John Adams News

Heartbeat Opera is a new company intent upon re-imagining opera in intimate spaces for a new generation. Employing a minimalism that allows the emotional integrity of the music to shine through, the company's work focuses on the body of the singer and the visceral power of the music.

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra has announced that Music Director Edo de Waart will become its conductor laureate in September 2017. De Waart has led the orchestra since the 2009.10 season and has raised the artistic profile of the MSO to the highest levels. Highlights of his remarkable tenure include a critically acclaimed appearance at Carnegie Hall as part of the Spring for Music Festival; a fully-staged production of Mozart's Don Giovanni with a renowned international cast; a celebrated Rachmaninoff cycle; a festival featuring the works of composer John Adams; and numerous recording releases on the MSO's digital label. In the conductor laureate role, Edo de Waart will continue to appear annually with the MSO from the 2017.18 season onward.

Heartbeat Opera is a new company intent upon re-imagining opera in intimate spaces for a new generation. Employing a minimalism that allows the emotional integrity of the music to shine through, the company's work focuses on the body of the singer and the visceral power of the music. Co-Artistic Directors Louisa Proske andEthan Heard, who trained together in the Directing program at the Yale School of Drama, are committed to nurturing the actor in every singer they work with. The company creates productions of classics and new pieces that are daring and visceral—productions that manifest the emotional grandeur and theatrical power of opera with minimal means. Heartbeat's one-act festival presentation of György Kurtág's Kafka-Fragments, directed by Heard, and the New York premiere of Jacques Offenbach's Daphnis & Chloé, in a new English translation directed by Proske, marks this young company's debut. Heartbeat Opera's resident music ensemble Cantata Profana, described by The New York Times as “a stylish early music ensemble,” will provide musical accompaniment.

The Civilians: The End and The Beginning Friday, March 6, 7:00 p.m. at The Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing A theatrical investigation of dying, death, and the afterlife, from ancient Egypt to tomorrow. This performance is staged at the incomparable Temple of Dendur.

Baritone Mark Stone, in his New York Philharmonic debut, will replace Simon Keenlyside, who has withdrawn due to illness, in the performances of the U.S. Premiere of Thomas Ades's Totentanz, led by the composer in his Philharmonic conducting debut, and also featuring mezzo- soprano Christianne Stotijn in her Philharmonic debut. The performances will also feature Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 and Berlioz's Les Francs-juges Overture, Thursday, March 12, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, March 14 at 8:00 p.m.

BNY Mellon Grand Classics Season Highlights: Itzhak Perlman in Cinema Serenade — The season begins with the return of perennial favorite violinist Itzhak Perlman performing music from the golden age of the Silver Screen as part of the Pittsburgh Symphony Gala, Cinema Serenade. The Performer-Composer — Forget one Composer of the Year; instead Heinz Hall will host four performer-composers — Daniil Trifonov, Conrad Tao, Stewart Copeland and Cameron Carpenter — who will present their own works with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra this year. Conductor Debuts — The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra welcomes four outstanding international conductors to the podium this season — Spain's Gustavo Gimeno, Czech Republic's Ji?í B?lohlávek, Brazil's Marcelo Lehninger and Costa Rica's Giancarlo Guerrero. “The Earth” — Following the success of “The Planets” in the 2013-2014 season, the Pittsburgh Symphony offers a stunning musical and visual journey around our home planet. Handel's Messiah and Bach's St. John Passion — Handel's much adored oratorio returns to the Heinz Hall stage for one night only this December, and Bach's St. John Passion makes its debut in Heinz Hall in a newly designed, semi-staged production in March.

The New York Philharmonic's Spring Gala will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, featuring a concert of music from iconic moments throughout the history of the free concert series, Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.

Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts announces the start of its 2015 series BACH, REVISITED. The "enticing," "alluring," and "intriguing" (The New York Times) series returns, pairing contemporary composers with Bach.

After eight seasons with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert will step down as music director in 2017, the orchestra said.

Frank Gehry and the world premiere of Frank's House by LACO Composer-in-Residence Andrew Norman inspired by the celebrated architect's extraordinary Santa Monica home are spotlighted at Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's (LACO) Westside Connections concert tonight, February, 5, 2015, 7:30 pm, at the Moss Theater, Santa Monica.

