Benjamin Britten News

From May 2014 - March 2015, Sadler's Wells presents its biggest ever programme of inclusive dance. =dance is a new series featuring some of the most exciting and innovative work created and performed by deaf and disabled artists.

James Conlon, Music Director of the Cincinnati May Festival since 1979, conducts the May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra tonight, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium during the fourth and final installment of the Spring For Music festival.

On May 12, 2014, The Atlantic Arts Foundation, with the artistic collaboration of Harlem Opera Theater, presents Benjamin Britten's The Burning Fiery Furnace, with the generous support of MasterCard and Citi. One of Britten's famed "Parables for Church Performance," this one-hour opera in English will be performed by an all African-American cast in the gothic revival splendor of Harlem's Church of the Intercession (Broadway at 155th Street, NYC). The performance begins at 7:00pm.

On Site Opera, which has garnered acclaim for immersive, site-specific productions, will perform Rameau's one-act Pygmalion in two unusual-and unusually apt-venues this summer, just before the 250th anniversary of the composer's death: Madame Tussauds New York, on June 17, and Lifestyle-Trimco Showroom, on June 20 & 21.

To conclude the OSNY's 2013-14 Carnegie Hall season, Tritle will lead the Oratorio Society in their first performance together of Bach's choral masterpiece on Tuesday, May 20, 2014, at 8:00 PM. The vocal soloists joining the OSNY are tenor Nicholas Phan as the Evangelist, bass-baritone Kevin Deas as Jesus, and soprano Leslie Fagan, mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, tenor Matthew Plenk, and baritone Mischa Bouvier.

The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir will conclude its 77th season with a one-night performance of Benjamin Britten's choral-orchestral composition War Requiem at 8 p.m. tonight, May 3, 2014 at The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Ind. Among the most challenging musical selections of classical repertoire, the piece rarely is performed due to its musical demands on the performers as well as the expense and resources associated with producing a concert work of this scale.

Baz Luhrmann may be moving on from Gatsby to 'The King.'

Carnegie Hall today announced that tenor Thomas Cooley has agreed to step in for Anthony Dean Griffey, performing Britten's War Requiem with Music Director Robert Spano leading the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus tomorrow evening, Wednesday, April 30 at 8:00 p.m. Mr. Griffey is unable to appear due to illness. Mr. Cooley is joined by soprano Evelina Dobraeva, baritone Stephen Powell, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.

Carnegie Hall's Benjamin Britten centenary celebration comes to an end tonight, April 30 at 8:00 p.m., with Music Director Robert Spano leading the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of Britten's masterful War Requiem in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. They are joined by a trio of eminent soloists-soprano Evelina Dobra?eva, tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, and baritone Stephen Powell-as well as the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Written for the inauguration of Coventry's new cathedral in 1962, Britten's War Requiem is a deeply felt expression of the composer's pacifism. By juxtaposing Latin texts from the Mass for the Dead with shocking depictions of battle by British poet Wilfred Owen (who died in World War I), Britten created a gripping musical statement about man's inhumanity to man.

The New England Philharmonic (NEP), under the direction of Richard Pittman, has announced their 2014-15program, the 38th season of the volunteer orchestra. This season will include world premieres of two NEP commissions,David Rakowski's Dance Episodes Symphony no. 5 and Andy Vores' Violin Concerto No. 2; the world premiereof Bernard Hoffer's Ligeti Split; Boston premieres from John Harbison's Darkbloom: Overture for an ImaginedOpera and Michael Gandolfi's Night Train to Perugia and a performance of Benjamin Britten's rarely performedSpring Symphony featuring Chorus pro Musica and the Boston Children's Chorus.

This summer, the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), featuring 120 outstanding young musicians from across the country, will come together for a second annual year of extraordinary music-making.

The internationally-acclaimed Pacific Chorale in Orange County, CA will be presenting a new work created by American opera composer Jake Heggie, and the versatile librettist Gene Scheer entitled 'THE RADIO HOUR'. The choral opera will be conducted by Pacific Chorale's Artistic Director, John Alexander, and stage-directed by James R. Taulli. The premiere work will be performed by the organization's chamber choir, The John Alexander Singers, accompanied by an 8-member ensemble of musicians who are members of Pacific Symphony. The performance is on Sunday, May 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, CA. Scroll down to see an interview with composer Jake Heggie and conductor John Alexander!

From today, April 24 through June 1, one of William Shakespeare's most famous histories 'Richard III' gets an innovative PNT treatment in this boldly re-imagined tale of power, treachery, seduction, and fate.

Music Director Robert Spano will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and Chorus in Britten's War Requiem tonight, April 24, 2014, at 8:00 p.m. and April 26, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. in Atlanta Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center.

The Virginia Arts Festival presents Dance Theatre of Harlem on May 17 and 18 in Norfolk and Richard Alston Dance Company on May 21 and 23 in Norfolk and Williamsburg in this year's Dance Series. The 2014 Festival features two world-class companies who have rewritten the rules for these art forms.

UNDERSTUDY BLUES, the debut production from Canned Rice Productions, will open at the Galloway Theatre in Cape Town for a nine-performance run in May 2014.

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) announced its 2014-15 Philharmonics and Pops concerts in February, but today reveals the remainder of its 92nd season, presented by Dawn & Jacques Lipson. Subscriptions to OrKIDStra and Sunday Matinees are available today to new and renewing subscribers, and tickets for Specials are now available as add-ons to all 14/15 subscribers. Single tickets for all 14/15 concerts go on sale to the general public on Friday, August 1, 2014.

The Celebrity Series of Boston announced its 2014-2015 season today, marking 76 years of bringing the world's greatest performing artists to Boston. The season opens on Sunday, October 5, 2014 with Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini in recital. In total, the 2014-2015 season will include 46 music, dance and entertainment engagements. The 2014-15 season is sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger.

The Arvo Part Project at St. Vladimir's Seminary presents a concert in Carnegie Hall devoted to the music of Estonian composer Arvo Part. The concert will take place on Saturday, May 31 at 8:00 p.m. in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, and will feature performers closely associated with Mr. Part's music. An additional performance of Kanon Pokajanen will be performed in The Temple of Dendur at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday, June 2, and a lecture based on Mr. Part and his music will be held in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Wednesday, June 11. Traveling from Estonia for these events are the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra with their conductor Tõnu Kaljuste.

The opening concert of the University of Adelaide's Evenings@Elder Hall 6.30pm tonight, 12 April is an evening of piano wizardry delivered by two exceptional exponents of the keyboard, Clemens Leske and Daniel Herscovitch.