Kurt Weill News

Ute Lemper first visited Australia two decades ago and, for her 20th Anniversary tour, she has brought something new, a set of songs that she has composed in collaboration with Argentinean bandoneonist, Marcelo Nisinman, setting the love poems of Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda

On Sunday, November 3rd at 3:00 p.m. at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Jeff Lindberg, will present trumpeter Jon Faddis in the Chicago premiere of the Miles Davis/Gil Evans landmark recording, Miles Ahead.

Roundabout Theatre Company presents The Winslow Boy, starring Tony nominee Michael Cumpsty as 'Desmond Curry', Academy & Tony Award nominee Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as 'Grace Winslow', Alessandro Nivola as 'Sir Robert Morton' and Tony Award winner Roger Rees as 'Arthur Winslow'.

Park Square Theatre announces a 2013-2014 Season composed entirely of area, regional and world premieres - opening with David Lindsay-Abaire's dark comedy Good People and closing with the first ever stage depiction of Nero Wolfe, the famously eccentric detective genius created by best-selling author Rex Stout. The talent bringing these stories to life includes bold-faced names and theatre favorites, including the Minnesota stage debut of James Denton of Desperate Housewives fame, the return of Emmy-nominee Linda Kelsey playing Mary Todd Lincoln and the Park Square directing debuts of Joe Chvala and Amy Rummenie.

San Jose Stage Company Artistic Director Randall King announces The Stage's 2013-14 Season:

The Collegiate Chorale announces its first concert of the season, Mefistofele, by Arrigo Boito on November 6, 2013 at 8pm at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, NYC. Tickets are available at www.carnegiehall.org or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800. Single tickets for this concert start at $15. The Collegiate Chorale will hold its Annual Fall Gala immediately following the concert. (For more information or tickets to the Gala, please contact Mariane Lemieux at mlemieux@collegiatechorale.org or 646-435-9052.)

Bayou City Concert Musicals (BCCM) is kicking off their series of neglected 50s musicals with THE PAJAMA GAME, featuring Music and Lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross and a Book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell. The beloved romantic comedy is based on Richard Bissell's novel 7½ Cents. In the show, the factory workers at Sleep-Tite Pajamas are fighting for a 7½ cent per hour raise. In the midst of this, Babe Williams, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the handsome new factory superintendent, fall in love. THE PAJAMA GAME took New York City by storm when it premiered in 1954 and ran for 1,063 performances in its original run. It spawned a successful film adaption in 1957, had a failed Broadway revival in 1973, and found success again with a 2006 Broadway revival. Additionally, the BCCM production is the first professional production of the beloved musical in Houston in about 40 years.

AOP (American Opera Projects) and The Phoenix Concerts will co-produce 'AOP25: Celebrating Composers & the Voice,' a concert featuring the work of composers and librettists from AOP's C&V (Composers & the Voice) program, an annual fellowship that trains composers to write for the operatic voice. The concert will take place Friday, October 11 at 8PM at the Church of Saint Matthew and Saint Timothy: 26 West 84th Street, New York City.

This year's The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York Heritage Award recipient The Foundation for Filipino Artists Inc., together with executive committee members Loida Nicolas Lewis, Aida Bartolome, Jerry Sibal, Michael Dadap, Dr. Angie Cruz, Edwin Josue and Robert Perlstein, brings to New York Felipe Padilla de Leon, Philippine National Artist for Music, and Guillermo Tolentino's 1957 opera 'Noli Me Tangere,' based on the 1887 classic romantic novel by Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippines' national hero.

Some of Broadway's best will take the stage at New York's Symphony Space on 7 October 2013 to celebrate the American music of Kurt Weill. Hosted by Ted Chapin, the evening will highlight songs from Venus as well as favorites from other Weill shows, including Street Scene, Lady in the Dark, Love Life, Lost in the Stars,Knickerbocker Holiday, The Threepenny Opera, and Happy End. The starry cast features Melissa Errico, Brent Barrett, Judy Blazer, and Ron Raines alongside Lotte Lenya Competition winners Richard Todd Adams, Douglas Carpenter, Cooper Grodin, Justin Hopkins, Zachary James, Analisa Leaming, Jacob Keith Watson, and Maren Weinberger. Weill specialist James Holmes, who conducted a fully staged production of Venus at England's Opera North in 2004, music directs, and Richard Jay-Alexander directs.

The Lotte Lenya Competition has announced it is seeking exceptionally talented young singer/actors who excel in a wide range of musical theater styles for the 2014 competition.

The long-awaited, decade-delayed complete studio recording of Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's celebrated cult musical ONE TOUCH OF VENUS is now available to preview byway of the overture in a just-released SoundCloud track generously made available by Jay Records.

Indianapolis Opera opens the 2013-2014 Season with its premiere of Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera. All performances take place October 11-20, 2013 at the Basile Opera Center in Indianapolis. The 2013-14 Season marks 39 years for the IO.

Tango No. 9, San Francisco's premier chamber ensemble devoted to all facets of tango music, graces two Bay Area stages today, Sept. 8, 2013 with two concerts - One Free in Union Square in SF from 2:00 - 4:00 pm - as part of the Tango On The Square series for the 2013 Summer Union Square Live series http://tinyurl.com/kn7gwv7 - including dance lessons & demonstrations by members of Bay Area Tang. A feel-good experience to learn more about all aspects of tango, from the dance to the music. Bring your dancing shoes and step out onto the open air dance floor yourself, or just sit, watch, listen to the polished Tango sounds from the Bay Area's premiere tango virtuoso ensemble - Tango No.9.

One of the biggest downers perpetrated by American culture is the characterization of Labor Day weekend as the 'unofficial end of summer.' But given what has passed for cabaret entertainment-at least the shows I was able to attend--since the 'unofficial start of summer' on Memorial Day weekend, the end of summer can't come soon enough. But my dismay over the hours lost watching average shows this season was tempered a bit by the pride and joy I felt watching the June performances of three strikingly attractive and talented 30ish brunettes with powerhouse voices-- Jackie Kristel, Karen Gross and Jodi Beck, who all staged entertaining shows as spring was turning to summer.

Gotham Chamber Opera presents the U.S. Stage Premiere of Baden-Baden 1927: a staged evening of four one-act operas that appeared together at the Baden-Baden Festival in 1927, from October 23-29, 2013 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater. Performances: Wednesday,October 23, 2013 at 7:30pm and Friday, October 25; Saturday, October 26; and Tuesday, October 29, 2013 at 8pm. Tickets are $30-$175 and are available at www.ticketcentral.comor (212) 279-4200. For more information visit www.gothamchamberopera.org.

The Collegiate Chorale announces its first concert of the season, Mefistofele, by Arrigo Boito on November 6, 2013 at 8pm at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, NYC. Tickets will be available for sale on September 16 at www.carnegiehall.org or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800. Single tickets for this concert start at $15. The Collegiate Chorale will hold its Annual Fall Gala immediately following the concert. (For more information or tickets to the Gala, please contact Mariane Lemieux at mlemieux@collegiatechorale.org or 646-435-9052.)

Symphony Space will open its 2013-14 Music season with 'Kurt Weill on Broadway,' Monday, October 7 (8 pm) at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre. The show takes place on the 70th anniversary of the Broadway opening of Weill's One Touch of Venus. Ted Chapin hosts a stellar cast featuring Melissa Errico, Brent Barrett, Judy Blazer, and Ron Raines, plus winners of the international Lotte Lenya Competition.