Andrew Davis News

Lyric Opera of Chicago launches its 65th season with the 19th annual Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion on Friday, September 6, at 7pm. The free outdoor performance, presented in cooperation with The City of Chicago and Millennium Park, annually attracts capacity crowds to the pavilion, great lawn, and surrounding areas of the park.

The Edinburgh International Festival launches this week for its 73rd edition, bringing the best of theatre, music and dance from across the world to Scotland's capital. The Festival will once again be a meeting place for the world's creatives as 2,800 artists arrive from 41 countries including Australia, Nigeria, Canada, Belgium, China, Mali, Holland, South Africa, France, Germany and India as well as 800 artists from Scotland. The International Festival programme features 155 events, with 293 performances, attracting audiences from 80 countries to see the world's greatest performing arts festival.

The Florentine Opera Company celebrates the final bow of their long-time Chorus Master, Scott S. Stewart. General Director and CEO, Maggey Oplinger shared, “We are more than grateful for all of Scott's contributions to the Florentine and wish him the very best as he makes time to pursue a variety of personal and artistic projects. His numerous and inspired musical arrangements and programming ideas have left us all musically richer.”  

The BBC Symphony Orchestra will play at the Tianjin Concert Hall July 2.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) concludes its 2018/19 season with musical fireworks as Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki plays Mendelssohn, Donald Runnicles conducts Carmina Burana, Steven Reineke leads Modern Broadway, and star Canadian violinists James Ehnes and Jonathan Crow display their astonishing virtuosity with works by Korngold and Sibelius. The last concerts of the season are a foretaste of the TSO's musical future with incoming Music Director Gustavo Gimeno conducting the suite from The Firebird.

Acclaimed Broadway performer Corey Cott and rising star Mikaela Bennett will headline Lyric Opera of Chicago's premiere of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking American musical West Side Story, presented from May 3 - June 2, 2019 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago (press opening May 4, 2019).

Tickets for Lyric Opera of Chicago's enthralling new production of Richard Wagner's epic Der Ring des Nibelungen are now on sale. 

WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director, Shane Peterman, presents regional premiere of Everything is Wonderful written by Chelsea Marcantel, and directed by WTT Associate Artistic Director, Kelsey Leigh Ervi.

Local celebrities graced the red carpet for the Los Angeles film premiere of 'Brother's Keeper' in Hollywood at YES Studio. The independently produced film is about two adopted brothers who battle different mental illnesses, accidentally commit murders and in the process of hiding their crimes, they find their true identity. A story of power, control, love and hate, sometimes the only options become deadly.

Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena sincerely regrets that due to illness he must withdraw from this week's performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). In his place, acclaimed British conductor Matthew Halls will lead the concerts. Mahler's Symphony No. 2 'Resurrection'-April 17, 18 & 20-features soprano Joelle Harvey, contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and the combined forces of the Amadeus Choir and the Elmer Iseler Singers, as previously announced.

The month of May at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is an ode to the genius of some of the greatest composers of all time, and some of today's most brilliant pianists. An all-Mozart program features revered American pianist Jeremy Denk, and celebrated Canadian piano virtuoso Louis Lortie joins the TSO for two different programs. Not-to-be-missed concerts include Beethoven Symphony 5, Mahler Symphony 7, and Pines of Rome.

Francesco Milioto has been named the company's Artistic Advisor. "In this role, Francesco will connect the Florentine with talent from around the world. His breadth of experience in cutting edge and established organizations, collaborative energy and proven track record impressed our board, and we welcome his input on casting, creative team selection, as a conductor and more," Oplinger explains.  Milioto will also help recruit and mentor exceptional young singers as part of the Donald and Donna Baumgartner Studio Artist Program. As part of his role here, we anticipate Francesco spending significant time in Milwaukee as it relates to his advisory responsibilities.

The Immanuel and Helen Olshan TEXAS MUSIC FESTIVAL (TMF) will mount its landmark 30th Anniversary Season June 1-29, celebrating the successes of nearly 3,000 of classical music's rising stars over the past three decades. For this musical milestone, three former TMF Fellows will return to the University of Houston (UH) Moores Opera House (MOH) stage as guest artists:

WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director, Shane Peterman, today announced details for the Regional Premiere of Everything is Wonderful written by Chelsea Marcantel, and directed by WTT Associate Artistic Director, Kelsey Leigh Ervi. 

Edinburgh International Festival returns for its 73rd year on 2 - 26 August 2019, bringing the best of theatre, music and dance from across the world to Scotland's capital.

Join the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and the University of Michigan's University Musical Society Choral Union on April 27th at 8:00 PM in Ann Arbor's Hill Auditorium for a season finale performance of Beethoven's monumental Symphony No. 9.

Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas concludes his season-long Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall leading two performances by the New World Symphony, both featuring fellow Perspectivesartist and longtime collaborator pianist Yuja Wang. The first program on Wednesday, May 1 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage includes the New York premiere of Julia Wolfe's Fountain of Youth (co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall as part of its 125 Commissions Project), Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, and Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 5, with Ms. Wang.

Through the generosity of Donna MacMillan, the McCallum Theatre presents Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel on Monday, March 25, at 7:00pm. This evening's program, "Rags to Riches" features "Rialto Ripples," "Fascinatin' Rhythms," and "I Got Rhythm" (George Gershwin); "Wall Street Rag" (Scott Joplin); "Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65" (Carol Maria von Weber); "Polka in G Minor" (Bedrich Smetana); "Polka from The Age of Gold" (Dmitri Shostakovich); "Finale of Piano Sonata No. 1" (Alberto Ginastera); "Circus Polka" (Igor Stravinsky); "Evening in Granada" (Claude Debussy); and "Stars and Stripes Forever" (John Philip Sousa).

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) announces its first Relaxed Performance, the most recent addition to the TSO's acclaimed Education & Community Engagement programs, to meet the needs of neurodiverse audiences.

Producer Andre K. Jefferson a filmmaker from Los Angeles announces the premiere of his dramatic film 'Brother's Keeper' with an intimate VIP reception, cocktail hour, red carpet, Q & A highlighting the cast, and after party. 'Brother's Keeper' is about two adopted brothers who battle different mental illnesses, accidentally commit murders and in the process of hiding their crimes, they find their true identity. The independently produced film is a story of power, control, love and hate, sometimes the only options become deadly.