Ricky Ian Gordon News

Fort Worth Opera General Director Darren K. Woods today shared further details about the highly anticipated world premiere of the company's third commissioned opera, JFK (working title), by the sensational and highly acclaimed team of composer David T. Little and librettist Royce Vavrek. The opera, which serves as the crown jewel of Fort Worth Opera's (FWOpera's) 70th anniversary season in 2016, is the final work in three years of world premieres from the company that begin during the upcoming 2014 season. The world premiere production of JFK will take place at Fort Worth's renowned Bass Performance Hall on April 16, 2016.

On Monday, October 28, 2013, Sing for Hope will hold its 7th annual gala at Center548 in Manhattan. The gala's theme is 'Art for All,' in reflection of Sing for Hope's arts outreach programs that democratize the arts and ignite the spark of creative innovation in all people. Cocktails begin promptly at 6:30 p.m., with dinner and the program beginning at 7:30 p.m. The event is chaired by ANN ZIFF (Sing for Hope Board Member, Chair of the Metropolitan Opera, and Vice-Chair of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts) and will honor HAMDI ULUKAYA, Founder and CEO of Chobani, Inc., America's #1 selling yogurt brand. Scroll down for a look at this year's performers and guests!

The Metropolitan Opera has announced the addition of three new composers to its Met/LCT New Works Program. Matthew Aucoin, David T. Little, and Joshua Schmidt, three critically heralded young composers, have signed on to develop new operas through the program, which allows gifted composers and librettists to workshop new material for the opera and music theater stages, using the resources of the Met and Lincoln Center Theater. Nico Muhly's Two Boys, workshopped through the program, will have its North American premiere at the Met on October 21.

Subscription tickets for the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts 2013/2014 Inaugural Season go on sale on Tuesday, October 1 and are available by visiting www.thewallis.org.

Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers (OSSCS) launch a stunning 44th season with a dynamic new music director, Clinton Smith and a compelling roster of seven concerts inspired by different facets of the human spirit. Smith's inaugural OSSCS concert, titled Love and Adoration, is at 7:30 p.m. tonight, September 28th at the First Free Methodist Church on Queen Anne.

The Dallas Opera has announced the opening production of their 2013-2014 “By Love Transformed” Season: Georges Bizet's colorful, sensual and passionate 19th century masterpiece, CARMEN, one of the most beloved and popular works in the entire opera canon.

The Coterie, a downtown New York-based music theater company, goes uptown to the Church of the Advent Hope (111 East 87th Street) tonight, September 9th at 8:00pm to present their latest concert of seven world premieres and past favorites celebrating the company's commitment to musical storytelling, from operatic arias and art song to indy rock jams and musical theater numbers.

Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 2013–14 season includes the launch of the company's first Ring cycle, in a visionary and captivating production by the Catalan company La Fura dels Baus; the hotly anticipated American premiere of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's Holocaust opera The Passenger; the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's A Coffin in Egypt, based on the play of the same name by renowned Texas writer Horton Foote and starring iconic mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade; a new HGO production of Carmen from Broadway sensation Rob Ashford; revivals of Aida, Rigoletto, and Die Fledermaus; and, in tribute to the nation's homegrown musical theater tradition, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music designed by fashion star Isaac Mizrahi. Through its HGOco S o n g o f H o u s t o n project—winner of the National MultiCultural Institute's Leading Lights Diversity Award—the company continues to celebrate Houston's cultural diversity with the world premieres of two new commissions exploring the city's Vietnamese and Indian communities as part of the East + West series.

Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 2013-14 season includes the launch of the company's first Ring cycle, in a visionary and captivating production by the Catalan company La Fura dels Baus; the hotly anticipated American premiere of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's Holocaust opera The Passenger; the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's A Coffin in Egypt, based on the play of the same name by renowned Texas writer Horton Foote and starring iconic mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade; a new HGO production of Carmenfrom Broadway sensation Rob Ashford; revivals of Aida, Rigoletto, and Die Fledermaus; and, in tribute to the nation's homegrown musical theater tradition, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music designed by fashion star Isaac Mizrahi. Through its HGOco Song of Houston project-winner of the National MultiCultural Institute's Leading Lights Diversity Award-the company continues to celebrate Houston's cultural diversity with the world premieres of two new commissions exploring the city's Vietnamese and Indian communities as part of the East + West series.

