Ricky Ian Gordon News

Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage does it again with great comedy.

The Collegiate Chorale announces the New York premiere of battle hymns on May 15, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Pier 86, 12th Ave. & 46th Street in New York, NY.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents the West Coast premiere of A Coffin in Egypt, a new chamber opera in one act, based on the play, A Coffin in Egypt by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Horton Foote, for three performances only, from April 23, 25 and 27 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater. A Coffin in Egypt stars mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, one of opera's most beloved figures, whose formidable bravura has won her wide acclaim. Ricky Ian Gordon, the composer, has also composed The Grapes of Wrath, Rappahannock County, and Orpheus and Euridice. Leonard Foglia, librettist and director, directed Master Class on Broadway and Jake Heggie's opera Last Acts. Check out a look back at opening night and the after party at Flemings Steakhouse below!

Opera Colorado announced today that it will present Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly(November 2014), W.A. Mozart's The Magic Flute (May 2015), Giuseppe Verdi's Aida (November 2015), and the world premiere of Lori Laitman's The Scarlet Letter (May 2016) starring Elizabeth Futral as Hester Prynne. A vital presence in Denver's cultural ecology, Opera Colorado is the Rocky Mountain region's preeminent grand opera company. The Opera's programming includes mainstage productions, artist development initiatives, and education and community engagement programming.

Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers (OSSCS) closes their 2013-2014 season with Reflection and Wonder at the First Free Methodist Church in Queen Anne. Clinton Smith conducts the following pieces for the final concert of his inaugural season as music director.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents the West Coast premiere of A Coffin in Egypt, a new chamber opera in one act, based on the play, A Coffin in Egypt by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Horton Foote, for three performances only tonight, April 23 and April 25 and 27 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that American Lyric Theater (ALT) is one of 886 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. ALT is recommended for a $35,000 grant to support the Composer Librettist Development Program - the only full time professional mentorship initiative for emerging operatic writers in the country.

Cincinnati Opera will present the world premiere of the opera Morning Star, with music by Ricky Ian Gordon and a libretto by William M. Hoffman, during the company's 2015 Summer Festival. The opera will be performed at the Corbett Theater at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, which was inaugurated as Cincinnati Opera's second-stage venue during the 2013 season. Morning Star marks the company's first world premiere in more than 50 years, and will be presented on June 30, July 2, 8, 10, 12, 17, and 19, 2015.

Tomorrow, April 11, Houston Grand Opera presents Das Rheingold, launching the American debut of a visionary and groundbreaking treatment of Der Ring des Nibelungen by La Fura dels Baus. As the first staging of Wagner's epic cycle in HGO history, the event marks an important company milestone-one that HGO follows two weeks later with a new take on Carmen from Broadway sensation Rob Ashford. These two productions come at a time when HGO has once again been making headlines, not only for the world premiere of A Coffin in Egypt and an acclaimed revival of A Little Night Music, but by successfully appealing to new audiences. 'The most recent NEA survey shows that only 2% of Americans go to the opera each year. Yet HGO is bucking the trend. Since the 2009-10 season it has seen its attendances grow by 24 percent,' reported the Economist last month. As Houston History noted in a recent feature article, 'many arts programs across the nation are shutting down due to financial failure, [but] HGO has succeeded in remaining relevant.'

The THIRD ANNUAL SLIDE CABARET FESTIVAL is the biggest and best yet with the addition of a new venue, a late night piano bar, an exciting variety of supporting artists and of course, the stellar line up of award winning local, national and international artists that Slide has proven can deliver to Sydney time and time again.

The Collegiate Chorale announces the New York premiere of battle hymns on May 15, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Pier 86, 12th Ave. & 46th Street in New York, NY.

