Based on the novel by Prosper Mérimée
Audiences will be seduced by the physicality and energy of Amedeo Amodio's dramatic Carmen. Accompanied by Georges Bizet's famous score, obsession, intensity and drama are found in this modern-day reimagining of one of the world's most famous operas. The honorable soldier Don Jose. The proud toreador Escamillo. And Carmen, the seductive and passionate woman they both love. The stage is set for a tangled tale of passion and betrayal told through classical ballet with a contemporary edge.
Rob, an award-winning actor, has played all the male puppet roles on Broadway and the national tour.
Verdi's grand Egyptian pageant, Aida, returns to the Met stage with soprano Violeta Urmana singing the title role for the first time with the company and mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick as Amneris, one of her most renowned interpretations.
York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director) will present Blind Lemon Blues, featuring more than 60 Blind Lemon Jefferson songs. Performances will begin September 8th. All performances will be at the company's home at The Theatre at Saint Peter's (54th Street just east of Lexington Avenue).
The Metropolitan Opera has reason to celebrate; $2.5 million worth of tickets were sold on Sunday, the first day of sales, through its box office, telephone call center and Web site, up from $2 million on the first day of sales last year, according to the Associated press.
The National Touring Company of Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC will be led by Rod Gilfry (Emile de Becque) and Carmen Cusack (Nellie Forbush), with Anderson Davis (Lt. Cable), Matthew Saldivar (Luther Billis), Keala Settle (Bloody Mary), Gerry Becker (Capt. Brackett), Peter Rini (Cmdr. Harbison), Sumie Maeda (Liat), Rusty Ross (Professor) and original 2008 Broadway cast member Genson Blimline (Stewpot).
Chicago Opera Theater's second opera of their 2009 Spring Festival Season is La Tragédie de Carmen, a 90 minute adaptation of Georges Bizet's Carmen by Marius Constant, Jean-Claude Carrière, and Peter Brook. La Tragèdie de Carmen runs May 2nd through May 15th at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.
While in New Brunswick, NJ the National Tour of Hairspray received a surprise visit from Nikki Blonsky. Blonsky, star of the 2007 film version of Hairspray, attended the Saturday matinee performance. 'I loved the show, it was amazing!' Nikki Blonsky said.
Chicago Opera Theater's second opera of their 2009 Spring Festival Season is La Tragédie de Carmen, a 90 minute adaptation of Georges Bizet's Carmen by Marius Constant, Jean-Claude Carrière, and Peter Brook. La Tragèdie de Carmen runs May 2nd through May 15th at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.
Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of ALT, has announced that the company has commissioned The Golden Ticket, a new opera based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In his announcement, Edelson explained that all of Dahl's beloved characters find a unique voice in this exciting new opera. 'If thoughts of Augustus Gloop being swept away in the Chocolate River, Violet Beauregarde inflating like a giant blueberry, Mike Teavee being demagnified into the tele-dimension, and Veruca Salt being thrown down the rubbish shoot by a gang of nut-inspecting squirrels sound like your idea of a fun night at the opera - or better yet, unlike any night at the opera or theater you've ever experienced - The Golden Ticket is....just the ticket!'
Two important post-Broadway mountings of 21st-century musicals opened in the Chicago area this week. One, 'Mary Poppins,' has had a great deal of attention. Now you can forget about it. This review concerns itself with the other one! 'Curtains,' the exemplary 2007 Kander and Ebb post-modern musical comedy, is now receiving its first post-Broadway mounting anywhere at our very own west suburban Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace. That?s right! This major coup for Oakbrook continues the very high standards for musicals that the theatre set last year, with no end in sight.
Donizetti's comic masterpiece L'Elisir d'Amore returns to the Met with Angela Gheorghiu reprising her acclaimed portrayal of Adina and three tenors singing the role of Nemorino for the first time with the company: Massimo Giordano, Rolando Villazón, and Joseph Calleja. Other members of the cast also making role debuts include Franco Vassallo as Belcore and Simone Alaimo as the quack Doctor Dulcamara.