Three-time Tony Award-nominated actor Marc Kudisch (Thoroughly Modern Millie, 9 to 5, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) joins Lauren Worsham (Dog Days, Where's Charley?), Joshua Jeremiah (Anna Nicole, La Perichole), Katie Thompson (Giant), Theresa McCarthy (Queen of the Mist, Floyd Collins, Titanic), Eve Gigliotti (Dark Sisters, Die Walkure at the Metropolitan Opera), Amelia Watkins (Sumeida's Song, Song from the Uproar), Jeff Gavett (loadbang), Cree Carrico (New York Philharmonic's Carousel) in singing for 'The Coterie: Downtown/Uptown.'

Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers (OSSCS) launch a stunning 44th season with a dynamic new music director, Clinton Smith and a compelling roster of seven concerts inspired by different facets of the human spirit. Smith's inaugural OSSCS concert, titled Love and Adoration, is at 7:30 p.m. on September 28th at the First Free Methodist Church on Queen Anne.

Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater (ALT), announced today that the company has been awarded a $150,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support capacity building and the national expansion of the company's Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP), the only full-time professional mentorship initiative for emerging operatic writers in the country.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts announces its Inaugural Season beginning with performances by the Martha Graham Dance Company, which open the 500-seat Goldsmith Theater on November 8 and 9, 2013, followed by the play Parfumerie by Miklos Laszlo, adapted by Edward P. Dowdall and directed by Mark Brokaw, from November 26 to December 22, 2013. The romantic tale Parfumerie inspired the films The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Old Summertime, and Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail, as well as the Broadway musical She Loves Me. As a special program, an exhibition on perfume entitled Timeless Scents: 1370-2013, a history of iconic fragrances through the ages is being created especially for The Wallis by Chandler Burr, former New York Times scent critic.

On August 18th at 9:30, Broadway cellist Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf will bring a thrilling evening of music to 54 Below, featuring veteran Broadway stars; renown jazz vocalist, Jessica Molaskey (Sunday in the Park with George, Parade, Tommy) and star of CBS's The Good Wife, Mary Beth Peil (Follies, Sunday in the Park with George, Nine, The King and I.)

The Center for Contemporary Opera (CCO), founded in 1982 and recognized as a leading proponent of new opera, will present the World Premiere of 'Oration' by Danish composer Ms. Line Tjørnhøj, July 26 & 27, 8 PM at the Cell Theatre, 338 West 23 Street. Music Director for 'Oration' is Lidiya Yankovskaya; Stage Director is Jeremy Bloom.

Several alumni and current ensemble members of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago are featured artists at music festivals and opera companies at home and around the globe this summer.

Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers (OSSCS) launch their 44th season with a dynamic new music director, Clinton Smith. After the tragic death of founder and visionary George Shangrow in 2010, OSSCS mounted an exhaustive search for a new music director that culminated in the 2012-2013 season, where six music director finalists each conducted one concert. Clinton Smith conducted the March 16, 2013 concert featuring pieces by Haydn, Gluck, Bizet and Copland. Audience and community feedback was a critical component in the decision-making process. As Board President Pro Tem Paula Rimmer summarized, "Clinton's rapport with our singers and instrumentalists was instantaneous. He has a deep understanding of OSSCS' history, exciting ideas for the future, and a truly exuberant love of music. We are thrilled to welcome him into our community."

Tonight, June 22 at 8:30pm and Sunday, June 23 at 4pm, Caramoor kicks off the 68th Summer Festival with its first ever Broadway production, She Loves Me. Joining the cast will be John Cullum, Ryan Silverman, Brad Oscar, Etai BenShlomo and Jonathan Freeman. Michele Lynch will choreograph.

Tonight, June 19, 2013 at 7:00 PM, two time Tony Award Winning Broadway & Opera Star, Judy Kaye, currently featured as Duchess Estonia Dulworth in Broadway's Nice Work If You Can Get It, sings a solo cabaret act in an intimate Tribeca penthouse with panoramic views of the Hudson River. On the piano will be Dennis Buck, accompanist and collaborator for Jerry Herman, Julie Wilson, Eartha Kitt, K.T. Sullivan, Lucie Arnaz and dozens of other stars.

Audra McDonald will perform her only Berkshire solo performance tonight, June 15 at 8pm at The Colonial Theatre accompanied by pianist Andy Einhorn.