John Nelson News

The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance presents EDEN by Joyce DiDonato on the HTP Mainstage on Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 7:30PM.

Playwright Pearl Cleage's WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS---now on stage at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through March 19, 2022---takes place during the historic win of Atlanta's first black mayor in 1973 and focuses on a romantic triangle between a young campaign staffer and two much older men she works with at the election HQ.

Symphony San Jose presents Beethoven Turns 251, with pianist Jon Nakamatsu, December 4-5 in All-Beethoven Program

The agreement includes increasing the number of musicians to 76 by the third year. Additionally, two musicians will join the orchestra's board of directors for the first time.

While they await definitive plans for their potential fall season, Northern Sky Theater in Door County, Wisconsin announces a three-pronged virtual season to continue its mission of developing original work, employing its artists, and reaching out to its audience.

A gorgeous new recoding of Berlioz's DAMNATION DE FAUST, on the Erato label, has come my way and it is well-worth investigating.  The work has entered the public consciousness with the recent revival by the Metropolitan Opera in late January and early February.   

On Friday, January 10, 2020, baritone Will Liverman and pianist Jonathan King release their debut album Whither Must I Wander on Odradek Records. Whither Must I Wander is an exquisite recital of songs on the theme of travel by composers by Ralph Vaughan Williams, J. Frederick Keel, Herbert Howells, Aaron Copland, Steven Mark Kohn, Nikolai Medtner, and Robert Schumann. 

The Shanghai Opera Symphony Orchestra is on its very first United States tour, and KCP Presents will bring the 80-piece orchestra to Lyndon Institute on February 13th at 7pm. The show will be the first time since 1979 that an entire symphony has performed locally.

Creators Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw teamed up with composer Charlie Barnett to produce a musical that is sweet, earnest, smart, and sensitive. It may be a lofty goal to hope that '19: The Musical' achieves 'Hamilton'-like heights, but, much like the women it portrays, it's certainly up to the task and should not be underestimated.

The Shanghai Opera Symphony Orchestra's debut North American tour will stop at Mayo Performing Arts Center on Sunday, February 17 at 3 pm. Tickets are $39-$69.

Bard College announces the appointment of celebrated opera singer and recitalist Stephanie Blythe as artistic director of the Bard College Conservatory of Music Graduate Vocal Arts Program (VAP) beginning in July 2019. One of the most highly respected and critically acclaimed artists of her generation, mezzo-soprano Blythe possesses a repertoire ranging from Handel to Wagner and from German lieder to contemporary and classic American song. Blythe has performed on many of the world's great stages, such as Carnegie Hall; the Metropolitan Opera; Covent Garden; Paris National Opera; and San Francisco, Chicago Lyric, and Seattle Operas. She was named Musical America's Vocalist of the Year, received an Opera News Award, and won the Richard Tucker Award. Blythe recently released her first crossover recording on the Innova label with pianist Craig Terry.

The San Diego Opera's production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro featured expressive singing, clever attractive sets, beautiful costumes, and strong comedic and dramatic acting. The work is generally called a comic opera, but as director Stephen Lawless pointed out during my interview with him, 'There are tears behind the laughter.' The difficult political and social issues hiding behind laughter came from the Beaumarchais play on which the opera was based, and Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte had to make light of them or risk censorship. The play's depiction of royal abuses probably contributed to the start of the French Revolution. Napoleon went so far as to say the it was, 'the Revolution already put into action.'

Stephen Lawless will be directing the San Diego Opera's production of The Marriage of Figaro this week. I met with him in the opera company's rehearsal room recently to discuss that, how he came to be a director, and his views of a director's responsibilities.

Sacred Music in a Sacred Space begins its 2018-2019 Season by welcoming patrons into the intimate Wallace Hall at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (980 Park Avenue) for a Caritas Concert.

Get ready to indulge in the Viennese torte known as Franz Lehar's comedic operetta The Merry Widow (Die Lustige Witwe). Set in the heart of vibrant fin de siecle Paris, the wealthy widow Hanna Glawari schemes to win the heart of dashingly handsome Count Danilo. A scandalous caper ensues while suitors conspire to obtain the widow's fortune.

The New York Choral Society (NYCHORAL) will hold its annual Spring Gala at New York's Metropolitan Club (1 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022) on Thursday evening, April 5, 2018, starting at 6:00 pm. The organization will honor renowned opera singer and recitalist Stephanie Blythe with the NYCHORAL Music Excellence Award for her contributions to the musical profession, as well as Sylvia R. Hoisington who is celebrating her 50th season with the chorus. Produced in partnership with the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, the evening's showcase performance will feature soprano Amanda Majeski and tenor Ben Bliss, both of whom will be participating in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Cosi fan tutte from March 15 to April 9, 2018. Members of the NYCHORAL Chamber Ensemble will also perform. The evening will feature a silent auction of unique items and experiences. The program is as follows:

The New York Choral Society (NYCHORAL) will hold its annual Spring Gala at New York's Metropolitan Club (1 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022) on Thursday evening, April 5, 2018, starting at 6:00 pm.

Academy Award-nominee, Angela Bassett will join Kathleen Battle as a guest narrator in Battle's program Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey accompanied by pianist Joel Martin and the LA-based choir, The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) on Thursday, March 29 at 8:00pm.

American soprano Kathleen Battle's luminous voice has been called by The Washington Post "...without qualification, one of the very few most beautiful in the world."  Yet beyond the glory of her singing, in a career filled with countless accolades, honors and major milestones, what has perhaps distinguished her most is her almost magical ability to create an unwavering emotional bond between herself, her music and her audience.  On Thursday, March 29 at 8pm, that special bond will be on full display when Ms. Battle makes her debut at The Soraya with Kathleen Battle: Underground Railroad-A Spiritual Journey accompanied by pianist Joel Martin and the LA-based choir, The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the winners for THE EE BRITISH ACADEMY FILM AWARDS. The BAFTA Awards ceremony was held today, February 18th, at London's Royal Albert Hall. Among the top winners were 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' and 'The Shape of Water.'