization excitedly gathered for the unveiling of the new season presented by NCO Artistic Director & Principal Conductor Timothy Myers, and to hear live performances of excerpts from each opera.

Over three days of preliminary auditions today, February 25 through the 27th, 2013, approximately 90 of the best young American and Canadian opera singers will compete to reach the final round of the 42nd annual George London Foundation Awards Competition.

Over three days of preliminary auditions on February 25-27, 2013, approximately 90 of the best young American and Canadian opera singers will compete to reach the final round of the 42nd annual George London Foundation Awards Competition.

A Blizzard On Marblehead Neck, Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner's one-act opera, received its world premiere at The Glimmerglass Festival Thursday, July 21.