William Stone

Ahead of their Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme, the Pleasance Theatre Trust present a comedy preview season full of huge comedic names, noteworthy newcomers and international talent at their London home.  For audiences that can’t make it up to Edinburgh, or for comedy fans who can’t get enough of their favourites, The Pleasance is the place to be for new and exciting comedy from the UK and beyond.

The second Edinburgh Fringe announcement for the Pleasance Theatre Trust is a whopper with returning award-winning acts, amazing newcomers, European sensations, shows with fun for all the family and political chatterings.

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Neal Street Productions, in association with Hera Pictures, have announced casting for the world-premiere of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti and directed by RSC Acting Artistic Director Erica Whyman. 

For 10 days at the end of the summer, the award-winning, in-the-round auditorium will be filled with four world premiere plays performed in rep alongside cabaret, comedy, family shows, drag, a host of activities for young people in partnership with Lambeth ELEVATE and a programme of community events.

Today, The Cleveland Orchestra is launching its third collection of full-length concerts on TCO Classics, Summer Nights, highlighting some of the ensemblea??s most memorable performances across its first half-century at Blossom Music Center.

Botox isn't just for beauty! Witness an unforgettable performance by legendary pianist a?" and medical miracle a?" Leon Fleisher alongside the Maryland Lyric Opera (MDLO) Orchestra in its debut symphonic performance on Nov. 12, 2019, 7:30 pm at The Music Center at Strathmore. Conducted by MDLO Music Director Louis Salemno, the Kennedy Center Honoree and Oscar-nominated Fleisher will join the MDLO in a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No 12. Salemno will also lead the MDLO in performances of Mozart's iconic Overture from Le Nozze de Figaro; Debussy's Preludes a l'apres-midi d'un faune; and Sibelius' Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43. Fleisher made his public debut with the New York Philharmonic at just 16 years old. By age 36, Fleisher's right hand was barely mobile, and he was diagnosed with focal dystonia, a devastating neurological condition that caused involuntary muscular contractions. The diagnosis left Fleisher in despair only temporarily; after a few years, he turned to teaching, conducting, and left-handed piano performances. After nearly four decades, aided by Botox injections in his right hand, Fleisher returned to the stage as a two-handed piano soloist officially in 2005, performing 40 concerts in 31 cities. At 91 years young, Fleisher is still performing today. Ticket price for the concert are $25a?"$75. Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. To purchase tickets, visit Strathmore.org or call 301.581.5100. For more information, visit mdlo@marylandlyricopera.org or call 240.427.5568.

The Wooster Group will hold a spring benefit on Tuesday, April 2 at the company's home, The Performing Garage (33 Wooster Street). The event will be hosted by Sam Gold, with Frances McDormand and Joel Coen, Cindy Sherman, and Maura Tierney, and will feature a musical performance by Suzzy Roche, Lucy Wainwright Roche, and Loudon Wainwright III.

The marshallARTS Family Series presents The Root Beer Bandits - A Rootin' Tootin' Wild West Musicale, at the Garry Marshall Theatre in a new, updated pull-out-all-the-stops version complete with live band, added songs, a revised book, and all-new costumes for its 15th anniversary.

Guys and Dolls is gangsters, gamblers, dames and more. 'This acclaimed musical, performed in-concert with a live orchestra is 'joy in its purest form!' Considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy, it received nearly unanimous positive reviews from critics and won a bevy of awards, including Tony Awards, Drama Desks and Olivier's during its run on Broadway and the West End,' says John DeGaetano, artistic director for NBSC.

'Guys and Dolls is gangsters, gamblers, dames and more. This acclaimed musical is joy in its purest form,' says John DeGaetano, artistic director for LBC's resident theatre company.

In celebration of the Robert Shaw centenary, the GRAMMY Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is issuing its historic live recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, recorded in a single concert with Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

?After a months-long series of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, a panel of expert judges named five young singers as the winners of the nation's most prestigious vocal competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Each winner receives a $15,000 cash prize and the prestige and exposure that come with winning the competition that launched the careers of many of opera's biggest stars.