The Philadelphia Orchestra and Opera Philadelphia will join together in a first-time co-production-a theatrically-inspired production of Richard Strauss's compelling and provocative masterpiece, Salome. Two sold-out performances are set to take place on Thursday, May 8, and Saturday, May 10, 2014, in the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall, and will be led by Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin. Audiences will enjoy a groundbreaking blend of the distinctive sound of The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the preeminent orchestras in the world, and Opera Philadelphia's dynamic theatrical presentation. These landmark performances are made possible in part by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, and the Presser Foundation.

The Philadelphia Orchestra and Opera Philadelphia will join together in a first-time co-production—a theatrically-inspired production of Richard Strauss's compelling and provocative masterpiece, Salome. Two sold-out performances are set to take place on Thursday, May 8, and Saturday, May 10, 2014, in the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall, and will be led by Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Audiences will enjoy a groundbreaking blend of the distinctive sound of The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the preeminent orchestras in the world, and Opera Philadelphia's dynamic theatrical presentation. These landmark performances are made possible in part by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, and the Presser Foundation.

North Carolina Opera, under the leadership of General Director Eric Mitchko and Artistic Director & Principal Conductor Timothy Myers, presents “Opera in the Pines” at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Sat. May 17 at 7 p.m. Maestro Timothy Myers conducts the North Carolina Opera Orchestra and vocal soloists Hailey Clark, Kate Farrar, Noah Stewart, and Ted Federle in a concert of Broadway and opera favorites.

The New York Philharmonic will return to Bravo! Vail in Colorado for the Orchestra's 12th- annual summer residency there, performing six concerts July 18-25, 2014. Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct three programs, July 18-20, featuring works by composers for whom he has advocated during his tenure, ranging from Nielsen to The Marie-Jose?e Kravis Composer-in- Residence Christopher Rouse. The other Philharmonic concerts will be conducted by Bramwell Tovey (July 23 and 25) and Ted Sperling (July 24), and will feature works by Copland, Gershwin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Loesser, among others.

After performing nationwide in 2012-13 throughout the U.S. and Canada, LIAISONS: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano featuring internationally renowned contemporary pianist Anthony de Mare comes to the Mondavi Center for two nights only tonight, March 29 (8:00om) and tomorrow, the 30th (2:00pm).

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents the West Coast premiere of A Coffin in Egypt, a new chamber opera in one act, based on the play, A Coffin in Egypt by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Horton Foote, for three performances only April 23, 25 and 27 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater. A Coffin in Egypt stars mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, one of opera's most beloved figures, whose formidable bravura has won her wide acclaim. Ricky Ian Gordon, the composer, has also composed The Grapes of Wrath, Rappahannock County, and Orpheus and Euridice. Leonard Foglia, librettist and director, directed Master Class on Broadway and Jake Heggie's Opera Last Acts.

Houston Grand Opera is presenting the World Premiere of A COFFIN IN EGYPT, a one-act chamber opera based on Horton Foote's play by the same title. Known for crafting touching sentimentality and riveting drama, Horton Foote's legacy is sure to be celebrated for centuries to come. However, this operatic adaptation of A COFFIN IN EGYPT browbeats audiences with nostalgic sentimentality and rarely moves us to feel anything.

The Public Theater will begin previews for the New York premiere of A SECOND CHANCE on Tuesday, March 18. Directed by Jonathan Butterell with book, music, and lyrics by Ted Shen, this new musical will run through Sunday, April 13 in the Shiva Theater, with an official press opening on Sunday, March 30.

The new year has already brought notable success for Houston Grand Opera (HGO), where the hotly anticipated American premiere of the long-lost Holocaust opera The Passenger-hailed by the Associated Press as 'the latest coup for a company known for producing new works'-took the national and local press by storm, and where the company's Rigoletto revival was pronounced 'glorious' (Theater Jones). These accolades come at an exciting time for the company, which continues this season's extraordinary line-up with the launch of the first American presentation of a visionary and groundbreaking treatment of Das Rheingold by La Fura dels Baus; the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's A Coffin in Egypt, named one of the twelve 'must-see opera events of the season' (Opera News); a new HGO production of Carmen from Broadway sensation Rob Ashford; and Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, which boasts designs by fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi.