Christopher Allen News

BWW Review: THE BEL CANTO TRIO Kicks Off San Diego Opera's Detour Series in La Jolla

The San Diego Opera's first Detour Series performance this season belonged to the new Bel Canto Trio, starring tenor Joshua Guerrero, soprano Julie Adams, and bass-baritone Nicholas Brownlee. All are outstanding young award winners with impressive voices and resumes. Music director and pianist Christopher Allen was their accompanist. (more...)

Opera Omaha Announces Third Annual ONE FESTIVAL

Opera Omaha announces its third annual ONE FESTIVAL. The ONE Festival is a place for wild dreams, wilder execution, and exploration of those ideas on a grand scale. Programming is driven by the artists, not the executives. With an emphasis on experimentation and new worka?'yet not tethered to premieresa?'ONE fosters an environment that encourages and celebrates bold risks and transformative storytelling. At a glance, one might assume this is happening in NYC or LA; but this opera hothouse sizzles in the dead center of our country, far from the coasts.  (more...)

BWW Review: Canadian Stage and Studio 180 Present SWEAT at the Berkeley Street Theatre

SWEAT is a work of social realism, that controversial genre of fiction, film, and drama that tries to be romance and documentary all in one. It casts light on an often ignored part of American society, that is, those disenchanted workers - and ex-workers - whose dreams have been disrupted by some thirty-odd years of decline in the country's once robust manufacturing industry. For those of us with a New York Times subscription, SWEAT will feel like a continuation of a familiar trope, a vivid illustration of an idea that's been described to us again and again, especially more frequently since 2016. SWEAT seems to be answering the question: Who are these angry, bitter people who have set the country on its current course, and how did they get that way? (more...)

San Diego Opera Adds The Bel Canto Trio to 2019-2020 Season

San Diego Opera has announced addition to its 2019-2020 season with the Bel Canto Trio for one-night-only on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 7:30 PM at The Conrad Preby Performing Arts Center in the Baker-Baum Concert Hall (7600 Fay Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037). In 1947 Columbia Artist Management created The Bel Canto Trio, featuring tenor Mario Lanza, soprano Frances Yeend, and bass-baritone George London. (more...)

Lead Casting And Preview Announced For CASTOR AND PATIENCE At Cincinnati Opera

Cincinnati Opera is pleased to announce the casting of principal roles for composer Gregory Spears and librettist Tracy K. Smith's new opera Castor and Patience, which will have its world premiere in Cincinnati, July 16 - 26, 2020, highlighting the company's 100th anniversary season. (more...)

Cincinnati Opera Announces Lead Casting for CASTOR AND PATIENCE

Cincinnati Opera announces the casting of principal roles for composer Gregory Spears and librettist Tracy K. Smith's new opera Castor and Patience, which will have its world premiere in Cincinnati, July 16 - 26, 2020, highlighting the company's 100th anniversary season. (more...)

Cast Announced For The Toronto Production Of The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Play SWEAT

Canadian Stage and Studio 180 Theatre are pleased to announce the cast for the Toronto premiere production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat by Lynn Nottage. A Canadian Stage and Studio 180 co-production, performances begin on January 14, 2020 at the Berkeley Street Theatre.  (more...)

BWW Review: FIGARO is Brilliantly Married in St. Louis

Opera Theatre of St. Louis has opened its 44th festival season. This is St. Louis' prized centerpiece of opera, with a world-wide reputation. It is famous for its superb productions. The company's home is the beautiful and comfortable 763-seat Browning Theatre at Webster University. Gourmet picnic suppers may be enjoyed before the show on the lovely grounds of the theater. All operas are performed in English with super-titles. (more...)

BWW Review: Greek Family Tragedy Receives a Contemporary Spin in ANTIGONE

Young People's Theatre closes their season with the world premiere of Jeff Ho's ANTIGONE, which stands as an impressive contemporary take on Sophocles' classic play. The story begins with the title character's brother Neikes (Jeff Yung) leading a breakout from the re-education facility he's held in alongside his friend Haemon (Simon Gagnon). Before he can escape and lead the demonstration against the facility in the city's sacred square, he is met by the headmistress Tiresia (Soo Garay) who allows him to leave relatively easily, swayed by the memory of his mother who's been left as a "ghost in a shell" after heavy re-education. Yung offers an intense yet endearing depiction of the rebel, and regardless of his placement within the in-the-round theatre commands attention. (more...)