Alan Gilbert, music director of the New York Philharmonic, conducts Mozart's Don Giovanni with an internationally renowned cast led by Swedish baritone Peter Mattei, who is widely recognized as one of the world's foremost interpreters of the title role. South African soprano Elza van den Heever returns to the Met for the first time since her acclaimed debut two seasons ago as Queen Elizabeth I in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. In Don Giovanni, she takes on the demanding role of Donna Anna, who seeks to exact revenge on the infamous rake who has killed her father. British sopranoEmma Bell returns as the lovelorn Donna Elvira and young American mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey adds a new role to her Met repertory as the ingenue Zerlina. Russian tenor Dmitry Korchak makes his Met debut as Anna's patient fiance, Don Ottavio, and Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni returns as Don Giovanni's comic sidekick, Leporello, a role that won him plaudits at the 2011 premiere of this production by Michael Grandage. Czech bass-baritone Adam Plachetka makes his Met debut as Masetto, and veteran James Morris sings the role of the Commendatore, following his triumph as Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg earlier this season. Sets and costume designs are by Christopher Oram, lighting by Paule Constable, and choreography by Ben Wright. At the final performance on March 6, Jennifer Check will sing Donna Elvira, and Ievgen Orlov will sing the Commendatore.

Laura Linney (The Big C, The Savages) and Seth Numrich (AMC's TURN, Broadway: War Horse) will perform in the Geffen Playhouse production of Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith (The Female of the Species, The Gift). This co-world premiere with Sydney Theatre Company will be directed by Mark Brokaw (Broadway: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, The Lyons) in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse from March 6 to April 19, 2015. Opening night is Friday, March 13.

Following the final performances in his celebrated Nielsen Project and his triumphant Verdi Requiem with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in seven years to conduct ten performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni, from tonight, February 4 to March 6, leading Mozart's retelling of the Don Juan legend in Michael Grandage's production.

Following the final performances in his celebrated Nielsen Project and his triumphant Verdi Requiem with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in seven years to conduct ten performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni, from February 4 to March 6, leading Mozart's retelling of the Don Juan legend in Michael Grandage's production.

Lyric Unlimited presents the world premiere of The Property, a klezmer opera by composer Wlad Marhulets and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann. It opens Wednesday, February 25, with five performances through Thursday, March 5. World premiere presentations of The Property are presented in partnership with the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood Feb. 25, 26, 27, with additional performances at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in suburban Skokie Mar. 4-5.

Select concerts from the Los Angeles Philharmonic's 2013/14 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall will be broadcast in China via WFMT Radio Network's historic agreement with Shanghai East Radio Company, marking the first time in history that American orchestras will be heard on a regular basis in China.

HISTORY's(R) scripted miniseries SONS OF LIBERTY (#SonsOfLiberty) concluded last night, Tuesday, January 27, with 3.3 million Total Viewers, 1.3 million Adults 25-54 and 1.1 million Adults 18-49 at 9:00 pm making it the #1 show of the night on cable among total viewers.

Following the final performances in his celebrated Nielsen Project and his triumphant Verdi Requiem with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in seven years to conduct ten performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni, from February 4 to March 6, leading Mozart's retelling of the Don Juan legend in Michael Grandage's production.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Music Director Jeffrey Kahane serves as musical 'tour guide' for LACO's annual 'Discover' program, which this season features a special one-night-only exploration of Mozart's incomparable and deeply moving Requiem in D minor with special guests Alison King, soprano; Emily Fons, alto; Nicholas Phan, tenor; Aubrey Allicock, bass; and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, on Thursday, February 19, 2015, 8 pm, at Pasadena's Ambassador Auditorium. The evening is designed to lead patrons to a greater understanding of Mozart's musical capstone and to appreciate the work with 'new ears.' Kahane, lauded for his 'eloquence' (The New York Times), explores a different work each year for LACO's annual Discover concert. According to LA Opening Nights, 'Some conductors are born educators, and Jeffrey Kahane is one of them.' Adding a special flourish to Kahane's introduction to the work are Antaeus Company actors John Sloan (Mozart ) and JD Cullum (Salieri).

3.3 million total viewers enlisted for part one of HISTORY's(R) scripted miniseries SONS OF LIBERTY (#SonsOfLiberty) last night. The first of three parts follows a defiant and radical group of young men, including Sam Adams, John Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock and Dr. Joseph Warren, as they band together in secrecy to change the course of history and make America a nation. SONS OF LIBERTY also delivered 1.4 million Adults 25-54 and 1.2 million Adults 18-49 at 9:00pm on Sunday, January 25, according to Fast Cable Nielsen Ratings.