Barbican Centre News

The London Symphony Orchestra, under its new Music Director, Sir Simon Rattle, will tour Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru in May 2019, the first time that the orchestra has performed in South America, it was announced today.

Production photos have been released for Geoids Musical Theatre's production of Sweeney Todd, which comes to London for a limited run at the Stockwell Playhouse from 2 to 6 May 2018.

Schimmel Center will present Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee Anna Deavere Smith's Obie Award-winning solo performance, Notes From the Field, for one weekend only on Friday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 2 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in preparation for a two week run at the Royal Court in London. The production is directed by Leonard Foglia and features original music composed and performed by bassist Marcus Shelby who joins Ms. Smith on stage.

75 years ago T.S. Eliot published Four Quartets, a poetic meditation on time and memory that is widely regarded as his crowning achievement. Now, to celebrate this milestone anniversary, Bard SummerScape 2018 presents the world premiere of Four Quartets, the first authorized dance performance ever to be based on Eliot's modernist masterpiece. A SummerScape commission, the new work is an interdisciplinary collaboration that draws on the talents of three of today's most potent artistic voices. Since making her acclaimed festival debut at SummerScape 2015, Pam Tanowitz has been recognized as "one of the most formally brilliant choreographers around" (New York Times), with honors including a Bessie Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the prestigious 2017 Cage Cunningham Fellowship.

Dance Umbrella Announces 2018 Programme

Former Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Stratford East, Kerry Kyriacos Michael received The Freedom of the City of London at Guildhall on Friday 20 April. Kerry was nominated for his contribution to the arts and for his collaboration with the Barbican, by Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director of The Barbican Centre. The Freedom is offered to individuals by the City of London Corporation to celebrate a significant achievement and to pay tribute to their outstanding contribution to London or public life.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica presents the final performance in The Calder Quartet's three-year residency at The Broad Stage on Sunday, April 29 at 4:00pm.  This inventive and passionate quartet explores the profound beauty of Beethoven's String Quartets paired with classical and contemporary works.

The University Musical Society (UMS), under the leadership of President Matthew VanBesien, today announces its 140th season in 2018-19 with an initial slate of 40 performances and events. One of the country's most acclaimed performing arts presenters, UMS honors its past by showcasing respected ensembles and performers with whom it has enjoyed rich relationships, and fully embraces the future as initiator, incubator, and accelerator for innovative new works and projects. This potent combination infuses the anniversary season with dynamic and diverse voices and perspectives featuring artists at the top of their game - celebrating the canon, taking risks, moving genres in new directions, disrupting stereotypes, and surprising audiences.

Following their Jeff Recommended run of They're Playing Our Song and the Chicago Reader Recommended Speech & Debate, Brown Paper Box Co. is proud to announce its 2018/2019 season. With an exciting regional premiere fresh out of New York - cast by lottery each night live on stage, a Chicago storefront chamber musical premiere, a new cabaret at Mary's Attic in Andersonville, and a Spring 2019 Special Event to be announced soon, BPBCo.'s upcoming season has a little bit of something for everyone & everybody.

Cheek by Jowl began life in 1981, first producing plays in English before branching out to other languages; their current production of Shakespeare's Pericles is performed in French, which has recently embarked on a tour that includes Oxford, Naples, Madrid, and several venues in France, stopping for a few weeks now at the Silk Street theatre at the Barbican Centre in London. It's a rarely played piece, though there is also due to be another production by the National Theatre over the summer.

Geoids Musical Theatre presents Stephen Sondheim's macabre masterpiece Sweeney Todd, which comes to London for a limited run at the Stockwell Playhouse from 2 to 6 May 2017.

A long-standing leader in the production game, NATIVE INSTRUMENTS is an innovative organisation with a hands on approach to education and development. Already a globally revered brand, Native Instruments are cementing their place in London with the next Native Sessions event - 'BARS,' focussed on grime, rap, MC culture and more - the ultimate LDN sound. P Money, Ms Banks, Steel Banglez, Jaykae, DJ Target, Sir Spyro, and Flowdan are some of those taking part in workshops, Q&As, roundtables and live shows throughout the evening - figures responsible for shaping our underground sound. 'Native Sessions : BARS' takes place on April 11th at London's iconic Barbican Centre, and tickets are FREE via Eventbrite, grab one here : http://bit.ly/barsldn

György Ligeti's life was filled with drama. He escaped Nazi extermination in a Jewish labor camp and eventually fled totalitarian oppression at the hands of the liberating Soviets in Hungary. His music's dense melodic webs and conflicting rhythms-along with a host of other experimental sounds, shapes, and forms-embody the dreams, fantasies, and nightmares of a life lived on the edge.

Daniele Rustioni leads the Opéra National de Lyon's 2018 Festival in three operas by Giuseppe Verdi, March 16 through April 6, 2018. In celebration of Rustioni's first season at the Opéra de Lyon's principal conductor, Opéra de Lyon has dedicated its annual festival to the works of Verdi, which have played an essential role in Rustioni's career. The 2018 Festival explores themes of power, politics, corruption, and hope with three of Verdi's less-often performed operas: Macbeth, the 1867 Paris Version of Don Carlos sung in the original French, and Attila. Rustioni will conduct the Opéra de Lyon Orchestra and Chorus in all the festival performances.

Iconic American singer, songwriter and performer Don McLeanis set to release his new album Botanical Gardens on March 23, 2018 via BMG. Don is set to appear on BBC Breakfast Thursday, March 15 along with multiple BBC radio stations and Absolute Radio in the U.K.

The ninth season of CONTACT!, the New York Philharmonic's new-music series, concludes with a co-presentation by the Philharmonic and National Sawdust in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, featuring Musicians from the New York Philharmonic performing works by emerging Russian composers: Dmitri Kourliandski's Voice-off, with vocalist Ethan Hayden in his Philharmonic debut, and the U.S. Premieres of Denis Khorov's Barcarolle, Marina Khorkova's VORderGRENZE, Alexander Khubeev's Ghost of Dystopia, conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky, and Nikolay Popov's Nibiru 20/13. Hosted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, the concert will take place on Monday, April 2, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. at National Sawdust.

St. Ann's Warehouse and Onassis Cultural Centre-Athens present the American Premiere of Nikos Karathanos' The Birds, a modern, feast-for-the-senses adaptation of Aristophanes' offbeat and poetic comedy.

Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presents LA Phil/Beth Morrison Projects: PLACE on Monday, March 5, 2018 at 7:30pm.

Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presents LA Phil/Beth Morrison Projects: PLACE on Monday, March 5, 2018 at 7:30pm.

Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, the powerhouse pop-jazz phenomenon that has toured the world on the strength of its extraordinary music videos and huge followings on YouTube and Facebook, will tour the UK throughout February and March in support of its first live album. Entitled The New Classics, the 12-track CD is set for release on February 16th via Concord Records and Postmodern Jukebox Records.