Henry Purcell News

On Thursday evening, January 12, 2017, Long Beach Opera (LBO), the Office of Long Beach Vice Mayor Rex Richardson, and the Arts Council of Long Beach will co-sponsor THE BARD, THE QUEEN AND THE CLASH: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM THROUGH THE PRISM OF CHICANO ART,  a discussion with the California-based performance troupe Culture Clash about the Chicano Theater movement, artistic collaboration, satirical comedy, and everything in between.  The presentation will be held at 7:00 PM in the new Michelle Obama Library, Long Beach, California.

One of the UK's most widely celebrated contemporary dance companies is presenting eight works to tour throughout 2017, including a world premiere of brand new piece Chacony in the US, accompanied by a live string quartet.

Long Beach Opera (LBO) opens its 2017 season on January 22 and 28, 2017 with Henry Purcell's 1692 The Fairy Queen, a re-telling of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The California-based performance troupe Culture Clash and LBO's Artistic and General Director Andreas Mitisek put their spin on this immortal tale. The Fairy Queen will be performed at the Beverly O'Neill Theater, 300 E. Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach CA. 90802.

Over the last few years, Peak Performances has become a New York / New Jersey home for the work of Richard Alston Dance Company (RADC), one of Britain's foremost contemporary dance companies.

On November 18, 2016, at the Baruch Arts Center's Mason Hall, Gabrielle Lamb presented two of her numerous works, via two dance groups, The Joffrey Ensemble and her own company, Pigeonwing Dance. Lamb is a New York based choreographer who was a long time soloist with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal and in 2009 was invited by Christopher Wheeldon to join his company Morphoses in New York City. Her choreography is contemporary with a flair offered by her own personality and point of view.

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) presents 'The Invention of Morel,' a world premiere of the co-commissioned opera composed by Stewart Copeland, co-founder and drummer of The Police. Based on Argentinian author Adolfo Bioy Casares' 1940 novel 'La invencion de Morel,' Copeland's new adaptation examines the triumph of time-bending love over convention in a story of adoration and desire. 'The Invention of Morel' features London-based actor, director and writer Jonathan Moore as Stage Director/Librettist together with COT's Artistic Director Andreas Mitisek as Conductor. The press performance will be February 18 at 7:30 p.m. Subsequent performances will be February 24 at 7:30 p.m.and February 26 at 3 p.m.  

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) presents "The Invention of Morel," a world premiere of the co-commissioned opera composed by Stewart Copeland, co-founder and drummer of The Police. Based on Argentinian author Adolfo Bioy Casares' 1940 novel "La invencion de Morel," Copeland's new adaptation examines the triumph of time-bending love over convention in a story of adoration and desire. "The Invention of Morel" features London-based actor, director and writer Jonathan Moore as Stage Director/Librettist together with COT's Artistic Director Andreas Mitisek as Conductor. The press performance will be February 18 at 7:30 p.m. Subsequent performances will be February 24 at 7:30 p.m.and February 26 at 3 p.m.

The Dance Gallery Festival began ten years ago with the vision of Astrid von Ussar, Founder and Artistic Director. Their stated 'mission is to provide everything that choreographers want, need, and dream of in a professional setting: industry standard lighting, publicity packaging, and ample time for tech rehearsals.' Born of necessity, this collective, following von Ussar's vision, recognizes these lacks to be common to most aspiring and working choreographers (those not working with major, funded dance companies). Funding comes primarily from family and friends. This is an extraordinary find in the dance community; and one that begins to fill a void that has existed for far too long.

Jason C. Tramm will conduct a concert version of Tosca, Giacomo Puccini's visionary and dramatic operatic masterpiece on November 16 at the South Orange Performing Art Center. Inspired by the French playwright Victorien Sardou's 1887 widely popular play 'La Tosca' (which stared the great Sarah Bernhardt in the title role) Puccini's exquisite music, propelled the veristic tale of an unlikely heroine into one of the most beloved and frequently performed operas of all time.

Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonatooffers her latest project, In War & Peace: Harmony through Music, on Thursday, December 15 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. Ms. DiDonato is joined by early music orchestra Il Pomo d'Oro, conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev from the harpsichord.

On November 14, 2016, Sono Luminus Records releases J.S. Bach: Partitas for Keyboard, BWV 825-830 [DSL 92209] a 3-CD set featuring two-time GRAMMY®-nominated harpsichordistJory Vinikour.  For this recording the harpsichordist and conductor, whose performances have been called "so buoyant, glistening or noble that you'll likely find yourself glued to your speakers (or headphones)" by Gramophone, performs on a stunning copy of a North German instrument of Bach's time built by Tom and Barbara Wolf.

The Poets' Theatre has entered into an exciting partnership with the Henry Purcell Society of Boston and the Arcadia Players to present Henry Purcell's and John Dryden's rarely performed Restoration Era Musical Spectacle, the semi-opera, King Arthur, for one performance only on Saturday November 19th at 7:30pm at the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul,138 Tremont Street, Boston (opposite the Park Street Station at the top of Boston Common).

Chicago's historic Studebaker Theater will become the home of live opera with a contemporary adaptation of Henry Purcell's 1692 "The Fairy Queen," a reimagining of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" presented by Chicago Opera Theater (COT) beginning November 5.

An evening at the opera doubles as a dual-departmental showcase of talent in Ohio State's production of 'Dido & Aeneas.' Presented as a collaborative effort from OSU's School of Music and Department of Dance, 'Dido & Aeneas' features students performing in the cast, chorus, orchestra and as dancers.

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) blends beer, Shakespeare's sonnets and opera at "Beers & Baritones: A Bar Night with the Bard," at Mad Mouse Brewery (724 W Maxwell St.) on October 20 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The third annual performance of "Beers & Baritones" will feature Chicago Opera Theater's bass-baritone Zacharias Niedzwiecki and bass Samuel Weiser, along with select performances by Chicago College of Performing Arts students Richard Hatcher and Liz Lengyel. Tickets ($35 to the general public; $30 for subscribers and Opera Underground members) can be purchased online here and includes three beers and appetizers. Mad Mouse Brewery is located inside Moxee's Brewpub, which features barbeque and Cajun cuisine.

Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings (PSSS), with instrumentalists in grades 6-9, led by Music Director Irene Kroesen (under the artistic advisement of Music Director Carl St.Clair). The concert features the Prelude Chamber Strings (PCS), grades 2-8, conducted by Helen Weed.

In this strictly limited season of three intimate performances, Ensemble Galante joins forces with Mopoke Theatre Productions to present a fully-staged production of Henry Purcell's iconic Dido & Aeneas in Adelaide's historic Queen's Theatre, from October 7 - 9.

Chicago's historic Studebaker Theater will become the home of live opera with a contemporary adaptation of Henry Purcell's 1692 "The Fairy Queen," a reimagining of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" presented by Chicago Opera Theater (COT) beginning November 5. The California-based performance troupe Culture Clash and COT's Andreas Mitisek put a modernized spin on Purcell's adaptation of Shakespeare's classic with an edgy and hilarious examination of the messes mere mortals make of relationships. "The Fairy Queen" will be performed at Chicago's historicStudebaker Theater (410 S. Michigan Ave). The press performance will be November 5 at 7:30 p.m.Subsequent performances will be November 11 at 7:30 p.m. and November 13 at 3 p.m.

For the first time ever, Chicago's iconic Music Box Theatre will host a classical live performance when Chicago Opera Theater (COT) debuts the Chicago premiere of Frank Martin's 1942 'The Love Potion' ('Le Vin Herbe') on September 30.

In this strictly limited season of three intimate performances, Ensemble Galante joins forces with Mopoke Theatre Productions to present a fully-staged production of Henry Purcell's iconic Dido & Aeneas in Adelaide's historic Queen's Theatre, from October 7 - 9.