Henry Purcell News

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.

Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) Stanford Calderwood General and Artistic Director Esther Nelson announced today a multi-platform, regional recognition of the robust opera and vocal music offerings in Greater Boston over the next six weeks, and debuted an online calendar that combines them all as part of the company's "40 Days of Opera" celebration.

New York, NY - Sir Simon Rattle will conduct The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys and Orchestra of St. Luke's in a special benefit concert to include Gabriel Fauré's Requiem, The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughn Williams and Edward Elgar's Serenade for Strings on Sunday, September 18 at 7:00pm. The concert will be the last in a yearlong series of performances that have been offered at St Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in honor of Maestro John Scott who served as Organist and Director of Music for eleven years, and who died unexpectedly in August 2015.  Proceeds from the concert will be used to create a Saint Thomas Choir School scholarship to assist choristers in need which will be established in John Scott's memory.

Lawrence Opera Theatre's seventh Season honors the Bard

Lawrence Opera Theatre's seventh Season honors the Bard

Artistic and General Director Andreas Mitisek announced Dr. Robert Braun has been selected president of the Long Beach Opera (LBO) Board of Directors, succeeding Sue Bienkowski, long-time board president. He has been on the board for five years, previously serving on both the development committee (chair) and executive committee.

Pacific MusicWorks (PMW) announces the 2016-2017 Season which includes a new venue, Benaroya Hall, and four unique classical concert productions. Breathtaking, ¡Navidad!, Handel's Tenor and Dido & Aeneas all pull from the 17th thru to the late 19th century music traditions and incorporate a variety of instrumental, operatic and vocal elements. The first concert of the season, Breathtaking will be held at the St. James Cathedral in downtown Seattle. The remainder of the season is at Benaroya Hall with select performances at Meany Hall, Edmonds United Methodist Church and Mercer Island's Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Four concert subscription packages are available online now. Single tickets go on sale September 7, 2016 at www.PacificMusicWorks.org or by phone at (206) 708-6003. Youth ages 5-17 always receive a free ticket with accompanying ticketed adult.  Interviews with the artistic director, Stephen Stubbs are available by request.

Renowned actor Derek Jacobi stars with actor/director Richard Clifford and the acclaimed early musicians of Washington DC's Folger Consort in the world premiere performances of MEASURE + DIDO, celebrating the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's legacy. Presented by NapaShakes and Folger Shakespeare Library, this extraordinary production combines dramatic readings of William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure with excerpts from Henry Purcell's chamber opera Dido and Aeneas to create a perfect depiction of the ecstasy and excesses of love. With a cast of 27 including Peter Becker (baritone), Molly Quinn (soprano), and Emily Noel (soprano), don't miss the first performances of this historic pairing of two monumental works, starring one of the world's most respected and beloved actors, before it moves to the Eisenhower Theater at Washington, DC's Kennedy Center in October.

Ehrenkranz Artistic Director Jane Moss today announced the schedule for Lincoln Center's seventh White Light Festival, running from October 16 through November 16, 2016. The international multidisciplinary festival, which takes its name from a quotation by the Estonian composer Arvo Part, is an annual exploration of the power of art to illuminate our interior and communal lives. 'I could compare my music to white light which contains all colors. Only a prism can divide the colors and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener.' - Arvo Part

Artistic and General Director Andreas Mitisek today announced Long Beach Opera's (LBO) 2017 season. “LBO's  38th season will offer four operas new to Southern California,” said Mitisek. “We'll bring stories that play against the tide of conventions and that are also quintessentially American.  And, we'll work alongside a broad range of collaborators to tell these stories.  As always, to paraphrase Robert Frost, we take the road less travelled, and that makes all the difference.

Longtime artistic collaborators, Willa Bassen (Librettist and Dramaturg) and Nick Robertson (Director and Orchestrator) present the world premiere of Dido the Queen - A Folk Opera.  This bluegrass inspired, puppet infused adaptation of Purcell's Dido & Aeneas has been specifically created for high school audiences by Bassen and Robertson from June 17–19 with five performances at the Flamboyan Theater at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center (107 Suffolk St).  Performance schedule varies, please see calendar below.  Ticket prices are $15 and can be purchased in advance by visiting www.BrownPaperTickets.com.  (Service charges will apply.) Dido the Queen - A Folk Opera runs 75 minutes, no intermission.

Sony Classical proudly announces the release of LOVE & FRIENDSHIP (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) available digitally May 6 and on CD, May 13.

MasterVoices raised more than $220,000 to fund the company's Artistic and Education Programs at its 2016 Spring Benefit which featured Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell and Nahum Tate starring Kelli O'Hara, Victoria Clark, Elliot Madore, Anna Christy, and Sarah Mesko, with a World Premiere prologue by Michael John LaChiusa, directed and choreographed by Doug Varone, and conducted by Ted Sperling at Le Parker Meridien and New York City Center on April 28, 2016. BroadwayWorld brings you look inside the big night below!

A heavenly aura flooded through the regal New York City Center this past Thursday night at the MasterVoices premiere of Henry Purcell & Nahum Tate's baroque opera, Dido and Aeneas. With a full orchestra, the MasterVoices choir, and the Doug Varone and Dancers company, this unique production created a majestic escape of light, sound, and movement for audience-goers. But the crème de la crème was the other-worldly talents of lead vocalists Kelli O' Hara & Victoria Clark, both geniuses in their own right, as they created the perfect balance of good and evil, sweet and sinful through every note.

MasterVoices (formerly The Collegiate Chorale) continues the 2015-2016 season with Henry Purcell and Nahum Tate's tempestuous Baroque opera, DIDO AND AENEAS, tonight, April 28, 2016 at 7pm and tomorrow, April 29, 2016 at 8pm at New York City Center, 131 W. 55th Street, New York City.

In an annual rite of passage, the talented students of Ballet Academy East's Pre-Professional Division delight audiences with both new works and beloved ballets in four performances May 20-22. The production features five works by three choreographers presented at Gerald W. Lynch Theater: Coppélia Act III, de l'innocence, Sans Nuages, TO BE CONTINUED…, and Gossec's Gavotte.

A friendly reminder! MasterVoices (formerly The Collegiate Chorale) continues the 2015-2016 season with Henry Purcell and Nahum Tate's tempestuous Baroque opera, DIDO AND AENEAS, on April 28, 2016 at 7pm and April 29, 2016 at 8pm at New York City Center, 131 W. 55th Street, New York City.

Early Music Vancouver (EMV)  announces its Vancouver Bach Festival and 2016/17 Season, bringing a staggering list of events to venues in and around Vancouver. This year, concert-goers are invited to revel in the genius of Bach, discover a brilliant but disregarded composer who surmounted adversity (Le Mozart Noir), and enjoy an up-close-and-personal encounter with one of the world's greatest choral ensembles - Stile Antico. EMV' s programming offers an opportunity to travel back through time and hear masterpieces illuminated by an in-depth knowledge of the specific musical culture, instruments and style in which they were written.