Giovanni News

While the cast for the season's revival of Mozart's LA CLEMENZA DI TITO looked good on paper, it didn't even hint at how good the singing was going to be at the Met this week. From top—tenor Matthew Polenzani, elegant and vibrant in the title role (“Se all'impero”), and the great mezzo Joyce DiDonato as Sesto (who delivers the opera's “hit” aria, “Parto, parto,” and more in opulent style)--to bottom, the cast delivered in every way possible.

The North American tour of A BRONX TALE doo-wops its way into the Citizens Bank Opera House through April 14th as part of the 2018-2019 Lexus Broadway In Boston Season. It is at once a nostalgic stroll down memory lane with an original rock 'n' roll score, a gritty depiction of urban turf wars, and a well-told story about loyalty, love, and family. Based on Chazz Palminteri's 1989 one-man Off-Broadway play that inspired a 1993 film, the musical reunites the author with his directors, Jerry Zaks and Robert DeNiro, and they are joined by composer Alan Menken, lyricist Glenn Sater, and choreographer Sergio Trujillo. Like other musicals that have come before it (HAIRSPRAY, JERSEY BOYS, WEST SIDE STORY, to mention a few), A BRONX TALE feels familiar as it evokes a time, a place, and a genre that we recognize. It is a good, solid show with great music, performances, and design elements that provides a couple of hours of entertainment and escape.

Trans punk activist Evan Greer's “She/her/they/them,” is out today on Don Giovanni Records. It's an album full of climate change related queer love songs and anti-fascist indie punk anthems for the end of the world. 

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is presenting  SOUTHERNMOST by Mary Lyon Kamitaki, with a cast that includes Amielynn Abellera, Kimberly Alexander, Aaron Ikeda, Alberto Isaac, Sharon Omi

Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, under the leadership of artistic director Brian Zeger, concludes its opera season with Mozart's Don Giovanni, conducted by Joseph Colaneri and directed by Emma Griffin, on April 24, 26, and 28, 2019.

Scenario Two have announced that three-time Olivier Award winner and current BAFTA nominee, Alex Jennings (My Fair Lady, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Queen, Bridget Jones: The Edge, Babel, The Lady in the Van and most recently the critically acclaimed Netflix series The Crown and Unforgotten for which he has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor) will complete the cast for the London premiere of the acclaimed Broadway musical The Light in the Piazza. A stunning story about the life-changing thrill of first love, Jennings will play Signor Naccarelli the father of dashing Italian lover, Fabrizio.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced its annual Jazz, Cabaret and Chamber Music series for the 2019-2020 Season. It's another musically absorbing year of exceptional and adventurous music performed by some of the world's top solo artists and musical ensembles, whose work will canvas a range of styles and traditions. Subscriptions to the 2019 - 2020 Jazz, Cabaret and Chamber Music series will be on sale beginning Monday, March 25 at 10:00 a.m.

Quando si pensa alle arti performative degli anni '80 e impossibile non citare il film Saranno Famosi (FAME). Fu talmente un successo che a pochi anni dall'uscita crearono una serie tv di sei stagioni dedicata e nel 1988 uno spettacolo teatrale. Spesso pero la trasposizione da un prodotto cinematografico ad uno teatrale o viceversa non e detto riesca a dare giustizia all'opera originale, vivendone di fama riflessa ma senza apportarne ulteriore gloria. Abbiamo visto la versione italiana della Wizard Production al Teatro San Babila di Milano con la regia di Federico Bellone (riprodotta da Giuseppe Musmarra) che conferma questa tendenza.

Judging by the number of small opera companies in New York alone--see the 2019 New York Opera Fest that starts performances next month--there's no shortage of up and coming opera singers trying to make their way on the scene. But there's no showcase like the Finals Concert of the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions to give a singer a leg up--and this year's group of talented performers seemed to give us more hope than usual that all's right with the world…at least when it comes to opera.

As audience members pile in, the set up for Philly Artists' Collective's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore seems more than promising.

Based in Cleveland, OH, Mourning [A] BLKstar is a multi-generational, gender and genre non-conforming amalgam of Black Culture dedicated to servicing the stories and songs of the apocalyptic diaspora. Today, listen to 'BLK Musak,' the second single from the collective's forthcoming LP, Reckoning, which will arrive 5/10 via Don Giovanni Records. 

Netflix is continuing to invest heavily in Italy and has today announced three new original series to bring Italian storytelling to the world.

New Rochelle Opera will honor Metropolitan Opera Chorus Master Donald Palumbo and Metropolitan Opera Assistant Conductor Gregory Buchalter at its Annual Spring Gala on Thursday, May 2, 2019. The event will take place at VIP Country Club, 600 Davenport Avenue, New Rochelle, NY at 6:30 pm. The fundraiser ushers in the Company's 34th season of bringing high-quality, affordable opera to Westchester County.

Once again, the NAACP Beverly Hills/Hollywood Branch's Theatre Viewing Committee has spoken, and the nominations are in for the 28th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards. This year's pedigreed list of nominees collectively represents a rich, extensive dossier of legacies and accolades for both stage and screen. These nominees include members of a legendary 'gospel royal family' as well as a Legend whose part of an elite group of artists in the EGOT winners circle. These, along with all their fellow nominees, will be honored for their excellence on the small and large stages during our annual awards dinner, slated to be held on Monday, June 17, 2019, 6:00 p.m.at the prestigious Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

After a six-year break from his last full-length, Jack Lewis' Awkward Energy project returns with a new album, Lvov In the Streets, out April 12th on Don Giovanni Records. The songs were recorded by Gary Jarman (The Cribs) in his Tartan Hell studio in Portland, Oregon. 

Join the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and the University of Michigan's University Musical Society Choral Union on April 27th at 8:00 PM in Ann Arbor's Hill Auditorium for a season finale performance of Beethoven's monumental Symphony No. 9.

Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theater of California, is pleased to announce that casting is complete for The Public Theater production of Tiny Beautiful Things starring Academy Award-nominated writer and actress Nia Vardalos, who will reprise the role of Sugar for the Playhouse production.

Celestial blooms will create a fantastic space-inspired floral fantasy as the Macy's Flower Show, returns in Spring 2019 to celebrate the start of the season. Now through Sunday, April 7, 2019, Journey to Paradisios will transport spectators into a multi-dimensional world of space, adventure, and discovery through florals and eccentrically landscaped gardens that celebrate the wonder and mystery of the cosmos.

Out April 5th on Don Giovanni Records, she/her/they/them is the new album by transgender punk activist, Evan Greer. It's Greer's first studio recording in a decade and was produced by Taina Asili and Gaetano Vaccaro. Today, you can listen to Greer's song 'Last iPhone,' which features Anti-Flag's Chris #2.

Following yesterday's highly competitive semifinal competition, nine singers will advance to the final phase of the 65th annual Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, America's largest vocal competition. The winners will receive individual cash prizes of $15,000, while the remaining finalists will receive prizes of $7,500.