Barbican Centre News

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.

This may be the first time in the U.S. that 3-D glasses will be handed out to patrons as they enter an opera house. The fourth production of The Dallas Opera's decidedly adventurous 61st Season is SUNKEN GARDEN, an opera by Dutch composer/director Michel van der Aa with a libretto by acclaimed Science Fiction novelist David Mitchell.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica presents three concerts from Artists-in-Residence, Calder Quartet, on February 25, March 11 and April 29.  This inventive and passionate quartet explores the profound beauty of Beethoven's String Quartets paired with classical and contemporary works. This will be the third and final year of the Calder Quartet residency at The Broad Stage.

Split Britches present an up-to-the minute topical interactive show which takes unexploded ordnances as a metaphor for the unexplored potential in us all - particularly elders - and tries to uncover it. Legendary performance duo Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver evoke the Cold War paranoia of Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove to seek solutions to the problems keeping us awake at night, as the audience counts down the final hour to doomsday on their phones.

See Star Wars: A New Hope with full live orchestral accompaniment for the first time ever in the UK this November, as it comes to the Royal Albert Hall. The most requested title in Films in Concert history arrives for five performances, with John Williams' iconic score performed live on stage by the acclaimed London Symphony Orchestra, who played on the original soundtrack in 1977.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) continues its Spring 2018 Music Series on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 7:30pm with a presentation of Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time conceived and directed by Sarah Rothenberg with lighting designed by Jennifer Tipton, performed in BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater. An all-star ensemble of instrumentalists - Joshua Rubin, clarinet; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Christopher Costanza, cello; and Sarah Rothenberg, piano - bring to life this timeless work, which Messiaen wrote and premiered in 1941 while in confinement at a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany during World War II.

Kronos Quartet/Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA) is proud to announce the fourth group of composers for Fifty for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire. Launched in 2015, Kronos' Fifty for the Future is an exciting partnership with Carnegie Hall and others to create 50 new works - by 25 women and 25 men - expressly for the training of students and emerging professionals. Each year, ten composers are announced. As ever, scores, parts, recordings, videos, and other learning materials for the compositions will be offered free of charge online at kronosquartet.org/fifty-for-the-future. 

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) continues its Spring 2018 Music Series on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 7:30pm with a presentation of Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time conceived and directed by Sarah Rothenberg with lighting designed by Jennifer Tipton, performed in BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater. An all-star ensemble of instrumentalists - Joshua Rubin, clarinet; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Christopher Costanza, cello; and Sarah Rothenberg, piano - bring to life this timeless work, which Messiaen wrote and premiered in 1941 while in confinement at a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany during World War II.

Set to unfold within two of the UK's last remaining traditional sari shops, Rasa Theatre and Contact present HANDLOOMS, written by Rani Moorthy and directed by Alan Lane (Slung Low). Exploring the sari from a rarely-taken male perspective, this immersive performance will be performed inside working businesses Alankar House of Sarees in the heart of Manchester's Curry Mile and Anokhi House of Sarees in Leicester to give audiences a close encounter with a world that is slowly dying out.

The closing concert of Orchestra of St. Luke's 2017-2018 Carnegie Hall Series will take place on Thursday, February 15 at 8 PM at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. Robert Spano leads the Ensemble in a program highlighted by two works considered signal achievements of their respective forms: Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, 'Emperor,' with guest artist Jeremy Denk. The world premiere of Bryce Dessner's Voy a dormir features mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor making her Orchestra of St. Luke's debut, in a work Dessner created for her.

The New York Philharmonic announces Foreign Bodies, a one-night-only multidisciplinary event conducted and hosted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, concluding his tenure as The Marie-Jos e Kravis Composer-in-Residence. The concert, Friday, June 8, 2018, at 8:00 p.m., will feature Esa-Pekka Salonen's Foreign Bodies, accompanied by the World Premiere of a live video installation by Tal Rosner; Dan el Bjarnason's Violin Concerto, with Pekka Kuusisto in his New York Philharmonic debut; and Obsidian Tear, a dance work choreographed by Wayne McGregor performed by members of the Boston Ballet (Philharmonic debut) and set to Mr. Salonen's Nyx and Lachen verlernt. Foreign Bodies will be casual and multi-sensory; drinks and conversation will flow as attendees mingle with the performers, who will give additional impromptu performances throughout the event.

Crossing between illusion and theatre, Philipp Oberlohr's thrilling new production Das Fest is the surreal sequel to his interactive Das Spiel, which premiered at Ovalhouse and sold out at VAULT Festival in 2016 winning the People's Choice Award. Das Fest meaningfully engages audiences, delving into their beliefs, memories and realities.

Ping Chong + Company casts young New Yorkers to share the jubilant victories, recent discord and distant dreams of coming of age in this great, complicated city. Created exclusively for The New Victory Theater and featuring a cast of seven in their theatrical debuts, the world premiere of Undesirable Elements: Generation NYZ performs at The Duke on 42nd Street from January 13 - 21, 2018.

Following the successful screenings of The Winter's Tale, Measure for Measure and Ubu Roi, Cheek by Jowl today announce the screening of their latest production, P ricl s, Prince de Tyr live from the Barbican Centre on 19 April at 7.30pm. The production will open at the Barbican on 9 April, with previews from 6 April, and runs until 21 April ahead of performances at the Oxford Playhouse from 24 28 April.

Ireland's opera stars have held global audiences spellbound in recent years to create a golden age of Irish singing. Their artistry is set to propel Irish National Opera throughout its inaugural season and beyond. The bold new enterprise, to be launched with a gala concert at Dublin's National Concert Hall on 9 January 2018, trains the spotlight on world-class Irish singers, orchestras, conductors, directors, and creative teams. The company offers a striking blend of the energy of a modern start-up with the best of operatic tradition. Irish National Opera will present seven operas in its first year, five of them new productions, and tour to thirteen venues in Ireland and London's Barbican Centre.

Curious Directive announces the appointment of Francesca Moody as the company's new Executive Producer. Francesca will take up the newly created position in February and this follows the company's successful recognition in June as a national portfolio organisation.

The world's oldest and best theatre publication, The Stage, has announced the shortlist for its annual industry awards, celebrating success within the performing arts.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) announces the Spring 2018 Music Series, which runs January through April and features an eclectic lineup of premieres and performances by international musicians. All performances will be held at BAC (450 West 37th Street, Manhattan). Tickets ($20-25) are on sale now at bacnyc.org or 866-811-4111.

Ping Chong + Company casts young New Yorkers to share the jubilant victories, recent discord and distant dreams of coming of age in this great, complicated city. Created exclusively for The New Victory Theater and featuring a cast of seven in their theatrical debuts, the world premiere of Undesirable Elements: Generation NYZ performs at The Duke on 42nd Street from January 13 - 21, 2018.

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) 43rd season continues in 2018 with 43 performances in 10 venues throughout New York City. The winter spring calendar offers wide-ranging programs from intimate chamber music concerts devoted to Baroque, Classical, and Romantic repertoire to a world premiere at Carnegie Hall by one of today's most lauded composers. Additionally, the Orchestra will play music for a legendary dance institution's Lincoln Center season and collaborate with a renowned choral group on a program that juxtaposes an established work with a new, dramatic oratorio based on the Orpheus myth.