Following yesterday's highly competitive semi-final competition, nine young singers will advance to the final phase of the Metropolitan Opera's 2016 National Council Auditions, America's most prestigious vocal competition. The selected finalists, chosen by a panel of experts from the classical music industry, will compete on the Met stage on Sunday, March 13 at 3 p.m. The winners will receive individual cash prizes of $15,000 and the prestigious-and potentially career-launching-title of National Council Auditions Winner. The Grand Finals Concert will feature Antony Walker conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as each finalist performs two arias.

In its fifth season, Russian Opera Workshop presents in-concert opera productions of Anton Rubinstein's The Demon, a Philadelphia premiere (June 23-25), and Tchaikovsky's last opera Iolanta (July 28-30). Performances are sung in Russian with English supertitles, with Founder & Music Director  Ghenady Meirson at the piano. The artists are introduced in the “preview” Russian Romances concerts Monday June 22 and July 27. All performances are free to public and start at 7:30 PM at the Helen Corning Warden Theater at the Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, 19103.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced the roster of emerging artists and renowned vocal coaches engaged for the 13th season of its Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. Under the leadership of program director Michael Heaston, the Domingo- Cafritz Young Artist Program continues to increase its number of performances throughout the season and expand its training regimen to include mentorship by its returning Artist in Residence, the acclaimed American soprano Deborah Voigt. Additional faculty members include voice teachers Diana Soviero and William Stone; guest vocal coaches Be?ne?dicte Jourdois, Kathleen Kelly, and Danielle Orlando; career consultants Ken Benson and Matthew Epstein; and guest drama coaches Peter Kazaras and Alan Paul, among others. The new class of young artists will participate in several world premiere productions during the 2014-2015 season as part of

Russian Opera Workshop has announced its Fourth summer season, spanning two months and two major Tchaikovsky in-concert productions. The Maid of Orleans, a Philadelphia premiere, is presented tonight, June 24-26, and timeless Eugene Onegin takes stage July 29-31. Both operas are preceded by Monday concerts of Russian Romances (June 23 and July 28), introducing the operatic singers and offering a foreword on the upcoming opera series. Performances are sung in Russian with English supertitles, with Founder & Music Director Ghenady Meirson at the piano. All shows start at 7:30 pm at the Helen Corning Warden Theater, the Academy of Vocal Arts (1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103), and are free to public.

Russian Opera Workshop has announced its Fourth summer season, spanning two months and two major Tchaikovsky in-concert productions. The Maid of Orleans, a Philadelphia premiere, is presented June 24-26, and timeless Eugene Onegin takes stage July 29-31. Both operas are preceded by Monday concerts of Russian Romances (June 23 and July 28), introducing the operatic singers and offering a foreword on the upcoming opera series. Performances are sung in Russian with English supertitles, with Founder & Music Director Ghenady Meirson at the piano. All shows start at 7:30 pm at the Helen Corning Warden Theater, the Academy of Vocal Arts (1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103), and are free to public.

He has great analytical skills, approaches his roles with remarkable intelligence, and even accompanies himself at the piano. Baritone Stephen Powell, who sings his first Tonio in San Diego Opera's opening production of 'Pagliacci' this season, embodies the phrase, 'multi-talented.'

Scenes from the opera, 'The Age of Innocence,' music and libretto by David Carpenter, will be performed at Christ and St. Stephen's Church, 120 W. 69th Street in Manhattan, today, November 17th at 3pm, free admission. Based on the novel by Edith Wharton, the opera tells the story of a love-triangle set in New York City in the 1870s.

Scenes from the opera, 'The Age of Innocence,' music and libretto by David Carpenter, will be performed at Christ and St. Stephen's Church, 120 W. 69th Street in Manhattan, Sunday, November 17th at 3pm, free admission. Based on the novel by Edith Wharton, the opera tells the story of a love-triangle set in New York City in the 1870s.