W. H. Auden News

Following his hugely successful and highly acclaimed first year as artistic director, Tom Littler is marking the start of his second year at the helm with a season of new work celebrating rebellious spirits. This includes the first UK production by award-winning British/American playwright Bathsheba Doran, the world premiere of a play about the maverick surrealist, Leonora Carrington, the revival of a modern Canadian classic and a rip-roaring, spine-chilling, body-snatching Christmas comedy.

My grandfather's rice bowl, the only surviving heirloom from Sargodha - the ancestral home and lands from which my father's family lived for centuries - became the catalyst for this project. Seven metals were used to make this bowl: iron, copper, zinc, brass, mercury, gold and silver. Over 100 years old, it is a symbolic reminder of the past.

The St. Charles Singers, conducted by founder and music director Jeffrey Hunt, will present the world premiere of a new work written for them by revered English composer and choirmaster John Rutter when the professional chamber choir performs June 21, 2018, in a concert hosted by Chorus America, a choral music association, during its national conference in Chicago.

The Original Theatre Company, York Theatre Royal, and Ghost Light Productions are delighted to announce the full cast for the first ever revival of Alan Bennett's THE HABIT OF ART directed by Philip Franks and starring Matthew Kelly as Fitz (W. H. Auden) and David Yelland as Henry (Benjamin Britten). 

San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, offers audiences a look at the opera stars of tomorrow with a lively, fully-staged production of The Rake's Progress. Based loosely on the eponymous eight paintings and engravings by William Hogarth (1733-1735), Stravinsky's dramatic opera follows the decline and fall of a profligate heir who makes a devil's bargain with Nick Shadow, abandoning life in the country and his tender fiancee for the wicked temptations of London.The Rake's Progress will be performed 7:30pm, Thursday, August 2 and 2:00pm, Saturday, August 4 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. For tickets or more information, visit www.merola.org or call (415) 864-3330.

The St. Charles Singers, conducted by founder and music director Jeffrey Hunt, will present the world premiere of a new work written for them by revered English composer and choirmaster John Rutter when the professional chamber choir performs June 21, 2018, in a concert hosted by Chorus America, a choral music association, during its national conference in Chicago.

Following the announcement of The Lovely Bones, A Christmas Carol and Everyman rock 'n' roll panto The Snow Queen earlier this year, the Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse has revealed its full programme for Autumn Winter 2018. Book adaptations, comedians, music, familiar faces and new collaborations to join their in-house productions for the season.

Martha Henry stars as Prospero in Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino's production of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Previews are now underway at the Festival Theatre and the production opens the 2018 season on Monday, May 28.

Jaffrey's River Street Theatre (RST) presents The Royal Ballet's special tribute to Leonard Bernstein in honor of his worldwide centenary celebration. This exclusive Monadnock Region RST Stage2Screen presentation will be shown this weekend, May 11-13, as it was staged in London on March 27, 2018, and captured in high definition.

The Trojan War: Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare, Modern English verse translation by Lillian Groag; The Trojan Women by Euripides, new English translation by Guy Roberts and Rebecca Greene Udden. Directed by Guy Roberts and Rebecca Green Udden.

Jermyn Street Theatre has announced casting for Tomorrow at Noon, a programme of three new plays by Jenny Ayres, Emma Harding, and Morna Young, each of which reacts to one of Coward's Tonight at 8.30 plays, and responds to it in a contemporary voice.

New episodes of Poetry in America will be on public television stations nationwide starting the first week of April and running throughout the Spring.(Check local listings as some stations will debut the series at other times during the spring.)

The centennial of renowned American composer Leonard Bernstein is celebrated throughout the National Philharmonic's 2018-2019 concert series at The Music Center at Strathmore. Performing compositions that influenced Bernstein, as well as some of his very own famous works, the National Philharmonic will be the only symphony orchestra dedicating most of its 2018-2019 season to the works surrounding the legendary composer. 

The Original Theatre Company and York Theatre Royal will present the first ever revival of Alan Bennett's THE HABIT OF ART directed by Philip Franks and starring Matthew Kelly as W. H. Auden/Fitz and David Yelland as Benjamin Britten/Henry. The tour begins on 30 August 2018 at York Theatre Royal.

San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, launches its 61st season offering audiences a look at the opera stars of tomorrow.

The Houston Symphony welcomes famed conductor Bramwell Tovey, Grammy winner and Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, as he makes his Houston debut in Stravinsky's Firebird on March 29-31 at 8 p.m. in Jones Hall.

The upcoming April 26 concert by American Modern Ensemble represents two firsts: it is the ensemble's first concert at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall (or any of the Carnegie halls) in its 13-year history, and it is the first program devoted completely to the vocal works of composer and AME founder Robert Paterson (and the second all-Paterson program). About the program, which features six works for voice and piano, including three world premieres, Paterson says, "The texts are wildly diverse, and include poems constructed from reCAPTCHA texts (those texts you type online to prove that you're human), songs about the life of baseball catcher Mike Piazza, online dating, and settings of poems by W. H. Auden, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Richard Wilbur, William Carlos Williams, Sara Teasdale, David Cote (my collaborator on the opera Three Way), and others."

NBA Hall of Fame basketball star and platinum hip-hop artist Shaquille O'Neal reads the immersive Edward Hirsch poem “Fast Break” about the universal experience of playing basketball in a remarkable new 12-part television series Poetry in America that aims to bring poetry to millions of viewers. Watch the trailer here!

Join the Utah Symphony and Music Director Thierry Fischer the final weekend of February and the first weekend of March for two programs of rarely-performed works celebrating the 100th birthday of beloved late composer, conductor, and pianist Leonard Bernstein. Tickets are priced from $23-83 and can be purchased at utahsymphony.org or by calling (801) 533-6683.

One of today's most gifted pianists, Orli Shaham, joins conductor Eric Jacobsen and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate the 100thBirthday of one of America's most beloved composers, Leonard Bernstein on Saturday, February 17 at 8 p.m. at the Bob Carr Theater, located at 401 West Livingston Street, Orlando, FL. 32801.