Los Angeles Opera News

Audra McDonald performs tonight, April 29, 2015 in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. She will be joined by music director and pianist Andy Einhorn, bassist Mark Vanderpoel, and drummer Gene Lewin.

OPERA America, the national nonprofit service organization for opera, is pleased to announce it has awarded $300,000 in grants to nine opera companies through the third year of its Building Opera Audiences program, generously funded by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. This grant program seeks to support the efforts of North American opera companies to build informed, enthusiastic audiences for opera through innovative marketing projects. Fifty-four applications totaling over $2 million in requests were submitted, demonstrating the intense level of audience development activity across North America.

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Verdi's Messa da Requiem, a monumental work for chorus, soloists and orchestra, replete with intense drama and gloriously beautiful melodies. The composer's only large-scale work not written for the stage, the Requiem stands in stature and artistry alongside Verdi's great operatic masterpieces.

In a record-breaking year for the number of prizes and total cash awarded, Lauren Michelle, of Los Angeles, won the $15,000 First Prize in the finals of the 2015 Lotte Lenya Competition, sponsored by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music and held on April 18, 2015, in Kilbourn Hall of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Robin Bailey, of London, U.K., and Jordan Davidson, of Philadelphia, N.Y., both won Second Prizes of $10,000, and two Third Prizes of $7,500 each were awarded to Adam Fieldson, of Lincoln, Neb., and Michael Maliakel, of New York.

Patti LuPone will receive the Ellis Island Family Heritage Award at The Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation's 'Gala in the Great Hall' on Tuesday, May 19th at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration.

Chicago, IL – (April 16, 2015) The Chicago Philharmonic announces its 2015-16 season, Chasing the Sun: Transitions and Transformations. The season explores works written by composers at moments of significant change in their lives or careers. Scott Speck leads the orchestra in his third season as artistic director. “With a beloved masterwork, a virtuoso soloist, and a 21st century composer represented on every concert, the Chicago Philharmonic continues its adventures in direct, urgent, truly relevant music-making,” said Speck.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present performances of Mozart's The Magic Flute at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands on Friday, May 15, at 8 p.m. and at Miller Outdoor Theatre on Friday, May 22, and Saturday, May 23, at 8 p.m. The Magic Flute matches a comic yet wise fairy tale with some of the most stunningly beautiful music ever written. HGO's performances on the outdoor stages offer free admission and access for new audiences to experience the acclaimed production, which the company presented to full houses earlier this season.

Due to an unexpected development in Audra McDonald's schedule, the date for her performance in Pittsburgh has been changed. The concert will now take place at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 11th at the landmark Byham Theater.

The Hill House Association (www.hillhouse.org) will present six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald in concert for one night only. The performance will begin at 8 p.m. tonight, April 15(th) at the landmark Byham Theater.

The Collegiate Chorale announces that Eli Tokash will join the cast of the US Premiere of Kurt Weill's The Road of Promise on May 6, 2015 at 8pm and May 7, 2015 at 7pm at Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019. Tickets are $30-$135 and are available at www.carnegiehall.org, CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800, or the Box Office at 57th and Seventh. For more information, visit http://collegiatechorale.org/performances/the-road-of-promise.

Broadway legend Patti LuPone was not afraid to call out a rude audience member during her recent performance at New York's 54 Below.

The Met's first new production in 45 years of the enduringly popular verismo double bill, Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, will open April 14.

Lincoln Center Theater has announced that Jordan Dean, Lance Coadie Williams, and Zoe Winters will join Patti LuPone, Dale Soules, and Michael Urie in its upcoming production of SHOWS FOR DAYS, a new play by Douglas Carter Beane, to be directed by Jerry Zaks. The production will begin performances Saturday evening, June 6 and open on Monday, June 29 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street).

Nineteen of the best young opera singers in the country will be competing in The Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition presented by The Dallas Opera and The Dallas Opera Guild. The talented performers are competing for thousands of dollars in prize money and prestigious honors including the “People's Choice” award selected by audience ballot.

In the summer of 2015 the New York Philharmonic will undertake its first performance residencies in Shanghai, as part of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership, and at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.

A brass quintet from Pacific Symphony is heading to Fullerton to perform a free concert titled “An American Musical Journey” in celebration of Music Director Carl St.Clair's 25th anniversary season. Presented in partnership with the North Orange County Community Concerts, the afternoon of music takes place on Sunday, April 26, at 4 p.m. at Fullerton First United Methodist Church (114 N. Pomona Ave. at Commonwealth). “An American Musical Journey” includes favorites by Gershwin, Bernstein and other American music icons. The brass quintet is led by Principal Trombonist Michael Hoffman and includes Symphony musicians Russell Dicey on horn, Tony Ellis and David Wailes on trumpet, and Fred Greene on tuba. For this concert, admission is free with no reserved seating. The church is providing free child care during the concert, and the audience is invited to stay for a reception and chance to meet the performers. For more information and directions visit www.northocconcerts.org.