American soprano Emily Pogorelc makes her Washington National Opera (WNO) debut as Candide's forlorn love interest, Cunegonde, in Leonard Bernstein's effervescent social critique that blurs the lines between opera and musical theater. Candide runs from May 5-26, 2018 at the Kennedy Center Opera House.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced programming for its 2018-2019 season of Performances for Young Audiences, featuring trailblazing journeys in theater, music, and dance that will inspire and resonate with audiences of all ages. The Kennedy Center has commissioned and co-commissioned six world premiere works that will bring audiences on expeditions through time and place to Birmingham in the 1960s, through a young man's imagination in present day New York City, and even to the stars and beyond.
This May, two different artistic genres-street art and opera-are coming together for Seattle Opera's Aida. Acclaimed stage director Francesca Zambello was looking to create something unique when she asked the graffiti artist RETNA (born Marquis Duriel Lewis) to collaborate with her on a new production of Verdi's masterpiece. RETNA created the bold visual backdrops for Aida with his same distinct style, a type of graphic lettering and illuminated script that has earned him commissions from Usher and Justin Bieber.
The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, a department within the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University, will honor legendary Broadway lighting designer, Natasha Katz, with the 2018 Apple Award on Thursday, April 19, 2018 during an invitation-only ceremony at the Fisher Theatre prior to that evening's performance of Broadway's 'School of Rock,' for which Ms. Katz designed the lighting.
Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein's biting satire Candide, May 5-26, 2018, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Candide is one of Bernstein's most popular and enduring works, blurring the lines between opera and musical theater. Heading the all-American cast are three powerhouses from the world of opera: tenor Alek Shrader in his WNO debut in the title role, soprano Kathryn Lewek as his forlorn love interest Cunegonde, and WNO audience favorite and local legend Denyce Graves as the Old Lady. This new-to-Washington production, the centerpiece of the Kennedy Center's season-long Leonard Bernstein at 100 celebration, is directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by Nicole Paiement.
Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced the date and partial casting for its 2018 WNO Gala, which takes place on Sunday, May 20 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. The annual Gala concert features a world-class cast starring Tony and GRAMMY Award-winning actor Patti LuPone; Emmy-nominated singer and actor Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, 30 Rock); and stars from WNO's current season—mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (Rosina in The Barber of Seville) and soprano Kathryn Lewek (Cunegonde in Candide)—as well as members of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program and other special guests to be announced at a later date. Renowned baritone Nathan Gunn will host and perform, alongside his wife, pianist Julie Gunn. Conductor John DeMain leads the WNO Orchestra in this event honoring the centennial of iconic composer, conductor, educator, and humanitarian Leonard Bernstein's birth. The WNO Gala is the culminating event in this season's Center-wide celebration of the musical genius, and Jamie Bernstein, the composer's eldest daughter, will also participate in the festivities. Gala packages for the full evening include a cocktail reception on the Kennedy Center's River Terrace at 4:30 p.m., followed by the 6 p.m. performance. The event concludes with elegant dinners hosted by Ambassadors and foreign dignitaries at embassies and residences throughout Washington.
A season filled with unforgettable music, thrilling singers from around the world, and stirring new productions goes on sale via subscription Wednesday, February 7 at 10am. Seven new and new-to-Chicago productions, including four Lyric premieres, will engage and entertain audiences from October 2018 through June 2019.
The Atlanta Opera presents its most exciting season to date in 2018-19. The mainstage season will be bookended by two of the greatest blockbusters in the repertoire, as well as the most performed American opera of the 21st century, and Tchaikovsky's timeless masterpiece. The Discoveries series features two distinct styles in a jazz-infused 'Be-Bopera' and a tango opera presented at beloved local venue, the red velvet cabaret Le Maison Rouge.
San Francisco Opera presents Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) in three complete cycles, each presented over the course of one week as the composer originally intended, from June 12 through July 1 at the War Memorial Opera House. Encompassing four operas-Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung-and more than 17 hours, the story and music of Wagner's Ring are the acme of the operatic artform and one of the most ambitious works of music, theater and stagecraft ever created. In anticipation of the performances, San Francisco Opera today announced a schedule for its Ring Festival events designed to provide the public, from first-timers to experienced Ring-goers, with enriching activities including lectures, symposia, film screenings, musical programs, public discussions and a Ring Community Day for families.
Houston Grand Opera presents Bernstein's West Side Story (April 20 - May 6), Bellini's Norma (April 27 - May 11), and return of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (May 17, 19, 20) at HGO Resilience Theater World's first mariachi opera returns after New York triumph Houston, January 29, 2018 - Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present the first major American opera house production of Leonard Bernstein ' s landmark musical West Side Story, April 20 - May 6, and Bellini's vocal powerhouse Norma, April 27 - May 11, in the HGO Resil i ence Theater at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Washington National Opera (WNO), led by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, announces its 2018-2019 season, one that continues its focus on bold productions of classic operas, fascinating contemporary perspectives, and the best in American artistry. The season includes a new WNO production of Verdi's classic romantic drama La traviata, the company premiere of Kevin Puts's and Mark Campbell's Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night, Tchaikovsky's epic Eugene Onegin, Gounod's devilishly entertaining Faust, and Puccini's towering masterpiece Tosca. The season also features a weekend of four world premieres during the American Opera Initiative Festival; a revival of WNO's hit world-premiere holiday family opera The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me; a special Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist performance of La traviata; and other exciting vocal events, including the annual Mars, lnc.'s Opera in the Outfield.