Cincinnati Opera Announces 100th Anniversary Season & Programming

Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, today announced a host of programs celebrating the company's upcoming 100th anniversary in 2020, along with repertoire and casting highlights of the 2020 Summer Festival. (more...)

YPT Presents World Premiere Of ANTIGONE Jeff Ho's Contemporary Adaptation Of The Greek Classic

Young People's Theatre (YPT) is thrilled to present Antigone: by Jeff Ho. An urgently contemporary adaptation of the classic Greek story, inspired by the 2014 Umbrella Movement student protests in Hong Kong and the 1989 uprising in Tiananmen Square, Antigone: will be presented 'in the round' on YPT's Mainstage April 29 to May 16. (more...)

Michigan Opera Theatre Announces New Season

Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT) announced today details of its 2019-20 season. The opera series features beloved classics "Don Giovanni" and "Pagliacci;" works long-absent from the MOT repertoire, "Sweeney Todd" and "Gianni Schicchi," and the highly-anticipated company premiere of "Champion," a contemporary American opera. The dance series features the return of American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem, as well as the Detroit Opera House premiere of French contemporary ballet company Malandain Ballet Biarritz. An Oct. 12 gala concert, featuring acclaimed American Tenor Michael Fabiano and principal dancers from American Ballet Theatre, will serve to launch the season. (more...)

Classic Comedy Stampedes Into Now & Then

Now & Then Creative Company is excited to kick off their 2nd season with the ultimate absurd comedy - Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco - opening next Friday, November 2. This classic from 1959 examines a disturbing and hilarious chain of events that spawn from the arrival of a stampeding rhinoceros...well, was it a rhinoceros? Could it be something...more? The laughs are plenty, the story is outrageous, and at the center of it all, we feel Ionesco's searing social commentary of mid-20th century Europe - which solidifies the play's timelessness. Part cautionary tale, part absurd romp, Rhinoceros feels fresh, relevant, and offers something for everyone. (more...)

BWW Review: 'Losing Your Mind' Three Ways in a Weekend at Opera Philadelphia's Festival O18

Whether from disease, 19th century #MeToo-style abuse, or unrequited love, Opera Philadelphia's (OP) Festival O18 opening weekend showed us three ways that central female characters lost their grip on reality. While I considered only one of them a total success, audience openness to sometimes-demanding material made it clear that the company has found a formula that strikes at the hearts of opera-goers, new and old. (more...)

NE QUITTEZ PAS Comes to O18 Festival

Lauded as “one of the most creative and ambitious companies in this country” (New York Times), Opera Philadelphia justified that reputation once again when it launched its inaugural Festival O last season; the Washington Post found it “one of the most enjoyable additions to the fall calendar in years,” and the Philadelphia Inquirer noted the festival's ambition “not to follow taste but to lead it.” (more...)

The Solti Foundation U.S. Announces Career Assistance Awards To 8 American Conductors

Penny Van Horn, Board Chair of The Solti Foundation U.S. and Elizabeth Buccheri, Artistic and Awards Committee Chair, today announced the names of the eight recipients of the 2018 Solti Foundation Career Assistance Awards. The young conductors hold positions throughout the United States, with posts in Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York. (more...)

The Solti Foundation U.S. Announces 2018 Recipient Of The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Penny Van Horn, Board Chair of The Solti Foundation U.S. and Elizabeth Buccheri, Artistic and Awards Committee Chair, announced today the Foundation's ninth grant, The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, to Roderick Cox, Associate Conductor of the 114-year old Minnesota Orchestra. The $30,000 grant is the largest grant awarded to young American conductors in the United States. (more...)

BWW Review: TRAVIATA Triumphs at Opera Theatre of St. Louis

Of all the composers in the world Giuseppe Verdi is by far the most popular. Of all the operas in the world his 'La traviata' is by far the most frequently performed. Have you missed out on this mega hit? You can fill in that cultural gap with the splendid production now offered by Opera Theatre of St. Louis. (more...)

Aside Theatre Company Presents BUT IN OURSELVES �" A World Premiere

Aside Theatre Company is proud to present the world premiere of BUT IN OURSELVES by Hannah Stewart and Keach James Siriani-Madden. (more...)

Catch SELFIE, The New Play For Teens Offers Honest Look At Consent and Self-Promotion

Young People's Theatre (YPT) is proud to present the premiere of Christine Quintana's powerful play about consent, Selfie. The award-winning play for ages 13 and up will be presented in the Studio April 23 to May 11. (more...)