Mark McCullough News

Lyric's new grand-scale coproduction of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece West Side Story opens tonight and features Broadway star Corey Cott as Tony and rising star Mikaela Bennett as Maria. Additional lead casting includes Brett Thiele (Riff),Amanda Castro (Anita), Manuel Stark Santos (Bernardo), and Adam Soniak (Action). Performances run through June 2, 2019 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago. Tickets are on sale now starting at $29 and can be purchased at lyricopera.org/wss or by calling 312-827-5600.

Acclaimed Broadway performer Corey Cott and rising star Mikaela Bennett will headline Lyric Opera of Chicago's premiere of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking American musical West Side Story, presented from May 3 - June 2, 2019 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago (press opening May 4, 2019).

The Chicago premiere of Lyric's new coproduction of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece West Side Story features nearly 100 artists from Chicago and across the country.

Acclaimed Broadway performer Corey Cott and rising star Mikaela Bennett will headline Lyric Opera of Chicago's premiere of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking American musical West Side Story, presented from May 3 - June 2, 2019 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago (press opening May 4, 2019).

Lyric Opera of Chicago will hold auditions for dancer/singer/actors for the 2018-19 Season production of Leonard Bernstein's musical theater masterpiece West Side Story. Directed by Francesca Zambello, this new co-production is shared by Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and the Glimmerglass Festival. James Lowe is the conductor and the original Jerome Robbins' choreography will be recreated by Julio Monge. Eric Sean Fogel is the associate director. The production design is contemporary, with sets by Peter J. Davison, costumes by Jessica Jahn and lighting by Mark McCullough.

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its annual holiday family opera tradition with The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me, December 14-16, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Based on Jeanette Winterson's award-winning children's book which tells the Nativity story from the donkey's point of view, The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me features music by Tony-award winning composer Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home) and a libretto by the late poet J.D. 'Sandy' McClatchy. These performances star current and former members of WNO's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

Even if you've never seen an opera, you know at least one or two of the tunes from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata, which has become one of the most popular modern representations for classical opera. While the work was jeered at the time of its premiere, this tragic tale has aged beautifully-with a lush score featuring some of the greatest duets. The Washington National Opera's newest production injects new life into this piece, thanks to smart directorial choices by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and a top-notch creative team.

Washington National Opera opens its 2018-2019 season with a stunning new production by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello of Verdi's La traviata, October 6-21, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets start at $45. From the famous brindisi drinking song to the heartbreaking 'Addio del passato' aria, the original 'Pretty Woman' proves it's better to have loved once than not at all. Verdi's romantic masterpiece and familiar tunes are as timeless as the storyline is contemporary, pitting tensions of social class against Violetta's personal sacrifice.

Washington National Opera opens its 2018-2019 season with a stunning new production by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello of Verdi's La traviata, October 6-21, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets start at $45. From the famous brindisi drinking song to the heartbreaking 'Addio del passato' aria, the original 'Pretty Woman' proves it's better to have loved once than not at all. Verdi's romantic masterpiece and familiar tunes are as timeless as the storyline is contemporary, pitting tensions of social class against Violetta's personal sacrifice.

Anyone who loves Leos Janacek's gorgeous but grim operas--JENUFA, KATYA KABANOVA, MAKROPOLOUS--might be surprised by THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN. It's being presented, now through August, in a handsome production at the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, NY.

Yes, it's still the Leonard Bernstein centennial and what better way to celebrate than at the Glimmerglass Festival with WEST SIDE STORY. It remains a unique creation, the collaboration of four geniuses: Bernstein himself, of course, Jerome Robbins (choreographer-director), Arthur Laurents (book) and then-newcomer Stephen Sondheim (lyricist/co-lyricist). Directed here with a deft hand by Francesca Zambello, the Festival's Artistic & General Director, and choreographed by Julio Monge

Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) announced today the casts and creative teams for the 2019 Festival season, including the world premiere of composer-librettist Rachel J. Peters's delightfully wicked opera, Companionship. Adapted from the short story by internationally bestselling author Arthur Phillips, this delicious dark comedy about an obsession with dough, mirrors our modern world, where what we consume becomes all-consuming. Selected as a winner of the 2018 FWOpera Frontiers showcase, the work will receive a fully staged production next spring at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, as part of FWOpera's alternative venue series, Opera Unbound.

San Francisco Opera's presentation of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) opens tonight with the first of three complete cycles, each presented over the course of one week as the composer originally intended, from June 12 through July 1 at the War Memorial Opera House. Encompassing four operas-Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung-and more than 17 hours, Wagner's Ring is one of the most ambitious works of music, theater and stagecraft ever created.

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, running now through May 26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, running now through May 26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Check out photos of the production below!

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, running now through May 26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Check out photos of the production below!

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, running now through May 26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Check out photos of the production below!

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, May 5-26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Candide is one of Bernstein's most popular and enduring works, blurring the lines between opera and musical theater. Heading the all-American cast are three powerhouses from the world of opera: tenor Alek Shrader in his WNO debut in the title role, soprano Kathryn Lewek as his forlorn love interest Cunegonde, and WNO audience favorite and local legend Denyce Graves as the Old Lady. This new-to-Washington production, the centerpiece of the Kennedy Center's season-long Leonard Bernstein at 100 celebration, is directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by Nicole Paiement.