Gweneth Ann Rand News

The cast is set for an industry reading of The Trojan Women, which will be presented on 9 August 2019, at Dragon Hall in Covent Garden.

We're all familiar with at least one fairy tale. We've been told them since we were young. Sure, it may not be the original version of the story, but it'll be one that intrigued, excited and amazed. Fairy tales are a product of society's current tastes, and are adapted to suit each audience member. But what is it that makes them stand out so much.

With 7 lead performers at each performance, an ensemble of 30, and an orchestra of 19, plus conductor, Hansel and Gretel will be the Open Air Theatre's largest Company.

Get a peek inside rehearsals for Regent's Park Open Air Theatre's Hansel and Gretel, a co-production with English National Opera, which plays 14 - 22 June. Sung in English, two casts will sing at alternate performances.

Where are our Violettas, our Salomes, our Elektras--even our Lulus--for opera to move forward as an art form for the 21 century? They're all victims of stress and suffering of one sort or another, but still worth meeting up with--not only musically but dramatically--more than once. I began thinking about this while watching the three music-theatre/new opera pieces that I visited during the opening days of the current edition of PROTOTYPE:OPERA/THEATRE/NOW--The Infinite Hotel, 4.48 Psychosis and PRISM.

New York's PROTOTYPE OperaTheatreNow Festival returns for its seventh season from January 5 to the 13th and the one thing that you can't ask about it is “What's new?” That's not because there's nothing to answer. On the contrary--there's too much, in style, in content, in the sizes of its venues: This year's Festival is larger than ever, with a dozen works, 24 composerlibrettists and over 150 collaborators.

Investec Opera Holland Park (OHP) marked one year since the tragic Grenfell fire with the Hope for Grenfell Memorial Gala on Wednesday, 13 June. The concert was given in memory of Debbie Lamprell, a much-loved member of OHP's staff who was lost in the disaster, and all the fire's victims. All proceeds will be donated to the Rugby Portobello Trust (RPT) and the final total is still being calculated, but it is hoped to exceed £100k.