Jules Massenet News

Maybe Richard Eyre's new production of WERTHER for the Metropolitan Opera, with strong performances by German tenor Jonas Kaufmann and French mezzo Sophie Koch, should have been called WERTHER: THE BACKSTORY or WERTHER: A FOOL'S GUIDE. Eyre took what was otherwise a beautiful and interesting interpretation of the opera and added a prologue and other details (including action leading up to a self-inflicted shot in the chest)--just in case the audience needed some hand-holding to better understand what was going on.

Maybe Richard Eyre's new production of WERTHER for the Metropolitan Opera, with strong performances by German tenor Jonas Kaufmann and French mezzo Sophie Koch, should have been called WERTHER: THE BACKSTORY or WERTHER: A FOOL'S GUIDE. Eyre took what was otherwise a beautiful and interesting interpretation of the opera and added a prologue and other details (including action leading up to a self-inflicted shot in the chest)--just in case the audience needed some hand-holding to better understand what was going on.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts will present LA Opera Off Grand with a special concert performance of Jules Massenet's lyric masterpiece Thais on Tuesday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The opera tells the story of Thais, a courtesan in Alexandria, Egypt during the Byzantine period whom men find irresistible in the hedonistic way she celebrates life and its most sensual pleasures. The monk Athanael vows to save her soul, but loses his own when his unholy obsession for her overpowers him. The incomparable Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze will sing the title Role alongside LA Opera General Director Placido Domingo in the baritone role as her conflicted savior, Athanael. Patrick Fournillier will conduct the same cast as well as the LA Opera Orchestra and Chorus that will appear in the company's fully-staged production from May 17 - June 7 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The opera is filled with intoxicating melodies, including the well known violin concert piece, Meditation. There will also be a free Preview Talk prior to the Segerstrom Center performance in the Studio Performance Space from 6:30 - 7:15 p.m. Thais will be performed in French with English supertitles.

General Director Plácido Domingo returns to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage in the final production of LA Opera's 2013/14 season, Jules Massenet's Thaïs,starring soprano Nino Machaidze in the title role. Mr. Domingo will perform the baritone role of Athanaël, a monk whose determination to save the soul of a beautiful courtesan transforms into an unholy obsession. With these performances of Athanaël, Mr. Domingo will have sung 25 leading roles at LA Opera.

General Director Plácido Domingo returns to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage in the final production of LA Opera's 2013/14 season, Jules Massenet's Thaïs,starring soprano Nino Machaidze in the title role. Mr. Domingo will perform the baritone role of Athanaël, a monk whose determination to save the soul of a beautiful courtesan transforms into an unholy obsession. With these performances of Athanaël, Mr. Domingo will have sung 25 leading roles at LA Opera.

Artistic Director Peter Boal has announced to subscribers the line-up for Pacific Northwest Ballet's 2014-2015 season. Highlights include a program devoted to the work of acclaimed choreographer William Forsythe; the return of popular works by George Balanchine, Alexei Ratmansky, David Dawson, and Nacho Duato; a world premiere by New York City Ballet's Justin Peck, a PNB premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa; and a fond farewell to the Northwest's favorite holiday tradition, Kent Stowell and Maurice Sendak's Nutcracker. (PNB will unveil a new production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker with sets and costumes by Ian Falconer in 2015.)

A special musical tribute to entertainers Siegfried & Roy will be performed by members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic at the orchestra's Diamonds Are Forever Gala on Saturday, March 1st at the Aria Resort & Casino.

American Ballet Theatre's 2014 season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The season will be highlighted by the Company Premiere of Frederick Ashton's Cinderella, and a Shakespeare Celebration to include Ashton's The Dream and Alexei Ratmansky's The Tempest. Season revivals include Leonide Massine's Gaîté Parisienne and Kenneth MacMillan's Manon.

Icicle Creek Center for the Arts Announces New Opera Series, 'Icicle Creek Presents The Met: Live in HD' at Snowy Owl Theater on its campus in Leavenworth.

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live transmissions to movie theaters, will feature 10 productions in the 2013-14 season, offering a significant portion of the Met season to opera lovers around the world.

A star-studded evening is planned at the Lincoln Center - during the concert, the musicians will be led by guest Lithuanian conductor Gintaras Rinkevicius and will be joined by world renowned violinist Alexander Markov and soprano Dominika Zamara.

Icicle Creek Center for the Arts Announces New Opera Series, 'Icicle Creek Presents The Met: Live in HD' at Snowy Owl Theater on its campus in Leavenworth.

According to the NY Daily News, a lawsuit has been filed by Metropolitan Opera star Wendy White against Lincoln Center because she is 'permanently injured' from a 2011 accident at Lincoln Center.

Dust off those lawn chairs and picnic baskets and head out to one of three Orange County neighborhoods for Pacific Symphony's 2013 Target Symphony in the Cities (SITC) concert series-free summer evenings of outdoor music and entertainment. Playing familiar and well-loved tunes by Shostakovich, Massenet, Strauss (Jr. and Sr.!) and American legends John Williams, Leonard Bernstein and John Phillip Sousa, the Symphony also performs alongside the family friendly doo-wop group, the Alley Cats and guest violinist Kotaro Tsutsumi! Target returns for the ninth year as the title sponsor of this popular event, which attracts thousands of people annually, many of whom bring friends and families and make it a full experience.

Dust off those lawn chairs and picnic baskets and head out to one of three Orange County neighborhoods for Pacific Symphony's 2013 Target Symphony in the Cities (SITC) concert series-free summer evenings of outdoor music and entertainment. Playing familiar and well-loved tunes by Shostakovich, Massenet, Strauss (Jr. and Sr.!) and American legends John Williams, Leonard Bernstein and John Phillip Sousa, the Symphony also performs alongside the family friendly doo-wop group, the Alley Cats and guest violinist Kotaro Tsutsumi! Target returns for the ninth year as the title sponsor of this popular event, which attracts thousands of people annually, many of whom bring friends and families and make it a full experience.

The Canadian Opera Company has closed another successful opera season by recording an average attendance of 90% for 2012/2013. A total of 114,133 patrons attended the 61 performances of the company's seven mainstage productions this season in the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts: Verdi's Il Trovatore, Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus, Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Mozart's La clemenza di Tito, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Richard Strauss's Salome and Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites.

Unless the host is particularly warm, funny, and charismatic (think Dana Lorge and her new monthly vehicle at the Metropolitan Room) or the show is a way to champion a good cause (like Joseph Macchia's Cabaret Cares events), for the most part cabaret variety shows are clunky affairs which can be too long, too rambling, give too much time to average talent or not enough of a showcase to outstanding talent. I ran into one of the rare exceptions last month (April 23) in the form of the The Concerts for City Greens' First Annual Gala & 2012 Songwriting Contest Finale, a variety show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre that served as a fund raiser for the launch of a new non-profit called Music and Art for Green which will incorporate Concerts for City Greens within its umbrella.

The 2013-2014 season marks the start of a new vision for Florida Grand Opera (FGO) with provocative repertoire curated by Susan T. Danis, the company's General Director and CEO. With an unyielding commitment to bringing the highest artistic product to South Florida and limited availability of such productions, FGO has decided to postpone Tristan & Isolde for one season and present Jules Massenet's Thais in its place during the 2013-2014 season.