Benjamin Britten News

Odyssey Opera, a Boston-­??based opera company dedicated to exploring the full spectrum of adventurous repertoire, today announced THE BRITISH INVASION, a month-­??long opera festival of fully-­??staged productions of works by English composers. From May 17-­??June 20, Boston opera lovers will have the unique opportunity to choose from four evening-­??length programs encompassing nine diverse operatic works, including the Boston premiere of Vaughan Williams's Sir John in Love, a double bill of Walton's The Bear and Sullivan's The Zoo, five compelling monodramas, and Ade?s's masterpiece of modern cultural commentary, Powder Her Face. (See below for complete program details.)

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Music Director Manfred Honeck and his brother, Rainer Honeck, keep it in the family as Rainer makes his Heinz Hall debut during BNY Mellon Grand Classics: Brothers Honeck this weekend, April 17-19. This weekend marks the first time the two have performed together professionally.

The fourth Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, Happy Days, will take place over two long weekends, between 23 July and 3 August 2015.

Opening night of Dance Theater of Harlem's 2015 season at City Center began with a curtain speech by Artistic Director Virginia Johnson, who was visibly more excited and confident on this third anniversary of the rebirth of the legendary company than she had been in 2014 when DTH danced at Jazz at Lincoln Center after a nine-year performing hiatus. Her contagious enthusiasm proved to be well founded as the evening progressed with a quadruple bill called 'What's New' that showcased the vastly improved technique and artistry of the 18-member troupe.

ECCE Ensemble closes its 2014-15 concert season with an event featuring works by a fascinating mix of renowned composers, including pieces from its latest CD, 'Chamber Industrial' the first all-Per Bloland works recording. Also on the program are compositions by John Zorn, Erin Gee, the late Jonathan Harvey and ECCE's own John Aylward. Kicking of the evening is the premiere of two works to be announced from the ensemble's Call for Scores program.

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam; the Royal Concertgebouw; and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, David Robertson, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director - performed by violinist Leila Josefowicz, for whom it is written and dedicated. The concerts also include two early 20th-century Russian works, Stravinsky's Petrushka (original 1911 version) and Lyadov's The Enchanted Lake.

Odyssey Opera, a Boston-­??based opera company dedicated to exploring the full spectrum of adventurous repertoire, today announced THE BRITISH INVASION, a month-­??long opera festival of fully-­??staged productions of works by English composers. From May 17-­??June 20, Boston opera lovers will have the unique opportunity to choose from four evening-­??length programs encompassing nine diverse operatic works, including the Boston premiere of Vaughan Williams's Sir John in Love, a double bill of Walton's The Bear and Sullivan's The Zoo, five compelling monodramas, and Ade?s's masterpiece of modern cultural commentary, Powder Her Face. (See below for complete program details.)

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam; the Royal Concertgebouw; and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, David Robertson, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director - performed by violinist Leila Josefowicz, for whom it is written and dedicated. The concerts also include two early 20th-century Russian works, Stravinsky's Petrushka (original 1911 version) and Lyadov's The Enchanted Lake.

Southern California's esteemed Calder Quartet, hailed as 'outstanding' and 'superb' by The New York Times, returns to Segerstrom Center tonight, March 11, 2015 in Samueli Theater.

Vancouver, BC ~ Are you ready to waltz? Rehearsals are underway for VO's rollicking production of Die Fledermaus, onstage for four performances only at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Vancouverites are in for a treat as the all-Canadian cast gets ready to make audiences laugh with mistaken identities, hypnosis by pocket watch, plenty of bubbly, and of course, the delightful music of Johann Strauss Jr.

Break out the champagne! Every night will be party night when VO's intoxicating Die Fledermaus hits the Queen Elizabeth. Be prepared to laugh as the all-Canadian cast transports audiences to high society Vienna, complete with costume swaps, mistaken identities, hypnosis by pocket watch and plenty of bubbly.

Jason Vest, Northern Kentucky University Professor, will play the role of Jean Valjean in the Department of Theatre and Dance's upcoming production of the smash-hit musical, LES MISERABLES, directed by Department Chair, Ken Jones. Vest, an accomplished tenor, is on faculty in the Department of Music as an Assistant Professor of Voice.

Jason Vest, Northern Kentucky University Professor, will play the role of Jean Valjean in the Department of Theatre and Dance's upcoming production of the smash-hit musical, LES MISERABLES, directed by Department Chair, Ken Jones. Vest, an accomplished tenor, is on faculty in the Department of Music as an Assistant Professor of Voice

Ashley Wheater, Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, announces an epic 60th Anniversary Season of Celebration in 2015-16 including three World Premieres, the North American Premiere of Sylvia by John Neumeier, the Joffrey Premiere of Christopher Wheeldon's Fool's Paradise, and the return of Frederick Ashton's lavish Cinderella. Notably, 2015 will mark the farewell season of Robert Joffrey's The Nutcracker. The Joffrey has commissioned Christopher Wheeldon, whose An American in Paris is Broadway-bound this spring, to re-envision a major new Nutcracker to receive its World Premiere here in December 2016.

From today, February 12 to 21, 2015, the Geneva-based Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR), one of Switzerland's leading orchestras, tours to California, New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC to perform its signature interpretations of early 20th-century French and Russian repertoire. Conductor Charles Dutoit, born in Lausanne in the Suisse romande, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, leads the OSR in Debussy's “Ibéria”, Ravel's La valse and Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 in separate programs, and Stravinsky's The Song of the Nightingale. Russian pianist Nikolaï Lugansky joins the OSR in performances of Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. With these programs, Mr. Dutoit pays tribute to the flagship repertoire and spirit of his mentor Ernest Ansermet, the founder and longstanding music director of the OSR.

Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2015, under the leadership of General Manager Bernard Foccroulle, will present world premiere productions of operas by Handel and Mozart; the return of director Robert Carsen's acclaimed 1991 Festival production of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream; and the French premiere of Jonathan Dove's children's opera, The Monster in the Maze, led by Sir Simon Rattle with the London Symphony Orchestra. Major vocal presentations in 2015 will also include a new production of Serbian composer Ana Sokolovi?'s uncommonly original one-act a cappella opera Svadba (Marriage), and a double bill of Persephone-Stravinsky's hybrid musical work for speaker, singers, dancers, and orchestra-with Tchaikovsky's last opera, Iolanta.

CBC's Shift host Tom Allen has created a unique cabaret show that will make a special stop at the Hudson Village Theatre on Sunday, February 22, 2015 at 2pm.

Jason Vest, Northern Kentucky University Professor, will play the role of Jean Valjean in the Department of Theatre and Dance's upcoming production of the smash-hit musical, LES MISERABLES, directed by Department Chair, Ken Jones. Vest, an accomplished tenor, is on faculty in the Department of Music as an Assistant Professor of Voice

San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program present the 33rd season of the Schwabacher Debut Recitals, beginning February 8, 2015 with soprano Erin Johnson and pianist Sun Ha Yoon at Temple Emanu-El's Martin Meyer Sanctuary in San Francisco.

The New School presents its 2015 spring semester public programming in the Performing Arts. Since its founding in 1919, The New School has been a fixture in New York City's performing arts scene, showcasing work in music, drama, and dance by its talented students, visiting scholars, and faculty.