Consul General of News

The New 42nd Street Gala, in celebration of the New Victory Education Programs, will honor the Australia Council for the Arts with the New Victory Arts Award on Wednesday, December 5, 2012. The annual event will feature a special performance by the Melbourne-based Australian troupe Circus Oz at The New Victory Theater, followed by a dinner reception at The Liberty Theater.

Wexford Festival Opera recently embarked on a new development initiative aimed at capitalising on its existing strong reputation in North America, particularly the United States, with the launch of the 'American Friends of Wexford Opera.'

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) offers music lovers an opportunity to enjoy five intimate, elegant and entertaining "LACO a la carte" fundraising events pairing delectable international cuisine and exclusive musical performances in the spectacular private homes of the consuls general of the Czech Republic, Armenia and Austria as well as at Pacific Palisades' historic Villa Aurora and a magnificent private estate in Pasadena.

METROFOCUS returns with a new half-hour program and original Web content spotlighting New Yorkers making a difference in people's lives from gun control to women's issues. The premiere episode airs tonight, September 19 at 7:30 p.m. on WLIW21, Thursday, September 20 at 8:30p.m. on THIRTEEN, and Tuesday, September 25 at 10:30 p.m. on NJTV.

METROFOCUS returns with a new half-hour program and original Web content spotlighting New Yorkers making a difference in people's lives from gun control to women's issues. The premiere episode airs Wednesday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m. on WLIW21, Thursday, September 20 at 8:30p.m. on THIRTEEN, and Tuesday, September 25 at 10:30 p.m. on NJTV.

The International Beethoven Project, headed by President George Lepauw, has announced the recipient of the third annual Beethoven Spirit Award, Zarin Mehta, a global leader in arts administration, retiring President and Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic, and former President and Executive Director of the Ravinia Festival.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has announced the recipients of the 2012-13 Conservatory Awards, which annually recognizes and honors A.C.T.'s award-winning actor training program's outstanding alumni and pays tribute to donors and foundations who have provided significant support to the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

The producers and cast of August Strindberg Rep invite you to share the Off-Broadway opening of their production of Strindberg's 'Playing With Fire' tonight, June 21 at 8:00 PM in Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street (East Village). The performance will be followed by a reception in the theater space.

Today, April 29, the seventh annual Opera News Awards will be presented at a gala celebration in the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza in New York City, paying tribute to five extraordinary artists who have made an invaluable contribution to the art form: sopranos Karita Mattila and Anja Silja, baritones Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Peter Mattei, and director Peter Sellars. Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, who sings Fricka in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Wagner's Ring, will host the awards. Among the special guests for this year's festivities are conductor James Conlon (a 2005 Opera News Award-winner), who will present the award to Ms. Silja; legendary baritone (and 2008 Opera News Award-winner) Sherrill Milnes, who will present the award to Mr. Hvorostovsky; bass-baritone Eric Owens, another star of the Met's Ring, who will present to Mr. Sellars; Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, who will present to Ms. Mattila; and soprano Deborah Voigt, a 2007 Opera News Award-winner and the Met's current Brunnhilde, who will present the award to Mr. Mattei. The guest list will also include Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine of Sweden, who will attend to watch her countryman, Peter Mattei, be honored. Her Excellency, Ambassador Ritva Jolkkonen, Consul General of Finland in New York, will also be a guest at the festivities, honoring Ms. Mattila.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Museum's Off the Wall performance series proudly presents the world premiere of THE NEWS, a 90-minute "reality opera" by avant-pop Dutch composer JacobTV based on non-fiction footage from the international media. This special premiere sponsored by Joan Humphrey is part of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Distinctively Dutch Festival which runs through May 20, 2012.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance, played host, on Sunday, April 22nd, to an evening of theatre, music and celebrity readings, that raised thousands in emergency funds to be sent to remaining Holocaust Survivors. An evening written by TV comedy director, Zane Buzby, and produced by Conan Berkley, Zane Buzby and Frances Fisher, used true stories of Holocaust Survivors, in the own words, that were read by such noted artists as Ed Asner, Frances Fisher, Elliott Gould, Valerie Harper, Lainie Kazan, Randal Keith, Arnold McCuller, Alan Rosenberg and Brenda Russell. Additional readings were given by Rabbi Moshe J. Kushman and Consul General of Israel, David Siegel. See photos from the event below!

