Benjamin Britten News

Madison Lyric Stage, an award-winning, professional theater company serving the Connecticut Shoreline, announced that it is presenting a young artist production of the Stephen Schwartz musical Godspell, featuring a cast of 10, all 25 years old and younger, with a band of six musicians.

There are certain Dance Companies that are in a class by themselves. Dance Theatre of Harlem is one of them. They not only encompass many forms of the Dance brilliantly, they are committed to diversity in their dancers and repertoire.

I was lucky enough to be one of the lucky ones to be in the Broad Stage audience recently when the extraordinary Dance Theatre of Harlem invited Los Angeles audiences, for the first time in way too many years, to join in with them in experiencing the wonders of neo-classical and contemporary ballet that is both of the moment and timeless. The evening's 105-minute program consisted of Brahms Variations, choreographed by Robert Garland (2016), Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, choreographed by Ulysses Dove (1993) and Vessels, choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultrie (2014), each more enchanting than the last!

It's never a good sign when, during an opera, you pay more attention to the orchestra than the people onstage. This is the kind of situation that befalls George Mason University's School of Music and Mason Opera's new revival of Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring. Britten's complex score is indeed a difficult one and Mason Opera tackles it head-on. They're never able to reach the necessary heights this work allows. This calls into question whether this selection was the right choice for this class of students.

Cantata Singers' concludes its 54th season with two performances on Mother's Day weekend. Featuring sacred music by Part, Victoria, and Harris, the first performance is on Friday, May 11 at 8pm at First Church in Cambridge, and the second is on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, at 3pm at Church of the Covenant, Boston.

Grammy Award winner Jonathan Lemalu, one of New Zealand's most internationally successful opera singers, will join the Handel and Haydn Society for two performances of Handel's Hercules on Friday, May 4, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. at Boston's Symphony Hall. 

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts' 2018-19 classical season showcases some of the world's most celebrated musicians in the intimate Virginia G. Piper Theater.

For the third and final concert of its 50th anniversary season, New Amsterdam Singers, led by Music Director Clara Longstreth, will perform the world premiere of The Wave Rises by Ben Moore, a work commissioned by the chorus as part of its 50-year celebration.

Nicholas Phan's new solo album for Avie Records – Illuminations – drops this Friday, April 20, on the heels of his 2018 Grammy nomination for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. On the new recording, the tenor reunites with his long-time recital partner, pianist Myra Huang, besides joining forces with the adventurous Brooklyn-based orchestral collective, The Knights, and the award-winning Telegraph Quartet. Comprising compositions by Benjamin Britten, Claude Debussy, and Gabriel Fauré, the album is a collection of vocal music inspired by the poetry of two scandalous figures of the Parisian Belle Epoque, Paul Verlaine and his younger lover, Arthur Rimbaud.

Madison Lyric Stage, an award-winning, professional theater company serving the Connecticut Shoreline, announced that its first production of the 2018 season will be John Pielmeier's religious thriller Agnes of God.

Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles' youngest students (grades 6-9)-Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings (PSSS)-bring their season to a close with the warm, breezy concert, "Summer Dances."

The University Musical Society (UMS), under the leadership of President Matthew VanBesien, today announces its 140th season in 2018-19 with an initial slate of 40 performances and events. One of the country's most acclaimed performing arts presenters, UMS honors its past by showcasing respected ensembles and performers with whom it has enjoyed rich relationships, and fully embraces the future as initiator, incubator, and accelerator for innovative new works and projects. This potent combination infuses the anniversary season with dynamic and diverse voices and perspectives featuring artists at the top of their game - celebrating the canon, taking risks, moving genres in new directions, disrupting stereotypes, and surprising audiences.

San Diego Symphony Announces 2018-2019 Season Featuring First Concerts Conducted by Rafael Payare as Music Director Designate, 14 Works New to San Diego Symphony Repertoire,

Imagine Ballet Theatre, an Ogden-based ballet company, is bringing spring to the stage of Peery's Egyptian Theatre, with their whimsical  production of Fairyopolis, Mad Rush, Bartok Dances and a special  performance by PALS on April 27and 28, 2018. Choreography by Artistic Director Raymond Van Mason and the magical score composed by Felix Mendelssohn will have live accompaniment by Chamber Orchestra Ogden under the direction of Gabriel Gordon, The story is loosely based off the books How to find Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker.

CU Presents is proud to present another specially curated lineup of music, opera, dance and theatre for 2018-2019 (see a list of events below). Season ticket sales begin Monday, April 2 at 10 a.m., and single tickets are available beginning Monday, Aug. 20. Tickets are available at cupresents.org or over the phone at 303-492-8008.

The Original Theatre Company and York Theatre Royal will present the first ever revival of Alan Bennett's THE HABIT OF ART directed by Philip Franks and starring Matthew Kelly as W. H. Auden/Fitz and David Yelland as Benjamin Britten/Henry. The tour begins on 30 August 2018 at York Theatre Royal.

With British Summer Time (BST) starting this weekend, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre have today announced casting for Peter Pan (17 May - 15 June), which launches the 2018 summer season in the final year of the First World War Centenary Commemorations. Fiston Barek takes the title role of Peter Pan and Dennis Herdman plays the role of Captain Hook.

When Opera Philadelphia's inaugural Festival O launched the present season, the opera world responded with a standing ovation, welcoming it as 'one of the most enjoyable additions to the fall calendar in years'

Madison Lyric Stage, an award-winning, professional theater company serving the Connecticut Shoreline, announced that its first production of the 2018 season will be John Pielmeier's religious thriller Agnes of God.