Anna Christy News

On March 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., The Collegiate Chorale appears with The New York City Opera Orchestra at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall in a performance of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 Broadway operetta The Firebrand of Florence. The performance, led by guest conductor Ted Sperling, stars baritone Nathan Gunn, soprano Anna Christy, baritone Terrence Mann, and soprano Victoria Clark. Krysty Swann, David Pittu and Patrick Goss complete the cast, and narration will be provided by Stage Director Roger Rees. Boasting a score by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by playwright and screenwriter Edwin Justus Mayer, The Firebrand of Florence had a short run on Broadway in 1945. The work was subsequently not heard for over a half-century until three presentations - Ohio Light Opera (1999), the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London (2000) and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna (2000) - shed new light on the relatively obscure work. The performances were not only accepted, but widely acclaimed, thus giving hope for a new life in a new century. Variety's theater critic Steven Suskin says 'I have long believed that Firebrand in concert should be a dazzling delight.' Benvenuto Cellini, the great Florentine artist, is sentenced to hang, but he is pardoned when the duke realizes that he has not completed a previously commissioned sculpture. Freed, he is able to turn his attention to his favorite model (and object of his affections), Angela. The Duke also is interested in Angela. In a typical operetta plot, Cellini swashbuckles around the stage, keeping the Duke away from Angela, keeping himself away from the Duchess, and escaping yet another death sentence by fleeing to Paris, as the end of the show recapitulates the beginning.

Victoria Clark talks about Kurt Weill, motherhood and teaching the next generation of artists.

On March 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., The Collegiate Chorale appears with The New York City Opera Orchestra at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall in a performance of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 Broadway operetta The Firebrand of Florence. The performance, led by guest conductor Ted Sperling, stars baritone Nathan Gunn, soprano Anna Christy, baritone Terrence Mann, and soprano Victoria Clark. Krysty Swann, David Pittu and Patrick Goss complete the cast, and narration will be provided by Stage Director Roger Rees. Boasting a score by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by playwright and screenwriter Edwin Justus Mayer, The Firebrand of Florence had a short run on Broadway in 1945. The work was subsequently not heard for over a half-century until three presentations - Ohio Light Opera (1999), the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London (2000) and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna (2000) - shed new light on the relatively obscure work. The performances were not only accepted, but widely acclaimed, thus giving hope for a new life in a new century. Variety's theater critic Steven Suskin says 'I have long believed that Firebrand in concert should be a dazzling delight.' Benvenuto Cellini, the great Florentine artist, is sentenced to hang, but he is pardoned when the duke realizes that he has not completed a previously commissioned sculpture. Freed, he is able to turn his attention to his favorite model (and object of his affections), Angela. The Duke also is interested in Angela. In a typical operetta plot, Cellini swashbuckles around the stage, keeping the Duke away from Angela, keeping himself away from the Duchess, and escaping yet another death sentence by fleeing to Paris, as the end of the show recapitulates the beginning.

ENO today announces, owing to public demand, the addition of 2 extra performances of Robert Carsen's acclaimed staging of Candide.

Emmy and Tony-winner Tyne Daly joins the cast of 'Here To Stay,' a Gala evening featuring performances by Susan Graham, Judy Kaye, Anna Christy, John Musto, Bruce Adler and Vince Giordano, in celebration of New York Festival of Song's (NYFOS) 20th Anniversary season, on Wednesday, May 21. Ms. Daly has graciously stepped in to replace the previously announced Frederica von Stade, who is not able to perform due to family matters. The concert takes places at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall at 7:00pm, and is followed by a dinner and additional musical surprises at the Rainbow Room at 9:00pm.

New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) will present 'Here To Stay,' a Gala evening celebrating its 20th Anniversary season, featuring performances by Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham, Judy Kaye, Anna Christy, Darius de Haas, Karen Holvik, Bruce Adler, and other artists of NYFOS's past, present and future on Wednesday, May 21 Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. Proceeds from the Gala will support NYFOS programs, in New York as well as national tours, recordings and commissions, and education programs.

Roger Rees, Robert Bass, and the Collegiate Chorale presented an evening of American operetta that lead directly to the American musical.