Lauren Flanigan News

Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director of Urban Stages, today announced the 2014-'15 season which will launch with the American Premiere of the award-winning drama Shatter by prolific Canadian playwright Trina Davies.

Bay Street Theatre presents the World Premiere of CONVICTION (Today, May 27-June 15) by Carey Crim and directed by Scott Schwartz, Bay Street's new Artistic Director. The production is co-produced by Bay Street Theatre, Rubicon Theatre in California, Dead Posh Productions, London and Canada's Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

Brooklyn's AOP (American Opera Projects) celebrated its 25th anniversary of developing and producing opera and music theater on Monday, May 12 with a gala that honored Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist of Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell as well as the AOP-developed opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon.

Bay Street Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for the World Premiere of CONVICTION (May 27-June 15) by Carey Crim and directed by Scott Schwartz, Bay Street's new Artistic Director. The production is co-produced by Bay Street Theatre, Rubicon Theatre in California, Dead Posh Productions, London and Canada's Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

On Monday, May 12, 2014, AOP (American Opera Projects) hosts its 25th Anniversary Gala honoring Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist of Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell as well as the AOP-developed opera Seance on a Wet Afternoon that premiered at Opera Santa Barbara and ran at New York City Opera for ten performances in their 2010-11 Season. The evening, titled 'Opera Sings Broadway Sings Opera,' brings together stars of Opera and Broadway at The Players (16 Gramercy Park South), an historic theatre club in Manhattan. Doors open at 7:30pm with performances scheduled to begin at 8:00pm. Tickets begin at $250 and are available at AOP's website www.operaprojects.org.

Last evening (Thursday, April 10), Manhattan School of Music announced the winners of the Alan M. and Joan Taub Ades Vocal Competition, held for a fifth year in the Ades Performance Space at the School.

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, is pleased to announce the first round of recipients of its new program: Opera Grants for Female Composers, made possible through the generosity of The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. From among the 112 eligible applicants, an independent adjudication panel selected eight composers. The recipients have each been awarded $12,500 to support the development of their compositions listed below.

Thomas Hampson will be at Manhattan School of Music today, March 19th to give a vocal master class. This master class, a free event and open to the public, takes place at 4:00 p.m. in the School's Greenfield Recital Hall, and will be streamed live by going to http://dl.msmnyc.edu/live. The master class will be given in collaboration with MSM's world renowned Distance Learning and Recording Arts Department, headed by Christianne Orto, Dean of Distance Learning and Recording Arts at Manhattan School of Music.

Thomas Hampson will be at Manhattan School of Music on Wednesday, March 19th to give a vocal master class. This master class, a free event and open to the public, takes place at 4:00 p.m. in the School's Greenfield Recital Hall, and will be streamed live by going to http://dl.msmnyc.edu/live. The master class will be given in collaboration with MSM's world renowned Distance Learning and Recording Arts Department, headed by Christianne Orto, Dean of Distance Learning and Recording Arts at Manhattan School of Music.

Opera star Placido Domingo will join veterans of the now defunct New York City Opera for a 70th anniversary benefit concert, '70 Years of the People's Opera', tonight, February 21 at the City Center. Domingo made his debut with the City Opera as 'Pinkerton' in Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY in 1965.

According to The New York Times, opera star Placido Domingo will join veterans of the now defunct New York City Opera for a 70th anniversary benefit concert, “70 Years of the People's Opera”, on February 21 at the City Center. Domingo made his debut with the City Opera as 'Pinkerton' in Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY in 1965.

Seventy years ago, on February 21st, 1944, New York City Opera showcased Giacomo Puccini's Tosca at the historic City Center. The beloved company went on to launch the careers of many of the opera world's most accomplished singers, including Beverly Sills, Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Maralin Niska, Shirley Verrett, Tatiana Troyanos, Jerry Hadley, Catherine Malfitano and Samuel Ramey, to name just a few. New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia called it the "People's Opera" in recognition of the company's mission to make opera accessible to a wide audience at a reasonable cost.

Florida Grand Opera (FGO) will kick-off its 73rd continuous season of grand opera this 2013-2014 season with the Southeast American premiere of Broward-based composer Marvin David Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra. In homage to its composer, the production will open at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on November 7, 2013, in a new production created by Florida Grand Opera.

Bay Street Theatre has announced that Scott Schwartz, a leading voice of the next generation of American theater, has joined Bay Street as its new Artistic Director. A special welcome party was hosted last evening by Bonnie Comley and Stewart Lane at a private club in New York City to celebrate his arrival and to introduce him to Bay Street Theatre patrons and members of the Broadway community of actors, directors and producers. Scroll down for photos from the event!

Bay Street Theatre is pleased to announce that Scott Schwartz, a leading voice of the next generation of American theater, has joined Bay Street as its new Artistic Director. His tenure at Bay Street will inaugurate a new vision for the theater beginning with the 2014 season, to ensure an exciting and sustainable future for our cultural community. Schwartz is an internationally acclaimed artist whose work has been seen on and off Broadway, across the United States, in Great Britain, and Asia. Over the past twenty years, he has built a reputation for pursuing and embracing a wide range of works for the stage, from new plays to classics to musicals and opera.

Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) General Director Darren K. Woods proudly announced today the August 1, 2013release of the company's live recording of American composer Tom Cipullo's acclaimed, emotionally-charged opera,Glory Denied, based on the bestselling book by journalist Tom Philpott. The album will also be available for digital download at www.albanyrecords.com, Amazon.com, Archivmusik.com, and iTunes by mid-September.

New York City Opera is pleased to announce casting for numerous roles in its 2013-14 productions: Anna Nicole, a co-production with BAM that kicks off the 2013 Next Wave Festival, September 17 - 28 at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House; Johann Christian Bach's Endimione, February 8 - 16, 2014 at El Museo del Barrio; Bluebeard's Castle, a co-production with St. Ann's Warehouse, February 28 - March 15, 2014; and The Marriage of Figaro, April 19 - April 26, 2014 at New York City Center. The Company will announce additional casting soon.

Florida Grand Opera (FGO) announces its 73rd continuous season of grand opera featuring an innovative new vision with provocative repertoire under the direction of General Director and CEO Susan T. Danis. In addition to a wealth of exciting artists making their debuts with the company, the 2013-2014 season features: the Southeast American premiere of Marvin David Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra followed by Verdi's Nabucco, Puccini's Tosca, and Massenet's Thaïs.

62 Years Later: Gender Politics in the Arts is a special panel discussion presented by Robert Miller Gallery that investigates gender politics within the art world 62 years after Lee Krasner's first solo exhibition.

62 Years Later: Gender Politics in the Arts is a special panel discussion presented by Robert Miller Gallery that investigates gender politics within the art world 62 years after Lee Krasner's first solo exhibition.