Montana Levi Blanco

Back in December, I saw the chamber version of John Adams’s EL NINO—dubbed EL NINO: NATIVITY RECONSIDERED—at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Pared down to its essence, it was wonderful, starred two of the singers who made their debuts in the premiere at the Met, soprano Julia Bullock and bass-baritone Davone Tines plus countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, who were at their best. It was a somber evening in a dramatic setting—a far cry from the oratorio/opera’s over-the-top welcome to Lincoln Center last night, in Lileana Blain-Cruz’s production that made me wonder what Franco Zeffirelli might have done with it. Think the Parisian throngs in Act II of the Met’s LA BOHEME (which, of course, is one of the Met’s most popular productions with audiences).

Pulitzer Prize–winning composer-conductor John Adams will return to the Met for the company premiere of his acclaimed opera-oratorio El Niño, opening on April 23.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) and TodayTix revealed that a limited number of $45 front row tickets will be available via a weekly digital lottery for all performances of A Strange Loop.

The cast and creative team has been set for the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award–winning acclaimed musical, A Strange Loop, making its West Coast premiere. Learn where and when you can see the show!

In an all-new video, Associate Choreographer Christopher Jackson discusses the gumbo of dance found in Terence Blanchard's CHAMPION.

Learn about the world champion boxer and see how his story inspired Grammy Award-winning composer Terence Blanchard's first foray into opera in this interview with director James Robinson in an all-new video.

Lyric Opera of Chicago is presenting the Lyric premiere of Grammy Award-winning composer Terence Blanchard and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning librettist Michael Cristofer’s knockout opera Champion. Learn more about this opera!

The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee has announced the 2023 Henry Hewes Design Awards Honorees who will be recognized at the 59th annual ceremony on October 23 in New York. Find out who will be honored here!

Kim Moore, who appeared in Hadestown under the name Kim Steele, has sued the Hadestown producing entity alleging several counts of race discrimination and retaliation under New York State, New York City and federal law. Essentially, the suit alleges that Moore was a respected employee, but was fired soon after complaining about racial discrimination.

Soho Rep presents the world premiere of multidisciplinary theater-maker, musician, and composer Jillian Walker's The Whitney Album. Walker's ritual performance flows between incantation, love lecture, scene, and song as it considers the labor of performance itself and honors the legacy of Whitney Houston and so many other Black women beloved, and consumed, for their art.

Miami New Drama presents the world premiere of 'Create Dangerously,' a groundbreaking play written and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, based on Edwidge Danticat's thought-provoking book of essays, Create Dangerously:

The National Theatre has announced two new productions, Roald Dahl's The Witches, in a co-production with the Roald Dahl Story Company, and The Effect, in association with The Jamie Lloyd Company.

In search of new audiences, the Met has followed Terence Blanchard’s FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES with the jazz musician/composer’s first opera, CHAMPION, the story of closeted boxer Emile Griffith’s rise and fall from grace. Honestly, never have I heard people whose usual venues are Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium and Monday Night Football on ESPN talk about how they “wanted to see the new opera at the Met.”

Soho Rep presents the world premiere of multidisciplinary theater-maker and “imaginary historian” Jillian Walker's The Whitney Album, a meditation on the artist's relationship to Whitney Houston's work and personal life, and perceptions of both in the American imagination. The production concludes a 2022-23 Soho Rep season consisting entirely of works commissioned by the organization

Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced the company’s 2023/24 Season, which takes audiences on a global tour of opera featuring a richly curated slate of musical events in six different languages.

A Strange Loop is headed to London this summer! The production will make its premiere at the Barbican Theatre 17 June - 9 September, running for a limited 12-week season.

Terence Blanchard’s opera Champion, based on the true story of the troubled former middleweight boxing champion Emile Griffith, will have its highly anticipated Metropolitan Opera premiere on April 10, with nine performances running through May 13.

The Metropolitan Opera has announced a 2023–24 season with the most new works in the company’s modern history. See show details, performances dates, and how to purchase tickets!

Listen to the new single “Boundaries (featuring Jennifer Hudson)' from A Strange Loop's Original Broadway Cast Recording!

In the ripple, the wave that carried me home, protagonist Janice must metaphorically reckon with her homecoming and her childhood in the fictional Beacon, Kansas.