Franco Zeffirelli News

Great Performances: The Opera House, the new documentary by multiple Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Susan Froemke (Grey Gardens; Lalee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton) surveys a remarkable period of the Metropolitan Opera's rich history and a time of great change for New York City. Drawing on rarely seen archival footage, stills and recent interviews, the film chronicles the creation of the Met's storied Lincoln Center home of the last 50 years, set against a backdrop of the artists, architects and politicians who shaped the cultural life of New York City in the 1950s and 60s. Amongst the notable figures featured in the film are famed soprano Leontyne Price, who opened the Met's present Opera House in 1966 with a starring role in Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra; Rudolf Bing, the Met's imperious general manager who engineered the move from the old house to the new one; Robert Moses, the unstoppable city planner who bulldozed an entire neighborhood to make room for Lincoln Center; and Wallace Harrison, whose quest for architectural glory was never fully realized.

Season 12 of Great Performances at the Met continues Sunday, May 20 on PBS (check local listings) with one of the world's most popular operas, Puccini's La Bohème, starring Sonya Yoncheva as the fragile Mimì and Michael Fabiano as the poet Rodolfo.

Great Performances: The Opera House, the new documentary by multiple Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Susan Froemke (Grey Gardens; Lalee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton) surveys a remarkable period of the Metropolitan Opera's rich history and a time of great change for New York City. Drawing on rarely seen archival footage, stills and recent interviews, the film chronicles the creation of the Met's storied Lincoln Center home of the last 50 years, set against a backdrop of the artists, architects and politicians who shaped the cultural life of New York City in the 1950s and 60s. Among the notable figures featured in the film are famed soprano Leontyne Price, who opened the Met's present Opera House in 1966 with a starring role in Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra; Rudolf Bing, the Met's imperious general manager who engineered the move from the old house to the new one; Robert Moses, the unstoppable city planner who bulldozed an entire neighborhood to make room for Lincoln Center; and Wallace Harrison, whose quest for architectural glory was never fully realized.

BraoadwayWorld has a first look at Turnadot at The Met. See the video below!

Legendary ballet costume designer HOLLY HYNES and costume and scenic designer ZACK BROWN are among the 2018 TDF/Irene Sharaff Award recipients which were just announced by TDF, the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts. Ms. Hynes was selected to receive the 2018 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design and Mr. Brown will receive the Robert L. B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. The awards are presented through TDF's Costume Collection. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, April 20, at 6:30pm, at the Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).

Soho Rep. (Sarah Benson, Artistic Director; Cynthia Flowers, Executive Director), has extended the world premiere of Aleshea Harris's Relentless Award-winning Is God Is, directed by Taibi Magar, a second time, through March 31.

The Peterborough Players will screen an encore presentation of the Metropolitan Opera's La Boheme on Saturday, March 3 at 12:30pm.

Accelerating his arrival as Music Director by two seasons, Yannick Nezet-Seguin will take up the post in time for the start of the Metropolitan Opera's 2018-19 season, it was announced today.

See the Metropolitan Opera's production of the world's most popular Opera, La Boheme, directed by the renowned Franco Zeffirelli, on the big screen in HD at The Ridgefield Playhouse, February 26

In response to popular demand, Soho Rep. (Sarah Benson, Artistic Director; Cynthia Flowers, Executive Director) extends the world premiere of Aleshea Harris's Relentless Award-winning Is God Is, directed by Taibi Magar by two weeks, through March 25. In this play, which dauntlessly cracks jokes as it eviscerates, twin sisters Anaia (Alfie Fuller) and Racine (Dame-Jasmine Hughes) undertake a murderous journey from the Dirty South to the California desert, seeking payback for a horrendous act. Is God Is treats both morality and genre as notions to be exploded, drawing on the ancient, the modern, the tragic, the Spaghetti Western, hip-hop and Afropunk in its subversion of theatrical constructs.

Due to popular demand, The Left Wing, in association with John Turturro, extends the world premiere production of Brandon Cole's Imperfect Love to February 25. Directed by Michael Di Jiacomo, Imperfect Love is inspired by the tumultuous life of the great Italian actress Eleonora Duse (1858-1924) and her nine-year love affair with the poet and playwright Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863-1938). The production, which is set to open on February 4, runs at The Connelly Theater and features set and costume design by the Academy Award-winning Italian designer Gianni Quaranta (Merchant-Ivory's A Room with a View). Turturro's 1998 film, Illuminata, which was co-written by Cole and Turturro, was based on Cole's Imperfect Love.

The Warner Theatre's Met Opera Live in HD Season continues in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre on Saturday, February 24 at 12:30 pm with Puccini's LA BOHÈME. A complimentary 45 minute pre-opera lecture by Dr. Marguerite Mullee will be offered in the Studio Lobby two hours before the broadcast.

