Benjamin Britten News

New York City Opera concludes its spring 2013 BAM residency and celebrates the centennial of composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) with a brand-new production of Britten's chamber opera The Turn of the Screw (1954). Based on the classic ghost story by Henry James, the opera's libretto is by Myfanwy Piper. The production, conducted by Jayce Ogren, marks the opera debut of Sam Buntrock, the theater director best known for his award-winning staging of Sunday in the Park with George in the West End and on Broadway.

Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director, today announced Carnegie Hall's 2013-2014 season, consisting of over 170 performances and extensive education and community programs created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. The upcoming season features collaborations with many of the world's greatest musicians and ensembles from the worlds of classical, pop, jazz, and world music, with performances presented on Carnegie Hall's three stages and throughout New York City.

Earlier today, TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian announced the 2013/2014 season of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO), this will be the orchestra's 92nd season. This upcoming season, on-stage at Roy Thomson Hall between September 2013 and June 2014, marks Music Director Peter Oundjian's 10th season.

Juilliard's FOCUS! 2013: The British Renaissance festival has announced its lineup, running tonight, January 25 through February 1, 2013.

Houston Chamber Choir presents What Sweeter Music with special guest, noted English conductor Simon Carrington, Saturday, March 2, 7:30pm at The Church of St. John the Divine (2450 River Oaks Blvd., Houston, TX) and Sunday, March 3 at 4:00 pm at the Imperial Arts, Center for the Arts (823 3rd Street, Rosenberg, TX). The Chamber Choir and Simon Carrington offer a sampling of British a cappella music that includes works by Benjamin Britten, Bob Chilcott, James MacMillan and Pete Townshend of The Who.

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts today announces additional local, national and international performers, adding to the 35 partners listed below already announced in September 2013, as part of the program line-up for Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) 2013, March 28 to April 27, sponsored by TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank. With more than 50 festival performances and events taking place throughout Philadelphia, 50 regional arts and cultural partners, and 32 new works, PIFA 2013's If You Had a Time Machine….now includes the star talents of tap dance sensation and choreographer Savion Glover, jazz pianist and record producer Robert Glasper and Special Guests, Panamanian global jazz artist Danilo Pérez and Panama 500 Band, Instrumentalist and composer DJ Dan Deacon, Choir of King's College Cambridge, and more. Tickets go on sale to the public for all PIFA 2013 performances and events beginning Wednesday, January 23 at 10 a.m.

The Canadian Opera Company unveiled its 2013/2014 season today at a press conference at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The company's 64th season stars the world's best singers, conductors, directors and designers in a performance year with seven operas, including three COC premieres and three new COC productions. The COC presents Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème with a new production featuring some of Canada's brightest stars; COC Music Director Johannes Debus makes his Benjamin Britten debut when he conducts Peter Grimes with a production starring acclaimed Canadian tenor Ben Heppner in the iconic title role; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Così fan tutte with a new COC production by renowned film and theatre director Atom Egoyan with Debus conducting; Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera starring great Canadian diva Adrianne Pieczonka in a role debut; George Frideric Handel's Hercules with a COC premiere and new COC production by world-renowned director Peter Sellars with a star-studded cast; Gaetano Donizetti's Roberto Devereux with a COC premiere starring soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in a role debut; and Jules Massenet's Don Quichotte with a COC premiere featuring Debus in another conducting debut and the world's pre-eminent bass Ferruccio Furlanetto in the title role.

Lindsay Posner directs Rebecca Lenkiewicz' new stage adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw at the Almeida Theatre which runs until 16 March 2013, with press night on 24 January. The cast comprises Caroline Bartleet (a woman), Laurence Belcher (Miles), Eoin Geoghegan (a man), Gemma Jones (Mrs. Grose), Anna Madeley (The Governess), Orlando Wells (Sackville) and Isabella Blake, Emilia Jones and Lucy Morton who will alternate the role of Flora. The Turn of the Screw is sponsored by Pinsent Masons LLP.

The 65th annual Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, under the leadership of General Manager Bernard Foccroulle, will feature five opera productions, a selection of orchestral concerts, recitals, chamber music performances, world music programs, and more than 50 events from the 16th annual European Academy of Music. The Festival marks important milestones this year: Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner's 200th birthday anniversaries; Benjamin Britten's centennial; the 50th anniversary of Francis Poulenc's death; and celebrates Marseille-Provence 2013, European Cultural Capital for the year. All events unfold in extraordinary venues, many of them open-air, in and around the picturesque ancient Provencal city: a Medieval archbishop's palace, an 18th century Italian-style theatre, a private courtyard hidden behind doors dating back to the time of Louis XV, and an 11th century Romanesque chapel inside the grounds of a Renaissance castle - as well as a state of the art, 1,350-seat theatre. The official portion of the Festival runs from July 4 to 27, 2013.