CURTAINS, the hilarious new musical whodunit that was a 'must-see' hit of the 2007-2008 Broadway season, playing over 500 performances, kicks off Drury Lane Oakbrook's 25th anniversary season. The production previews March 19, opens Thursday, March 26 and runs through May 17 at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, IL. This is the first regional production of CURTAINS, preceding even the first National Tour. CURTAINS is the winner of nine Drama Desk Awards and eight 2007 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (David Hyde Pierce).
Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater, has announced that Kyrian Friedenberg, the ten-year old singer, violinist and actor most recently seen in Gypsy with Patty LuPone on Broadway, has been cast as Charlie Bucket in ALT's upcoming workshop and reading of The Golden Ticket, a new opera based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Speaking of the young performer, Edelson said that 'Kyrian has a wonderful voice, is incredibly musical, and has charisma that is truly contagious. After hearing him sing Charlie's first act Aria from The Golden Ticket, I had no doubt that he was the right boy to bring Roald Dahl's classic character to life in our upcoming workshop.'
CURTAINS, the hilarious new musical whodunit that was a 'must-see' hit of the 2007-2008 Broadway season, playing over 500 performances, kicks off Drury Lane Oakbrook's 25th anniversary season. The production previews March 19, opens Thursday, March 26 and runs through May 17 at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, IL. This is the first regional production of CURTAINS, preceding even the first National Tour. CURTAINS is the winner of nine Drama Desk Awards and eight 2007 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (David Hyde Pierce).
CURTAINS, the hilarious new musical whodunit that was a 'must-see' hit of the 2007-2008 Broadway season, playing over 500 performances, previews March 19, opens Thursday, March 26 and runs through May 17 at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, IL. CURTAINS is the winner of nine Drama Desk Awards and eight 2007 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (David Hyde Pierce).
Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater, has announced that Kyrian Friedenberg, the ten-year old singer, violinist and actor most recently seen in Gypsy with Patty LuPone on Broadway, has been cast as Charlie Bucket in ALT's upcoming workshop and reading of The Golden Ticket, a new opera based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Speaking of the young performer, Edelson said that 'Kyrian has a wonderful voice, is incredibly musical, and has charisma that is truly contagious. After hearing him sing Charlie's first act Aria from The Golden Ticket, I had no doubt that he was the right boy to bring Roald Dahl's classic character to life in our upcoming workshop.'
CURTAINS, the hilarious new musical whodunit that was a 'must-see' hit of the 2007-2008 Broadway season, playing over 500 performances, kicks off Drury Lane Oakbrook's 25th anniversary season. The production previews March 19, opens Thursday, March 26 and runs through May 17 at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, IL. This is the first regional production of CURTAINS, preceding even the first National Tour. CURTAINS is the winner of nine Drama Desk Awards and eight 2007 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (David Hyde Pierce).
On Saturday, March 7, 2009, Chicago Opera Theater (COT) hosts its 2009 Spring Gala at The Spertus Institute's new home on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The Gala Committee, chaired by COT Board Trustee Lincoln S. Ellis, is proud to honor COT General Director Brian Dickie as he marks his 10th year with the company during its 35th Anniversary Season. This annual event will include a performance by the celebrated mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy and dancing with live music provided by The Chicago Groove Collective.
Ren?e Fleming reprises one of her most renowned portrayals when she sings the title role of Dvoř?k's fairy-tale opera Rusalka, which opens March 9. Stephanie Blythe sings the role of the witch Je?ibaba for the first time at the Met. Rusalka's beloved Prince will be played by tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko, in his Met debut. Christine Goerke returns to the company for the first time in four years, adding the role of the Foreign Princess to her Met repertory. Kristinn Sigmundsson sings Rusalka's father, the Water Gnome, also a Met role debut. Noted Czech conductor Jiř? Belohl?vek leads Dvoř?k's best-known opera for the first time at the Met. The production is by Otto Schenk; G?nther Schneider-Siemssen designed the sets; Sylvia Strahammer created the costumes; the lighting design is by Gil Wechsler, and the choreographer is Carmen de Lavallade. Laurie Feldman directs this revival, which runs through March 21.
Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Fl?rez, who created a sensation last season in La Fille du R?giment, star in a new production of Bellini's La Sonnambula opening March 2, directed by Mary Zimmerman and conducted by Evelino Pid?. Dessay takes the role of the sleepwalker Amina, with Fl?rez as her betrothed Elvino, and Michele Pertusi as the Count who almost ruins their wedding. Performances run through April 3, with Barry Banks singing Elvino at the final performance. Zimmerman returns with the creative team that collaborated on her hit production of Lucia di Lammermoor, which opened the 2007-08 season: Daniel Ostling, set designer; Mara Blumenfeld, costume designer; T.J. Gerckens, lighting designer; and Daniel Pelzig, choreographer.
Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of ALT, has announced that the company has commissioned The Golden Ticket, a new opera based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In his announcement, Edelson explained that all of Dahl's beloved characters find a unique voice in this exciting new opera. 'If thoughts of Augustus Gloop being swept away in the Chocolate River, Violet Beauregarde inflating like a giant blueberry, Mike Teavee being demagnified into the tele-dimension, and Veruca Salt being thrown down the rubbish shoot by a gang of nut-inspecting squirrels sound like your idea of a fun night at the opera - or better yet, unlike any night at the opera or theater you've ever experienced - The Golden Ticket is....just the ticket!'
On Saturday, March 7, 2009, Chicago Opera Theater (COT) hosts its 2009 Spring Gala at The Spertus Institute's new home on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The Gala Committee, chaired by COT Board Trustee Lincoln S. Ellis, is proud to honor COT General Director Brian Dickie as he marks his 10th year with the company during its 35th Anniversary Season. This annual event will include a performance by the celebrated mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy and dancing with live music provided by The Chicago Groove Collective.
Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Fl?rez, who created a sensation last season in La Fille du R?giment, star in a new production of Bellini's La Sonnambula opening March 2, directed by Mary Zimmerman and conducted by Evelino Pid?. Dessay takes the role of the sleepwalker Amina, with Fl?rez as her betrothed Elvino, and Michele Pertusi as the Count who almost ruins their wedding. Performances run through April 3, with Barry Banks singing Elvino at the final performance. Zimmerman returns with the creative team that collaborated on her hit production of Lucia di Lammermoor, which opened the 2007-08 season: Daniel Ostling, set designer; Mara Blumenfeld, costume designer; T.J. Gerckens, lighting designer; and Daniel Pelzig, choreographer.
A cast of internationally most acclaimed Verdi singers is showcased in the Met's new production of the Italian master's melodic tour de force, Il Trovatore, which opens February 16. Renowned director David McVicar makes his Met debut, and Gianandrea Noseda conducts a cast that includes Marcelo ?lvarez in his first Met performances of the heroic title role, and three singers who are celebrated interpreters of their parts: Sondra Radvanovsky as Leonora, Dolora Zajick as Azucena, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Count di Luna. Kwangchul Youn makes his Met role debut as Ferrando. In later performances, Marco Berti is Manrico; Hasmik Papian is Leonora; Luciana D'Intino is Azucena, ?eljko Lučić is di Luna, and Burak Bilgili is Ferrando, conducted by Riccardo Frizza. Performances run through May 8.
Due to the overwhelming audience and critical response Sardi's management has scheduled additional Saturday evening concerts with Broadway star, James Barbour. The new concert series, entitled 'LOVE SONGS' will premiere on Saturday, January 31st and continue through Saturday, February 28th at Broadway's premiere destination, SARDI'S (234 West 44th Street - between Broadway & Eighth Avenue). Musical Direction is by Jeremy Roberts. Morgan James will be Mr. Barbour's Special Guest Artist on Friday, February 13.
Morgan James most recently played Sheila in 'Hair' at Arizona Theatre Company. New York: Featured soloist in Bernstein's 'Mass' with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center, conducted by Marin Alsop (cast recording, Naxos); 'The Addams Family' workshop; Pre-Broadway workshop of 'Godspell'. Regional credits include: 'Pirates', Paper Mill Playhouse; 'The Human Comedy', Barrington Stage Co.; Mabel in 'The Pirates of Penzance', Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and Arizona Theatre Co; Micaela in 'The Tragedy of Carmen', Two River Theater Co. Ms. James won Second Place in the 2007 American Traditions Competition at the Savannah Music Festival. Training: The Juilliard School.
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