Benjamin Britten News

The little OPERA theatre of ny(LOTNY) presents the New York Premiere of Benjamin Britten's opera in two acts, OWEN WINGRAVE, with libretto by Myfanwy Piper, at GK Arts Center, 29 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY, from May 9-12, 2019, with performances Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $20-$45 and are available at www.ticketcentral.com.

With over 20 companies presenting more than 25 events throughout the city, the Fest will once again prove how opera can be fresh, vital, and relevant, exploring contemporary themes of gender roles, LGBTQ rights, toxic masculinity, political satire, global warming, and more.

Today the Edinburgh International Festival revealed that the Orchestre de Paris will perform at the Usher Hall as part of the 2019 International Festival.

Diablo Ballet celebrates 25 years with a new full-length ballet from Julia Adam, accompanied live by the Contra Costa Wind Symphony at the Lesher Center for the Arts, March 22-23.

The pre-eminent leading man of Australian musical theatre, Anthony Warlow, will be joined by one of Australia's best-known stage and screen performers, the incomparable Gina Riley, when the pair join forces in this spectacular re-imagined concert version of the musical thriller SWEENEY TODD: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Acclaimed actress Paula Plum directs a cast of Boston-area singers and actors this week to explore the myth of Lucretia, the ancient Roman woman whose cruel sexual violation brought down an empire, and whose story has been retold for centuries by poets, playwrights and painters.  The free public event, "Reclaiming Lucretia: Responding to Sexual Violence through Music, Poetry and Story," takes place Thursday, February 7 at 6 pm at District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue in the Boston Seaport. RSVPs are encouraged at BLO.org/calendar.

On Friday, February 22, 2018, the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra releases its next album Mahler 9 - Live From Boston Symphony Hall, led by conductor Benjamin Zander, on Brattle Media.

Boston Lyric Opera's (BLO) season of rebels and dissenters continues into Spring 2019 with tales of strong women helmed by women directors. BLO's productions of THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA and THE HANDMAID'S TALE tell startlingly relevant stories -- both with extraordinary music, and both produced in distinctive, non-traditional spaces. Artistic and General Director Esther Nelson says the spring season highlights stories from which female characters emerge as moral and societal touchstones.

Inland Pacific Ballet's spectacular landmark production boasts magnificent sets (even a live shipwreck!), a cast of delightful sea creatures, ornate costumes, puppetry, and beautiful dance to create a magical ocean world with a cast of delightful undersea creatures which are a feast for the eyes.

As its programming for 2019/20 again affirms, the spirit of Wigmore Hall is exemplified by both continuity and renewal: artists who have enjoyed decades of association with the Hall and artists it has nurtured into the primes of their careers; the indispensable composers of the past and the innovators and improvisers of today; participatory projects for older people and for children; the irreplaceable immediacy of live concerts and their mediation through technology, bringing them to ever wider audiences via Wigmore Hall's own streaming service or via partners like the BBC.

San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock today announced repertory and casting for the Company's 97th Season, opening Friday, September 6, 2019, with a gala performance of Charles Gounod's Romeo and Juliet (Rom o et Juliette) starring tenor Bryan Hymel and soprano Nadine Sierra in Op ra de Monte-Carlo Director Jean-Louis Grinda's production. In keeping with the Company's time-honored tradition, the new season will be inaugurated with San Francisco Opera Guild's elegant, signature benefit and celebration, Opera Ball 2019.

The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO), led by conductor Benjamin Zander, performs three works showcasing the mastery of the colors and virtuosity of a modern large orchestra on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at Symphony Hall.

Rafael Payare's initial concert as Music Director Designate of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra featured four familiar and easily appreciated pieces, including Mozart's Overture to Don Giovanni and the topically related Don Juan by Richard Strauss. In a different program two nights later Payare repeated only Strauss's tone poem. Its optimism recalled the mood of the earlier concert while its darkness signaled the predominant mood of the revised program. San Diego's new conductor-to-be managed to excite sellout audiences both nights.

Early Music Vancouver (EMV) proudly presents one of the world's preeminent vocal ensembles, The King's Singers with their programme of Royal Blood: Music for Henry VIII, at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, February 9, 2019 at 7:30pm.

Harry Christophers and his world-renowned choir The Sixteen will present An Immortal Legacy in Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (QPAC) Concert Hall on Thursday 14 March 2019.

On January 4 and January 5, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) heats-up wintertime with dramatic works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Benjamin Britten, and Edward Elgar. Guest conductor Karina Canellakis leads the CSO in performing three pieces, including Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with guest pianist Kirill Gerstein

What a bizarre year 2018 has been. In the months that saw too much Trump, devastating Californian wildfires, an escalation in the refugee crisis, not to mention the dreaded 'B' word, it makes me more grateful than ever for the pure escapism that live theatre so often provides.

Early next year, Opera Philadelphia follows the success of O18, the second edition of its season-launching festival, with four performances of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream led by Music Director Corrado Rovaris at the historic Academy of Music (Feb 8-17). Starring the dream team of Tim Mead, Anna Christy, and Game of Thrones alum Miltos Yerolemou, all making company debuts, the production marks the long-awaited first American presentation of Robert Carsen's classic staging of the opera, which has been touring the world for more than a quarter of a century.

California School of the Arts - San Gabriel Valley (CSArts-SGV) students  celebrate the holiday season with festive winter concerts and holiday events throughout the community.

Solistas Ensamble del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA) ofrecerá su último concierto de temporada con la participación de la Schola Cantorum de México.