The 65th annual Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, under the leadership of General Manager Bernard Foccroulle, will feature five opera productions, a selection of orchestral concerts, recitals, chamber music performances, world music programs, and more than 50 events from the 16th annual European Academy of Music. The Festival marks important milestones this year: Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner's 200th birthday anniversaries; Benjamin Britten's centennial; the 50th anniversary of Francis Poulenc's death; and celebrates Marseille-Provence 2013, European Cultural Capital for the year. All events unfold in extraordinary venues, many of them open-air, in and around the picturesque ancient Provencal city: a Medieval archbishop's palace, an 18th century Italian-style theatre, a private courtyard hidden behind doors dating back to the time of Louis XV, and an 11th century Romanesque chapel inside the grounds of a Renaissance castle - as well as a state of the art, 1,350-seat theatre. The official portion of the Festival runs from July 4 to 27, 2013.

Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) announced today a call for submissions for its second annual Frontiers new works showcase to be held during the 2014 Fort Worth Opera Festival. A pioneering leader in the production of contemporary opera, FWOpera launched Frontiers in the 2012-2013 season. One of the only programs world-wide designed to seek out unproduced works by up-and-coming composers from North, South, and Central America, the showcase provides composers and librettists a platform by which to gain exposure for their pieces in a live performance environment while also affording them valuable networking opportunities with industry professionals, including artistic directors of opera companies, artist managers, classical music publishers, funding organizations, and conductors.

Lindsay Posner returns to the Almeida to direct Rebecca Lenkiewicz' new stage adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw from tonight, 18 January - 16 March 2013, with press night on 24 January.

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced its calendar of events for February 2013. Details below!

Gotham Chamber Opera continues its 2012-2013 Season with ELIOGABALO (1667) by Francesco Cavalli. The show will run from March 15-29, 2013 at 8pm at The Box, 189 Chrystie Street, NYC. Tickets are $30-$250 and are available on www.ticketcentral.com or by phone at 212-279-4200. Eliogabalo will be performed on Friday, March 15; Tuesday, March 19; Thursday, March 21; Saturday, March 23; Tuesday, March 26; and Friday, March 29.

Internationally acclaimed Grammy Award-winning conductor Helmuth Rilling, recipient of the 2011 Herbert von Karajan Music Prize, makes his 13th appearance with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra to guest conduct two performances of Mozart's sublime Requiem in D minor, K. 626, featuring soprano Stacey Tappan, alto Callista Hoffman, tenor Nicholas Phan, bass Michael Dean and the acclaimed USC Thornton Chamber Singers, under the direction of Jo Michael Scheibe, on Saturday, January 26, 8 pm, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, and Sunday, January 27, 2013, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall. The all-Mozart program, which celebrates the legendary composer's 257th birthday, opens with his majestic Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543.

LA Opera announces the 2013-2014 season, including Bizet's Carmen, Verdi's Falstaff, Mozart's The Magic Flute, Britten's Billy Budd, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Massenet's Thaïs, L.A. premiere of Wilson/Glass collaboration Einstein on the Beach.

Gotham Chamber Opera continues its 2012-2013 Season with ELIOGABALO (1667) by Francesco Cavalli. The show will run from March 15-29, 2013 at 8pm at The Box, 189 Chrystie Street, NYC. Tickets are $30-$175 and are available on www.ticketcentral.com or by phone at 212-279-4200.

Juilliard's FOCUS! 2013: The British Renaissance festival has announced its lineup, running January 25 through February 1, 2013. It will feature the New Juilliard Ensemble and more. For details, see the listing below.

The Utah Symphony, under the direction of conductor Nicholas McGegan, will dive into a lyrical adventure as they pay musical homage to the sea in a concert featuring Handel's colorful "Water Music," one of his most famous symphonic works.

Festival General Director Nigel Redden today announced the 2013 artistic lineup for Spoleto Festival USA, which showcases nationally and internationally acclaimed artists in a celebration of opera, theater, dance, physical theater, music, and visual arts. The 37th annual Festival, to be held in historic Charleston, South Carolina, from May 24 through June 9, will feature one of Spoleto's largest lineups in recent history, with expanded dance and theater offerings and two original opera productions, as well as a wide range of classical and contemporary music.