The Mannes Opera of the New School to Present LITTLE WOMEN Next Month

The New School's College of Performing Arts is pleased to announce that the acclaimed Mannes Opera Young Artists, conducted by Artistic Director Joseph Colaneri, will give two fully-staged performances of Mark Adamo's LITTLE WOMEN with the Mannes Orchestra.

Performances will take place May 6 & 7 at 7:30pm at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 524 West 59th Street, New York. Admission is $25 for the public and $10 for students and seniors. Tickets are on sale at www.ticketcentral.com or by calling 212-279-4200.

The production is directed by Mannes faculty member Laura Alley and designed by the Mannes Opera design team of Roger Hanna (sets), Helen E. Rodgers (costumes), Jeff Davis (lighting), and Amanda Miller (wigs and makeup).

Of the upcoming production, Colaneri said, "LITTLE WOMEN (1998) is the first opera written by American composer Mark Adamo to his own libretto, after Louisa May Alcott's tale of growing up in New England after the American Civil War. This work is a wonderful vehicle to showcase the talented young artists of The Mannes Opera, and highlights the Mannes School of Music's mission to perform the widest possible range of repertoire, from established masterpieces to newer works by living composers."

Of LITTLE WOMEN, Adamo has said that "the novel itself part classic, part mass-culture perennial - as well as its young, lively characters in their antique locale reminded me of opera itself these days: an art buzzing with new writing and thinking while still working with resources." The opera "range[s] between abstract and tonal, poetic and vernacular, song and symphonic forms."

About Artistic Director Joseph Colaneri (Conductor and Artistic Director) - Joseph Colaneri has served as Artistic Director of The Mannes Opera at Mannes College since 1998, which under his leadership has become one of the best regarded conservatory opera programs in America. He has conducted The Mannes Opera with The Mannes Orchestra in many highly successful fully staged productions at Hunter College's Kaye Playhouse. Music Director of the acclaimed Glimmerglass Festival since 2013, he leads productions of La Boheme and The Thieving Magpie this 2016. Joseph Colaneri has served as a member of the Metropolitan conducting roster since 1998 and this season conducts Tosca and L'Elisir d'Amore. Colaneri served as Artistic Director of the West Australian Opera from 2012-2014. He began his career as a conductor with the New York City Opera (NYCO) (1987-1998). From 1995-1996 Mr. Colaneri served as Acting Music Director for NYCO, and from 1991-1998 served as Music Director of NYCO's touring arm, the New York City Opera National Company. A frequent speaker on opera, Mo. Colaneri leads an annual lecture series for The Metropolitan Opera Club.

About Laura Alley (Director) - Laura Alley was stage director for the European premiere of The Ghosts of Versailles in Hanover, Germany, and has worked extensively at the New York City Opera directing such diverse works as La Bohème, Attila, La Rondine, and the American premieres of Kinkakuji, The Temple of Golden Pavilion, and The Dreyfus Affair. Among her opera company credits are Syracuse, Kansas City, San Francisco, Austin, Cleveland, Chautauqua, New Orleans, and El Paso, and Connecticut Opera Association. Ms. Alley has taught and directed opera workshop productions at Louisiana State University, the Kansas City Conservatory, Temple University, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Converse College, Rutgers University, New York University, Indiana University, and for Martina Arroyo's "Prelude to Performance" program. She has been stage director for all full-length, fully staged productions of The Mannes Opera since 2005, and of all its "Evenings of Opera Scenes" productions since their inception in 2000.

About Mannes School of Music at The New School - Celebrating its centennial next year, the Mannes School of Music is an iconic music conservatory, internationally recognized for its musical and pedagogical excellence while deeply committed to developing citizen artists who make the world a better place. Today, Mannes is developing a new reputation as one of the most progressive schools of its kind, thanks to the rapid evolution of its overall curriculum to address the demands of what musicians need to know, understand, and be able to do in the 21st century.

Founded in 1916 by America's first great violin recitalist and noted educator, David Mannes, The Mannes School of Music's distinguished alumni include the 20th century song writing legend Burt Bacharach; the great pianists Richard Goode, Murray Perahia, and Bill Evans; acclaimed conductors Semyon Bychkov, Myung Whun Chung, JoAnn Falletta, and Julius Rudel; music theorist and educator Carl Schachter; path-breaking jazz fusion guitarist Larry Coryell; beloved mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade as well as the newest opera star of today, Yonghoon Lee, Danielle de Niese, and Nadine Sierra; and Pulitzer Prize winning arts journalist, Tim Page.

This year, The New School's Mannes, Jazz, and Drama schools merged to form the College of Performing Arts. With each school contributing its unique culture of excellence, the College of Performing Arts creates opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration, innovative education, and world-class performances. As part of this initiative, Mannes has moved into the newly renovated Arnhold Hall in Greenwich Village, a state-of-the-art facility designed especially for the performing arts. Conservatory students experience a supportive and rigorous environment with enhanced opportunities to collaborate with other students at The New School, including those at Parsons School of Design. In its new location, Mannes will uphold its long-standing tradition of providing access to free and affordable performances for the public.

About The New School - Imagine a university where scholars, artists, and designers find the support they need to challenge convention and fearlessly create positive change in the world. Imagine a community where walls between disciplines are dissolved, so journalists collaborate with designers, architects with social researchers, media specialists with activists, poets with musicians. Imagine an intellectual and creative haven that never has and never will settle for status quo. In 1919, a few great minds imagined a school that would rethink the purpose of higher learning. The New School was the result. Today, it is the only comprehensive university housing a world-famous design school, a premier liberal arts college, a renowned performing arts college, a legendary social research school, and many more schools and programs designed for students of every age and stage of life. No other university offers a more creatively inspired, rigorously relevant education. Their academic centers in New York City, Paris, Shanghai, and Mumbai offer more than 10,000 students more than 135 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

About the Gerald W. Lynch Theater - Since opening its doors in 1988, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater has been an invaluable cultural resource for John Jay College and the larger New York City community. The Theater is dedicated to the creation and presentation of performing arts programming of all disciplines with a special focus on how the artistic imagination can shed light on the many perceptions of justice in our society. The Theater is also a member of CUNY Stages, a consortium of 16 performing arts center located on CUNY campuses across New York City. The Theater has hosted events in the Lincoln Center Festival since its first season in 1996, as well as, New York City Opera, Great Performers at Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera Guild and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater/Ailey II. The Theater has also been the site of many television and film specials including A&E's Live by Request, Comedy Central's Premium Blend, Robert Klein in Concert and VH1's Soundtrack Live.

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