Carnegie Hall will present The Sound of Music tonight, April 24 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. A gala benefit for Carnegie Hall, this one-night-only concert performance of the beloved musical with a timeless score by Rodgers & Hammerstein will provide support for the music education programs of Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute.

Grammy- and Tony-nominated Brenda Russell, Arnold McCuller, Randal Keith, John Kobylt, The Consul General Of Israel and Mr. David Siegel join the cast of The Survivor Mitzvah Project. They will participate alongside celebrity readers such as Ed Asner, Frances Fisher, Elliott Gould, Valerie Harper, Lainie Kazan and Alan Rosenberg for The Survivor Mitzvah's Project benefit entitled "The Stars Come Out to Help Survivors," on Sunday, April 22nd at 7:30pm.

Grammy- and Tony-nominated Brenda Russell, Arnold McCuller, Randal Keith, John Kobylt, The Consul General Of Israel and Mr. David Siegel join the cast of The Survivor Mitzvah Project. They will participate alongside celebrity readers such as Ed Asner, Frances Fisher, Elliott Gould, Valerie Harper, Lainie Kazan and Alan Rosenberg for The Survivor Mitzvah's Project benefit entitled "The Stars Come Out to Help Survivors," on Sunday, April 22nd at 7:30pm.

Carnegie Hall today announced the complete cast for its gala benefit performance of The Sound of Music on Tuesday, April 24 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. New to the cast are Mary Michael Patterson (Anything Goes) as Liesl von Trapp, Nick Spangler (The Book of Mormon) as Rolf Gruber, Cotter Smith (Next Fall) as Herr Zeller, Drama Desk and Obie Award recipient Reed Birney as Admiral von Schreiber, and Joel Hatch (Billy Elliot) as Franz, The Butler.

On Sunday, April 29, the seventh annual Opera News Awards will be presented at a gala celebration in the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza in New York City, paying tribute to five extraordinary artists who have made an invaluable contribution to the art form: sopranos Karita Mattila and Anja Silja, baritones Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Peter Mattei, and director Peter Sellars. Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, who sings Fricka in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Wagner's Ring, will host the awards. Among the special guests for this year's festivities are conductor James Conlon (a 2005 Opera News Award-winner), who will present the award to Ms. Silja; legendary baritone (and 2008 Opera News Award-winner) Sherrill Milnes, who will present the award to Mr. Hvorostovsky; bass-baritone Eric Owens, another star of the Met's Ring, who will present to Mr. Sellars; Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, who will present to Ms. Mattila; and soprano Deborah Voigt, a 2007 Opera News Award-winner and the Met's current Brunnhilde, who will present the award to Mr. Mattei. The guest list will also include Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine of Sweden, who will attend to watch her countryman, Peter Mattei, be honored. Her Excellency, Ambassador Ritva Jolkkonen, Consul General of Finland in New York, will also be a guest at the festivities, honoring Ms. Mattila.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Museum's Off the Wall performance series proudly presents the world premiere of THE NEWS, a 90-minute "reality opera" by avant-pop Dutch composer JacobTV based on non-fiction footage from the international media. This special premiere sponsored by Joan Humphrey is part of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Distinctively Dutch Festival which runs through May 20, 2012.

Continuing a season marked by two major national awards and ongoing performances throughout the U.S., in Europe and Asia, the sold-out March 12 Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, has turned out to be the most successful in the chorus's history. Check out the photos from the gala below!

Featuring SAORI weaving, a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, Okinawan dance, a Taiko drum performance, and a shadow puppet troupe, the American Museum of Natural History Global Weekends: Cherry Blossoms: Japan Fest will also commemorate the first anniversary of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Featuring SAORI weaving, a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, Okinawan dance, a Taiko drum performance, and a shadow puppet troupe, the American Museum of Natural History Global Weekends: Cherry Blossoms: Japan Fest will also commemorate the first anniversary of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.