Bridgette A. Wimberly News

Having previously partnered in 2016 and 2017 on the New York premieres of the contemporary operas Charlie Parker's Yardbird and We Shall Not Be Moved, The Apollo and Opera Philadelphia have announced a new, multi-year partnership that will support the creation of new operatic work by Black artists.

Lyric Opera of Chicago today announced the company’s 2022/23 Season, featuring productions of classic operas, a continuing long-term focus on developing and presenting new work, plus the return of Lyric’s annual spring musical.

Pittsburgh Opera will present the first-ever Pittsburgh performances of Charlie Parker's Yardbird, based on the life of legendary jazz musician, at its headquarters in the Strip District from April 10th through 22nd.

Audible has announced  its latest Emerging Playwrights Fund class.

a??a??a??a??a??a??a??Opera Philadelphia scored a hit at O19, a?oeits increasingly essential September festivala?? (New Yorker), with the world premiere of Denis & Katya. A timely and immersive multimedia chamber opera by composer Philip Venables and librettist-director Ted Huffman, the new work was recognized with the 2019 FEDORA-GENERALI Prize for Opera and by inclusion in the New York Times's a?oeBest Classical Music of 2019.a?? Commissioned and produced in collaboration with Music Theatre Wales and Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, now Denis & Katya makes its European debut with a tour of Wales (Feb 27a?"March 27) and dates at London's Southbank Centre (March 13 & 14), underscoring Opera Philadelphia's role as a?oea hotbed of operatic innovationa?? (New York Times) that represents a?oeone of North America's premier generators of valid new operasa?? (Opera News).

As the days get longer and Spring hits Seattle in the first quarter of 2020, The Opera Center bustles with free and low-cost activities for all ages. The mainstage operas attract big crowds Eugene Onegin (1/11 a?' 1/25) and Charlie Parker's Yardbird (2/22 a?' 3/7) at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. But, adjacent to McCaw Hall, is Seattle's newest education, artistic and civic space known as The Opera Center. This state-of-the-art facility opened to the public on December 15, 2018 and is accessible to everyone.

The Atlanta Opera broke new records this season. Even before its final presentation Francesca Zambello's new take on La traviata, which closed this past weekend 2018-19 was already guaranteed to be the company's highest-grossing season of the past decade, highlighted by last fall's West Side Story, the highest-selling production in the Atlanta Opera's 39-year history (Opera News).

With a mix of new and traditional takes on opera, Seattle Opera unveils a 2019/20 Season that offers something for everyone. Audiences will experience new-to-Seattle productions of Rigoletto, Cinderella, and Eugene Onegin; the company premiere of Charlie Parker's Yardbird; and the return of a beloved classic, La boh me.

"The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death." So said Oscar Wilde's Salome, anticipating the theme running through all six of the works that make up The Atlanta Opera's 2018-19 season. The six are linked also by their novelty, for under the leadership of Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun, Atlanta's new season consists entirely of stagings conceived over the past few years. Created in collaboration with leading opera companies from around the world, four are ambitious mainstage productions: the blockbuster musical West Side Story, 19th-century classics Eugene Onegin and La traviata, and the Southeast premiere of Dead Man Walking, a major 21st-century addition to the canon. Rounding out the season, Charlie Parker's Yardbird and Maria de Buenos Aires will be presented in the Discoveries series, which breaks down barriers between artists and their audience by providing authentic, intimate and immersive experiences in nontraditional spaces. The winner of a "Best of Atlanta" award from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and an International Opera Award nomination, the series represents one of the many innovations behind the company's current wave of extraordinary creative and economic resurgence.

The Atlanta Opera opens its 2018-19 season with the Southeastern debut of Charlie Parker's YARDBIRD, a new opera about the legendary saxophonist and jazz pioneer.

Audible Inc., the world's largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced that the Minetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village will serve as its creative home for live performances in New York. Audible will host and produce a wide variety of live performances at the Minetta Lane including dramatic plays, comedic shows, engaging panel discussions and more, with Audible members receiving exclusive access to discounted tickets and related audio content.

When tenor Lawrence Brownlee--he of the sweet, cultured tones and ringing high Cs--was first asked to put a recital together by Carnegie Hall, he chose Robert Schumann's “Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love),” the song cycle about rapture, disillusionment and regret as the centerpiece. But in filling out the program, he turned to something very different--a work, in fact, that hadn't been written yet, reflecting his life as a black man in America: “Cycles of My Being” by composer Tyshawn Sorey and poet/lyricist Terrance Hayes.

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'

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"

Tony Award winner Billy Crudup begins performances tomorrow in the Vineyard Theatre production of Harry Clarke, produced by Audible Inc., the world's largest producer and provider of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment. Harry Clarke is written by Obie Award winner David Cale (Lillian) and directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman (Violet).

On the heels of a sold out, twice-extended world premiere produced by Vineyard Theatre in association with Audible, Audible Inc., the world's largest producer and provider of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, is pleased to announce that Tony Award winner Billy Crudup will return to the title role in Harry Clarke, written by Obie Award winner David Cale (Lillian) and directed by Leigh Silverman (Violet).

Audible Inc., the world's largest producer and provider of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced the first class of theater commissions selected to receive support from its fund dedicated to the commission and development of innovative English-language works from playwrights around the globe. Announced earlier this year, the $5 million fund will enable the creation of one- and two-person audio plays driven by language and voice, in keeping with Audible's core commitment to elevating listening experiences through powerful performances of brilliantly composed words.

Will Liverman is a true 'crossover' artist with a distinctive range of roles

Lyric Opera of Chicago and Lyric Unlimited are proud to present the Chicago premiere of a jazz-infused operatic event, Charlie Parker's YARDBIRD. Directed by Ron Daniels, this 90-minute chamber opera by Daniel Schnyder and Bridgette A. Wimberly explores the extraordinary life of legendary jazz saxophonistCharlie Parker.