Benjamin Britten News

Carnegie Hall presents lyric soprano Lucy Crowe in her New York recital debut tonight, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Weill Recital Hall. Joined by pianist Anna Tilbrook, Ms. Crowe performs a wide variety of repertoire, with song cycles to include Alban Berg's Sieben fruhe Lieder and William Walton's A Song for the Lord Mayor's Table-six pieces celebrating the sights and sounds of London. Additional program highlights include a performance of Sibelius's vocally demanding tone poem, Luonnotar, Op. 70, inspired by the Kalevala, a 19th-century Finnish epic poem, and well-known lieder by Schubert. The British-born singer will also perform traditional selections from Folk Songs from the British Isles, including 'Sally Gardens,' and 'The Ash Grove,' arranged by Benjamin Britten, as well as songs by English composers Michael Head, Ivor Gurney, Thomas Dunhill, and Frank Bridge.

The Ohio State School of Music will perform an Easter-weekend production of Benjamin Britten's two-act chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 17, and Saturday, April 19, in Roy Bowen Theatre, Drake Performance and Event Center, 1849 Cannon Dr. on campus. The production is directed by A. Scott Parry, director of Ohio State Opera Theatre; conductor is Russel C. Mikkelson.

Pablo Heras-Casado will make his New York Philharmonic debut conducting Barto?k's Piano Concerto No. 3, featuring pianist Peter Serkin; Britten's Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes; and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10, today, April 2, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, April 4 at 11:00 a.m.; and Saturday, April 5 at 8:00 p.m.

James Conlon, Music Director of the Cincinnati May Festival since 1979, conducts the May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on Friday, 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. The centerpiece of the Carnegie Hall program is the New York premiere of The Ordering of Moses, a work by Robert Nathaniel Dett that received its world premiere at the 1937 May Festival, performed by a chorus of 350 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra led by Eugene Goosens. Mr. Conlon will open the program with John Adams' Harmonium.

New works, engaging collaborations and classic revivals set the theme for the Royal Ballet Season 2014/15.

From 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.

Geoff Nuttall, now in his fifth year as Spoleto Festival USA's Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director for Chamber Music, today announced details of the Bank of America Chamber Music series comprising 11 programs, each performed three times at the Dock Street Theatre in Charleston, South Carolina from Friday, May 23 through Sunday, June 8.

The five-time Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus--Lisa Bielawa, Artistic Director and Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Music Director and Principal Conductor-continues its 35th anniversary season with a fully staged production of Benjamin Britten's 1957 opera Noye's Fludde, based on the biblical deluge story, in one performance only, tonight, March 29, 2014, at 8 pm at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco.

The Symphony presents the fourth performance of its Chamber Concert Series on Sunday April 6, 2014 at 3 p.m. in the Meagher Theatre of the Thomas A. Bruder, Jr. Life Center at Neumann University, Aston, Pa.

Carnegie Hall's Benjamin Britten centenary celebration comes to an end on Wednesday, 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.

An always anticipated occasion for audience and orchestra alike, Conductor Laureate Ignat Solzhenitsyn returns to the Chamber Orchestra podium for a play/conduct program that will undoubtedly brim with the passion, panache and vivacity his concerts unfailingly deliver. The program features Haydn's famous 'Surprise' Symphony and two highly expressive works by Schumann and Britten.

Theatre Rhinoceros presents The Habit of Art: A Very British Comedy by Alan Bennett (The History Boys) and directed by John Fisher. The production will only be in San Francisco for a limited engagement, opening tonight, March 27 and closing April 13.

Roger Wright, director of BBC Proms and controller of BBC Radio 3, plans to leave the BBC after 15 years for a job as chief executive of Aldeburgh Music. Wright has worked with the BBC for over 15 years, becoming Radio 3 controller in 1998 and taking over the Proms in 2007. Wright said that he was 'sorry to be leaving the BBC having enjoyed such a long and fulfilling period' there. Wright will join Aldeburgh Music in September, taking over from Jonathan Reekie. Aldeburgh Music is based at Snape Maltings in Suffolk. It organizes the annual Aldeburgh Festival, which was founded by Benjamin Britten. Wright stated he was 'honoured to have been invited to lead Aldeburgh Music at such an exciting time in its development.' Chairman of Aldeburgh Music, Simon Robey, said Wright would 'bring an exceptional breadth and depth of experience to all we do.' Members of the BBC responded to this news with BBC Radio director Helen Boaden calling Wright 'a unique and brilliant talent' who would be 'hugely' missed and BBC director general Tony Hall saying that Wright made a 'huge contribution to the BBC, through the success of both Radio 3 and seven seasons of the Proms'.

Today, at a press conference in Edinburgh, Director Jonathan Mills revealed the artists, companies and work from around the world which will fill the stages of Edinburgh's annual cultural celebration. Over 2,400 artists from 43 nations have been invited to Edinburgh to perform in the annual showcase of the world's great performing artists.

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

An Actors Touring Company, Young Vic Theatre, Brageteatret & Schauspielhaus Wien Co-Production, THE EVENTS by David Greig, is set for a UK and US tour and Young Vic return in 2014, directed by Ramin Gray and featuring music composed by John Browne.

The Cleveland Orchestra has announced its 2014-15 season. Music Director Franz Welser-Möst's programs include Bach's Mass in B minor, and Brahms's Piano Concertos with Yefim Bronfman as soloist. Mr. Welser-Möst continues his long-standing tradition of opera performances at Severance Hall with concert performances of Richard Strauss's rarely heard opera Daphne. Guest artists returning to Severance Hall include Lang Lang, Christian Tetzlaff, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Mitsuko Uchida, and conductors Charles Dutoit, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and Fabio Luisi. The Orchestra celebrates the 90th birthday of Pierre Boulez in three programs conducted by Franz Welser-Möst.

La MaMa, in association with Monk Parrots, presents the World Premiere of Bum Phillips All-American Opera, a new contemporary opera conceptualized and directed by Luke Leonard, composed and conducted by Peter Stopschinski, with a libretto by Kirk Lynn. Bum Phillips All-American Opera runs from March 12 - 30, 2014 in a limited engagement at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre, located at 66 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue & the Bowery in New York City. Previews begin March 12 for a March 15 opening.

Music Director Robert Spano will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and Chorus in Britten's War Requiem 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.

For DIRECTOR'S CHOICE, the fourth program of Pacific Northwest Ballet's 2013-2014 season, Artistic Director Peter Boal selects from his roster of acquisitions and increases them by one: The captivating mixed-bill program will feature a much-anticipated world premiere by Alejandro Cerrudo, resident choreographer of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. The program also reprises audience favorites TAKE FIVE...More or Less, Broadway-darling Susan Stroman's sunny slice of jazz-infused Dave Brubeck fun; and Susan Marshall's distinctive aerial duet, Kiss. Rounding out the lineup is Molissa Fenley's State of Darkness, a tour-de-force solo performance set to Stravinsky's riot-inducing The Rite of Spring. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE runs for seven performances only, today, March 14-23, 2014 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.