Roger Honeywell News

Vancouver, BC ~ Are you ready to waltz? Rehearsals are underway for VO's rollicking production of Die Fledermaus, onstage for four performances only at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Vancouverites are in for a treat as the all-Canadian cast gets ready to make audiences laugh with mistaken identities, hypnosis by pocket watch, plenty of bubbly, and of course, the delightful music of Johann Strauss Jr.

Break out the champagne! Every night will be party night when VO's intoxicating Die Fledermaus hits the Queen Elizabeth. Be prepared to laugh as the all-Canadian cast transports audiences to high society Vienna, complete with costume swaps, mistaken identities, hypnosis by pocket watch and plenty of bubbly.

Vancouver, BC ~ Are you ready to waltz? Rehearsals are underway for VO's rollicking production of Die Fledermaus, onstage for four performances only at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Vancouverites are in for a treat as the all-Canadian cast gets ready to make audiences laugh with mistaken identities, hypnosis by pocket watch, plenty of bubbly, and of course, the delightful music of Johann Strauss Jr.

Break out the champagne! Every night will be party night when VO's intoxicating Die Fledermaus hits the Queen Elizabeth. Be prepared to laugh as the all-Canadian cast transports audiences to high society Vienna, complete with costume swaps, mistaken identities, hypnosis by pocket watch and plenty of bubbly.

On Saturday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m., the talented singers and pianist of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center 2013-14 ensemble will perform with members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra in works of Adams, Bizet, Copland, Donizetti, Gershwin, Gounod, Handel, Lehár, Massenet, Mozart, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Walton. Rising Stars in Concert is offered in celebration of an extraordinarily successful year of study and performance for these up-and-coming artists.

Vancouver Opera unveils its bold, new look and feel - the first major rebranding of the company since 1985. The fresh contemporary look is part of the company's new long-term strategy aimed at broadening and deepening its connection with the communities it serves, while building a new generation of operagoers.

Pacific Opera Victoria presents Strauss' ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, a witty mash up of high-brow opera and earthy comedy, February 13 through 23, 2014 at the Royal Theatre in Victoria, BC.

Arguably the greatest opera of the 20th century, Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes, comes to the Canadian Opera Company this fall for seven performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts tonight, October 5 and October 8, 11, 17, 20, 23, 26, 2013. Recognized worldwide as the finest dramatic tenor before the public today, Canadian Ben Heppner returns to the COC in one of his favourite roles as the title character in Britten's gripping opera about an alienated fisherman and the seaside village he struggles to inhabit. Peter Grimes is sung in English with English SURTITLES.

Arguably the greatest opera of the 20th century, Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes, comes to the Canadian Opera Company this fall for seven performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on October 5, 8, 11, 17, 20, 23, 26, 2013. Recognized worldwide as the finest dramatic tenor before the public today, Canadian Ben Heppner returns to the COC in one of his favourite roles as the title character in Britten's gripping opera about an alienated fisherman and the seaside village he struggles to inhabit. Peter Grimes is sung in English with English SURTITLES.

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.

Spring will bring a trio of striking productions to Houston Grand Opera, starting with the return-by-popular-demand of the world's first mariachi opera - Cruzar la Cara de la Luna ('To Cross the Face of the Moon'). Cruzar - an HGO commission that the company premiered to acclaim in 2010, with the Houston Chronicle calling it 'a multicultural winner' - will run today, March 22-24 at the Wortham Theater Center. Next up is HGO's new production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (April 18-May 5), conducted by the company's music and artistic director, Patrick Summers, and starring two of today's greatest Wagnerian singers: soprano Nina Stemme as Isolde and tenor Ben Heppner as Tristan, both in their company debuts.

The Canadian Opera Company's 2013 spring season marks the return of celebrated Canadian director Atom Egoyan with his searing, critically acclaimed COC production of Richard Strauss's Salome.

The Canadian Opera Company unveiled its 2013/2014 season today at a press conference at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The company's 64th season stars the world's best singers, conductors, directors and designers in a performance year with seven operas, including three COC premieres and three new COC productions. The COC presents Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème with a new production featuring some of Canada's brightest stars; COC Music Director Johannes Debus makes his Benjamin Britten debut when he conducts Peter Grimes with a production starring acclaimed Canadian tenor Ben Heppner in the iconic title role; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Così fan tutte with a new COC production by renowned film and theatre director Atom Egoyan with Debus conducting; Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera starring great Canadian diva Adrianne Pieczonka in a role debut; George Frideric Handel's Hercules with a COC premiere and new COC production by world-renowned director Peter Sellars with a star-studded cast; Gaetano Donizetti's Roberto Devereux with a COC premiere starring soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in a role debut; and Jules Massenet's Don Quichotte with a COC premiere featuring Debus in another conducting debut and the world's pre-eminent bass Ferruccio Furlanetto in the title role.

OPERATHON 2012, Lyric Opera of Chicago's annual live-radio marathon fundraiser on 98.7WFMT, celebrated its 33rd anniversary by raising $482,465 during its 16-hour broadcast on Saturday, October 20, exceeding the $450,000 goal.

Houston Grand Opera, with Music Director Patrick Summers and Managing Director Perryn Leech, announces its 2012-13 season, headlined by four new productions. The first of these is Puccini's La boheme, which launches the new season with a new staging by award-winning British director John Caird. To honor 2013's joint bicentennials of Wagner and Verdi, the coming season juxtaposes Tristan und Isolde - starring Ben Heppner and Nina Stemme in a new contemporary staging by Christof Loy - with a revival of Steven Lawless's unforgettable take on Il trovatore. British conductor Trevor Pinnock leads a strong international cast in Mozart's ensemble masterpiece Don Giovanni, while Francesca Zambello's new production of Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat brings together stars of Broadway and the opera house in a celebration of America's own contribution to the art. For a more intimate experience, Daniela Barcellona and Lawrence Brownlee star in Rossini's dramma giocoso, The Italian Girl in Algiers.

Single tickets go on sale to the general public today, Aug. 1, for Lyric Opera of Chicago's 58th season. The internationally renowned company will present grand opera with exceptional casts and productions in its beautiful home, the historic Civic Opera House. Lyric will offer 68 performances of 9 operas in the 25-week season, including 6 new-to-Chicago productions, Saturday, October 6, 2012, through Saturday, April 6, 2013.

Single tickets go on sale to the general public Wed., Aug. 1, for Lyric Opera of Chicago's 58th season. The internationally renowned company will present grand opera with exceptional casts and productions in its beautiful home, the historic Civic Opera House. Lyric will offer 68 performances of 9 operas in the 25-week season, including 6 new-to-Chicago productions, Saturday, October 6, 2012, through Saturday, April 6, 2013.