Benjamin Britten News

LA Opera's production of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Bela Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle, two riveting stagings of two disparate operas written more than two centuries apart that come together in a unique double bill, running for six performances from today, October 25 through November 15, 2014.

The UMD Symphony Orchestra and UMD Concert Choir, under the direction of Edward Maclary, explore the meaning of life and loss in Brahms' German Requiem Friday, November 14 at 8pm in The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center's Dekelboum Concert Hall.

After 16 years, the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University welcomes back Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) to Chicago as part of its 125th Anniversary Season celebration, November 21 - 23, 2014.

?On November 1, 2014, Montclair State University will celebrate a decade of stellar performances at the Alexander Kasser Theater, a cultural institution that has garnered regional, national and international recognition for serving as a home for the world's most visionary talents and an incubator for the next generation of innovative performing artists.

Music has the power to touch the human spirit, transcending time, place, boundaries and language and spurring understanding and connection. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Manfred Honeck are deeply committed to music's ability to promote and spread a spiritual and universal message, and to that end invite the public to two free "Music for the Spirit" concerts on Thursday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair and on Saturday, November 22 at 8 p.m. at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School in Cranberry.

The North Carolina Symphony will perform “At the Oscars” tonight, Oct. 17, at noon in Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh in the opening concert of its popular “Today Favorites” lunchtime series. Music in the movies has been around since the days of the silent pictures, and the program for “At the Oscars,” led by Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, features some of the greatest music ever scored for Oscar-winning films.

Richard Alston Dance Company is recognised as one of the most inspiring and influential UK-based choreographer-led companies, with a rich repertoire of deeply musical contemporary dance. This autumn Richard Alston is reviving his classic Overdrive, an exhilarating blast of nonstop dance to the pulsating rhythms of Californian minimalist Terry Riley. The ten dancers of Richard Alston Dance Company ride seamlessly across the surging waves of Riley's relentless patterning, in an intricate and mesmeric crescendo of movement and sound. Overdrive is one of 12 prescribed professional works for GCSE Dance on the AQA syllabus. Richard Alston Dance Company has produced a teacher's resource pack to accompany this which can be downloaded from: http://www.richardalstondance.com/resources

The Mimesis Ensemble presents 'Beyond Boundaries,' a program featuring vocal works with a social commentary. The concert will explore songs from the 20th and 21st centuries which examine topics ranging from the ancient story of Gilgamesh, the Americanization of Japan in the 1850's to the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's.

For the first time in its history, Shakespeare's Globe is offering theatre, music and spoken word productions throughout the winter - including a riotous Christmas show, Adele Thomas's much-loved production of The Knight of the Burning Pestle and the 'Winter's Tales' featuring Penelope Wilton, Juliet Stevenson, Harriet Walter and Roger Allam.

Opera Saratoga announces its 2015 Summer Festival season, which will run from July 2 - July 26, 2015 at multiple venues throughout Saratoga Springs, New York.

The North Carolina Symphony will perform “At the Oscars” Friday, Oct. 17, at noon in Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh in the opening concert of its popular “Friday Favorites” lunchtime series. Music in the movies has been around since the days of the silent pictures, and the program for “At the Oscars,” led by Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, features some of the greatest music ever scored for Oscar-winning films.

The Marlowe Theatre's resident orchestra explore the disillusionment and despair of war through the works of Britten, Elgar and Vaughan.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) today announced the participants of the third cycle of the BAM Professional Development Program (BAM PDP), led by BAM and the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland. The companies for this session represent mixed disciplines ranging from dance to theater to opera. Chosen by a BAM-convened panel, the organizations taking part in this session are Encompass New Opera Theatre, Satellite Collective, Summation Dance, and Treehouse Shakers. As with the previous sessions, the DeVos Institute extended invitations to a group of organizations to apply for the training portion of the BAM PDP-expanding the program's reach beyond Brooklyn-based companies. These additional organizations taking part in the program areBalletNext, Beth Morrison Projects, S? Percussion, and Zvi Dance.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Joseph Kaiser will no longer be participating in the Sunday, September 21st performance of Voce: Rising Opera Stars in Recital. Paul Appleby (tenor) and Andrew Garland (baritone) will be joining Julia Bullock (soprano) and pianist, Steven Blier for the afternoon featuring French and American repertories.

New York City Center's 11th annual Fall for Dance Festival will feature free performances in Central Park and 24 acclaimed dance companies and artists from around the world, in six unique programs in September and October 2014. In keeping with the Festival's commitment to make dance accessible to everyone, the Festival will kick off with two FREE evenings of dance at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, in association with The Public Theater, today and tomorrow, September 12 and 13 (rain date, September 14) and will continue at City Center from October 8 - October 19 with all tickets at $15. The Festival's many free pre-show events will include dance lessons and panels by choreographers, artists and dance educators. Tickets will go on sale Sunday, September 14 at 11 a.m.

Despite the welcoming size of its stage and its top technical offerings, nothing about the Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University has been considered sacred since its opening ten years ago. Peak artists have moved inside, outside and about the theater with the greatest of ease, with only a single directive issued by Peak's Artistic Director Jedediah Wheeler: Challenge the minds and imaginations of audiences in unexpected ways.

Ardani Artist presents for the first time in the United States The Mikhailovsky Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia for a special two week engagement November 11 - 23, 2014 at the David H. Koch Theatre (Lincoln Center) NYC. There will be four programs for this premiere engagement performed with a live orchestra. The Mikhailovsky Ballet USA engagement is supported by the Russian Miistry of Culture.

Maggi Hambling, the first National Gallery Artist in Residence (1980-81), has established a reputation over the last four decades as one of Britain's most significant and controversial painters and sculptors. This autumn she returns to exhibit in Trafalgar Square for the first time in almost 35 years with a brand new series of paintings – Walls of Water – which have never been seen in public before.