On March 13 and 14 at 7:30pm, Utopia Opera presents an imaginative double bill: L'enfant et les sortilèges by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) and The Zoo by Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) in a fully-staged production performed with an 18-piece orchestra at the Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College (695 Park Avenue). Utopia founder and artistic director, William Remmers, conducts L'enfant and directs both operas, while Jeremy Weissmann conducts The Zoo; both operas have costume styling by Eric Lamp.
Tonight, February 25, 2015 at 7pm, cellist Inbal Segev, known for her 'warm, pure and beautiful tone' (Strings Magazine) will celebrate completing her recording of J.S. Bach's monumental Cello Suites with an Album Wrap Party & Concert at The Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center (Samuel B. & David Rose Building, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 165 W. 65th St.).
Two double act veterans, Colin Lane (Lano from Lano and Woodley) and David Collins (the hairy one from The Umbilical Brothers), have teamed up to take on a comedy duo from a whole other era - Gilbert and Sullivan.
Jonathan Church's world premiere production of Taken At Midnight, a new play by Mark Hayhurst, will run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a limited season previewing from tonight, January 15th. Returning to the West End after a five-year absence, Penelope Wilton reprises her role as Irmgard in this production which is currently enjoying a sold-out season in Chichester.
On Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 7pm, cellist Inbal Segev, known for her "warm, pure and beautiful tone" (Strings Magazine) will celebrate completing her recording of J.S. Bach's monumental Cello Suites with an Album Wrap Party & Concert at The Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center (Samuel B. & David Rose Building, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 165 W. 65th St.).
Today in 1981, Joe Papp's revival of THe Pirates of Penzance opened at the Uris Theatre, where it ran for 787 performances. The Pirates of Penzance is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences and critics. Pirates was the fifth Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration and introduced the much-parodied Major-General's Song.
The Pirates of Penzance with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert is an hilarious and hopeful farce concerning Frederic (Chris Yeschenko), who, having completed his 21st year, is released from his apprenticeship to a band of tender-hearted pirates led by the hot-shot Pirate King (the ultimate pirate Drew Fitzsimmons, who co-directed and choreographed the production with Michael-Anthony Nozzi). Performances continue through December 21 at the San Pedro Theatre Club.
Gary Naylor sees a production that delivers much for the eye but maybe not quite enough for the ear - but there's no such thing as a dull Mikado, so he comes away smiling.
Director Thom Southerland, who wowed critics and public alike with award-winning, sold out productions of Titanic, Parade and Mack & Mabel, is next directing a radically re-conceived version of Gilbert & Sullivan's best-loved operetta, The Mikado.
Jonathan Church's world premiere production of Taken At Midnight, a new play by Mark Hayhurst, will run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a limited season previewing from January 15th. Returning to the West End after a five-year absence, Penelope Wilton reprises her role as Irmgard in this production which is currently enjoying a sold-out season in Chichester.
Theater at Monmouth's 45th season continues with the opening of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera, The Sorcerer tonight, September 18 at 7:30 p.m. Bursting with wit, charm, and fantasy, The Sorcerer blends social satire with lighthearted comedy making it a 'neglected gem' of the Gilbert & Sullivan repertoire.
Theater at Monmouth's 45th season continues with the opening of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera, The Sorcerer on Friday, September 18 at 7:30 p.m. Bursting with wit, charm, and fantasy, The Sorcerer blends social satire with lighthearted comedy making it a 'neglected gem' of the Gilbert & Sullivan repertoire.
A season of new plays exploring little-known true stories continues at Chichester with a drama featuring acclaimed actress Penelope Wilton. She plays Irmgard, the mother of celebrated lawyer Hans Litten who puts Hitler on the witness stand in 1930s Germany with devastating consequences.
The heart of the operetta's appeal is the sublime silliness of its premise: pirates from the era of sail plundering Victorian steamships. It just never gets stale.
And binding it all together is Sullivan's music. utside the sphere of grand opera, Sullivan has no equals on the stage except possibly Gershwin and Bernstein.
Back in April, I had the pleasure of reviewing A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER (Original Broadway Cast Recording). My initial thoughts were that the recording was witty and intriguing, but without the context of the show I couldn't really connect with it. Conversely, I got to see a recent performance of the Tony Award winning comedic musical. Upon revisiting the album, I can't shake most of the deliciously clever songs.
A hilarious musical adaptation of a Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, a return engagement of a popular Imagine U family production and a National Theatre Live broadcast of a classic Shakespeare tragedy are highlights of Northwestern University's SummerStage 2014 season.