Due to ticket demand, LA Opera has scheduled an additional matinee performance of Candide, Leonard Bernstein's 1956 Broadway classic. The added performance will take place on Saturday, February 17, at 2pm.
On January 27, 2018, Los Angeles Opera presented the Bernstein work at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with a cast that included Emmy-winning television star Kelsey Grammer. He is best remembered for his two-decade-long portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the situation comedies Cheers, Wings, and Frasier. As Voltaire and Pangloss, Grammer had a huge speaking role that he acquitted with a commanding personality and considerable wit. Surprisingly, he sang quite well, too.
From the moment the amazing James Conlon-conducted orchestra began their crisp, lively 'Overture' to 'Quartet Finale,' the close of Act One; this remarkable production of CANDIDE entranced the Dorothy Chandler audience. Then after a short intermission, these talented performers and musicians had the audience right back in the palms of their skilled hands, beyond the tears-inducing finale 'Make Our Garden Grow,' to the extended and most deserved standing ovation for the cast, orchestra, and creatives.
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present its 2018-19 season in its creative home at Houston's Wortham Theater Center after a year of displacement due to damage to the building from Hurricane Harvey. The 64th season will open October 19, 2018, with HGO's first performances in 20 years of Wagner's romantic ghost story The Flying Dutchman, in a new production featuring baritoneAndrzej Dobber as the Dutchman and the role debut of award-winning American soprano and HGO Studio alumna Rachel Willis-S rensen as Senta. To close the season, the new Kasper Holten production of Mozart's Don Giovanni featuring the HGO debut of baritone Philippe Sly in the title role and the role debut of soprano Ailyn P rez as Donna Anna will be presented in repertory with The Phoenix, a world premiere about the colorful life of Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart's librettist for the masterful Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and Cos fan tutte. The new work, written by composer Tarik O'Regan and librettist John Caird, will star renowned baritone Thomas Hampson as Lorenzo da Ponte in a belated HGO debut and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni as Da Ponte's son, Lorenzo. HGO will also present a revival of Daniel Cat n's ethereal Florencia en el Amazonas with internationally acclaimed soprano and HGO Studio alumna Ana Mar a Mart nez in the title role; the first HGO presentation of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers with the stellar tenor and baritone pairing of Lawrence Brownlee and Mariusz Kwiecien in the title roles along with soprano Andrea Carroll; and the return of HGO's 2012 production of Puccini's perennial classic La boh me, featuring the role debut of soprano and HGO Studio alumna Nicole Heaston as Mim .
Washington National Opera (WNO) presents the sixth season of its acclaimed American Opera Initiative, a comprehensive commissioning program that brings contemporary American stories to the stage while fostering the talents of rising American composers and librettists. All of the program's world premiere operas are presented during the American Opera Initiative Festival weekend,January 19 21, 2018, all in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. The festival begins with the world premiere of a new hour-long work by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek, Proving Up, on January 19 and 21, 2018, directed by Alison Moritz and conducted by Christopher Rountree, both in their WNO debuts. Three new pairings of opera composers and librettists Nathan Fletcher and Megan Cohen, Gity Razaz and Sara Cooper, John Glover and Erin Bregman offer new, one-act operas during the festival. Two semi-staged concert performances of each 20-minute opera are presented on January 20, 2018.
San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock today announced plans for the 2018 19 Season. The Company's 96th Season will open Friday, September 7 with a gala double-bill performance of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in Jos Cura's production with an international cast featuring Lianna Haroutounian, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Roberto Aronica, Marco Berti and Dimitri Platanias, conducted by Daniele Callegari. To usher in the new opera season, San Francisco Opera Guild will produce its signature benefit event, Opera Ball 2018.
San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock today announced plans for the 2018 19 Season. The Company's 96th Season will open Friday, September 7 with a gala double-bill performance of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in Jos Cura's production with an international cast featuring Lianna Haroutounian, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Roberto Aronica, Marco Berti and Dimitri Platanias, conducted by Daniele Callegari. To usher in the new opera season, San Francisco Opera Guild will produce its signature benefit event, Opera Ball 2018.
The Metropolitan Opera and The Juilliard School present an 'Evening of Verdi' in their seventh collaboration on Friday, February 23, 2018, at 8pm in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Evan Rogister, an alumnus of Juilliard and guest conductor at the Met this season, conducts scenes from Verdi's operas with singers from the Met Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and the Juilliard Orchestra. Stephen Wadsworth provides concert stage direction for excerpts from I Lombardi alla prima crociata, Stiffelio, Falstaff, and Rigoletto.
The Little Mermaid, based on the Disney film and the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, opened on this day in 2008 at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
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