Soho Rep. (Sarah Benson, Artistic Director; Cynthia Flowers, Executive Director) today announces the complete cast and creative team for the world premiere of Aleshea Harris's Relentless Award-winning Is God Is, directed by Taibi Magar (Ars Nova's Underground Railroad Game), February 6 - March 11, 2018. The play, with which Soho Rep. reopens its longtime Tribeca theater, dauntlessly cracks jokes as it eviscerates. Alfie Fuller and Dame-Jasmine Hughes play Anaia and Racine, twin sisters who undertake a murderous journey from the Dirty South to the California desert, seeking payback for a horrendous act. Is God Is treats both morality and genre as notions to be exploded, drawing on the ancient, the modern, the tragic, the Spaghetti Western, hip-hop and Afropunk in its subversion of theatrical constructs.

The Left Wing, in association with John Turturro, presents the world premiere production of Brandon Cole's Imperfect Love, a serious comedy in two acts. Directed by Michael Di Jiacomo, Imperfect Love is inspired by the tumultuous life of the great Italian actress Eleonora Duse (1858 1924) and her nine-year love affair with the poet and playwright Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863 1938). The production, which runs January 25 February 18 at The Connelly Theater, features costume and set design by the Academy Award-winning Italian designer Gianni Quaranta (Merchant-Ivory's A Room with a View, Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet) and is scheduled to open on February 4. Turturro's 1998 film, Illuminata, which was co-written by Cole and Turturro, was based on Cole's Imperfect Love.

Revel in the beauty of the opera with an encore showing of Puccini's Tosca on the big screen in HD at The Ridgefield Playhouse on Sunday, January 28th at 2pm, part of the Benchmark Senior Living at Ridgefield Crossings Live in HD & Classical Series and The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD Series with support from The Ridgefield Press and Whistle Stop Bakery. Enjoy the Metropolitan Opera from the best seats in Ridgefield! Rivaling the splendor of Franco Zeffirelli's set and costumes of the Napoleonic era, Sir David McVicar's ravishing new production offers a splendid backdrop for two extraordinary sopranos sharing the title role of the jealous prima donna: Sonya Yoncheva and Anna Netrebko. Vittorio Grigolo and Marcelo lvarez alternate in the role of Tosca's revolutionary artist lover Cavaradossi, with Bryn Terfel, Michael Volle, and eljko Lu?i? as the depraved police chief Scarpia.

Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning's popular Music Mondays series features informal performances and lively conversations with renowned performers and conductors. Monday Music sessions are held on Mondays through March 26. The morning sessions, hosted by Edward Alley, are 10:30 a.m. at Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road. Afternoon sessions, hosted by Dr. Joseph Holt and Robert Sherman, are at 3 p.m. at Venice Presbyterian Church, 825 The Rialto. Tickets are $10 per session. To purchase tickets, visit www.sillsarasota.org. For more information, call 941-365-6404.

The world's most popular opera returns in Franco Zeffirelli's classic production, with a series of exciting casts. Angel Blue, Anita Hartig, and Sonya Yoncheva share the role of the fragile Mim , with Dmytro Popov, Russell Thomas, and Michael Fabiano alternating as the poet Rodolfo. Alexander Soddy and Marco Armiliato share conducting duties.

Rivaling the splendor of Franco Zeffirelli's set and costumes of the Napoleonic era, Sir David McVicar's ravishing new production offers a splendid backdrop for two extraordinary sopranos sharing the title role of the jealous prima donna: Sonya Yoncheva and Anna Netrebko. Vittorio Grigolo and Marcelo lvarez alternate in the role of Tosca's revolutionary artist lover Cavaradossi, with Bryn Terfel, Michael Volle, and eljko Lu?i? as the depraved police chief Scarpia.

The Left Wing, in association with John Turturro, presents the world premiere production of Brandon Cole's Imperfect Love, a serious comedy in two acts. Directed by Michael Di Jiacomo, Imperfect Love is inspired by the tumultuous life of the great Italian actress Eleonora Duse (1858 1924) and her nine-year love affair with the poet and playwright Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863 1938). The production, which runs January 24 February 18, 2018, at The Connelly Theater, features costume and set design by the Academy Award-winning Italian designer Gianni Quaranta (Merchant-Ivory's A Room with a View, Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet) and is scheduled to open on February 4. Turturro's 1998 film, Illuminata, which was co-written by Cole and Turturro, was based on Cole's Imperfect Love.

Theatre Royal Bath today announces its programme for spring 2018, which will include three new in-house productions. Known for celebrating UK premieres of both new writing and forgotten gems, the Ustinov Studio will present two plays in the spring.