Houston Grand Opera News

Washington National Opera, under the leadership of GeneralDirector Plácido Domingo, will present a Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist performance of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Opera House. This one-night-only performance is a rare opportunity to witness emerging artists in the early stages of their careers, performing in a fully staged opera. In the spirit of cultivating the next generation of opera talent and opera lovers, this performance is offered exclusively to new members of Generation O, the company's free-to-join young professionals group. The Marriage of Figaro is performed in Italian with English supertitles. Tickets are $15 to $35; complete production and ticketing information is below, and artist biographies are available upon request or are available here.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents BATTLE OF BLACK AND DOGS by Bernard-Marie Koltès, translated by Michaël Attias, and directed by Robert Woodruff, at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street, at York), April 16-May 8. Opening Night is Thursday, April 22.

The Houston Grand Opera Association announces chorus auditions for its 2010-2011 season. Auditions will be held at the Wortham Theater Center, 510 Preston on Thursday, May 13 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM, Saturday, May 15 1:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Sunday, May 16 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

John Adams' gripping, modern masterpiece transports audiences back to Beijing for the historic meeting of Nixon and Mao inside the heart of the tiger. On March 20th and March 28th, 2010, at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach, California, Long Beach Opera will present Nixon in China, America's landmark opera by Pulitzer Prize and Grammy- winning composer, John Adams. In 1971, a game of ping pong brought China and America to opposite sides of a 9 foot table, but it wasn't until after President Nixon and Chairman Mao Tse-Tung shook hands in 1972 that the gates of China opened to the modern world. John Adams describes Nixon in China as 'part epic, part satire, part a parody of political posturing, and part serious examination of historical, philosophical, and even gender issues.'

The musical merger of soprano, Leslie Giammanco and pianist, Stephen Sulich, bring you two exciting concerts for voice and solo piano.

Timothy Nolen (Phantom, Cyrano), Lisa Vroman (Phantom, Les Misérables), and Rob Berman (Broadway, regional, and Encores! Music Director) have been named judges for the 2010 Lotte Lenya Competition, an annual international competition that recognizes talented young singer-actors, aged 19-32, who are dramatically and musically convincing in a wide range of repertoire.

The New York Philharmonic will present SONDHEIM: The Birthday Concert on March 15 and Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. This celebration of the 80th birthday of the great Broadway and film composer/lyricist will include his most enduring orchestral music and songs - performed, in some cases, by the stars of the original Broadway cast productions - in addition to rarely-heard material. Joining the celebration will be (in alphabetical order) Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark, Jason Danieley, Nathan Gunn, George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, and others to be announced, including surprise guests. Paul Gemignani, Mr. Sondheim's longtime collaborator, will conduct the New York Philharmonic; Lonny Price is the director; and Mr. Price and Matt Cowart are the producers.

The Metropolitan Opera today announced the winners of the 2010 National Council Auditions. They are: Leah Crocetto of Oxford, Connecticut; Lori Guilbeau of Golden Meadow, Lousiana; Elliot Madore of Toronto, Canada; Nathaniel Peake of Humble, Texas; and Rachel Willis- Sørensen of Tri-Cities, Washington. The winners were selected from nine finalists who performed arias with the Met Orchestra, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Each winner receives a cash prize of $15,000 and even more importantly, the opportunity to launch a major operatic career.

See two of opera's brightest stars on Sunday, March 14 in the intimate Lund Auditorium. Chicago fan-favorites, baritone, Nathan Gunn and soprano, Elizabeth Futral come together for a very special event supporting student scholarships at Dominican University. The program ranges from opera to musical theatre to songs by Tom Waits. Among the highlights is a selection from André Previn's Brief Encounter in which Gunn and Futral premiered the lead roles at Houston Grand Opera.

The musical merger of soprano, Leslie Giammanco and pianist, Stephen Sulich, bring you two exciting concerts for voice and solo piano.

As a student at Middlebury College in the 1980's, Bill Burden was a busy guy. He sang in the choir and the Dissipated 8 while starring in concerts and musicals. He was by general agreement the best male voice on campus, but his career path pointed to international finance, and singing just wasn't part of his long-term plans.

On Wednesday, April 21 at 8:00pm conductor Anne Manson will lead the Juilliard Orchestra and Vocal Artists in Francis Poulenc's highly emotive Dialogues of the Carmelites, the final production of The Juilliard Opera Center season, directed by Fabrizio Melano.

The Opera Orchestra Of New York presents soprano Eglise Gutiérrez in recital on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at Merkin Concert Hall, 8:00 p.m. accompanied by pianist Danielle Orlando.

The Opera Orchestra Of New York presents soprano Eglise Gutiérrez in recital on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at Merkin Concert Hall, 8:00 p.m. accompanied by pianist Danielle Orlando. The Vidda-Award winning soprano in her New York Recital Debut will perform a wide ranging program of songs and arias by Handel, Caccini, Paisiello, Thomas, Rachmaninoff, Lecuona and Gershwin.

John Adams' gripping, modern masterpiece transports audiences back to Beijing for the historic meeting of Nixon and Mao inside the heart of the tiger. On March 20th and March 28th, 2010, at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach, California, Long Beach Opera will present Nixon in China, America's landmark opera by Pulitzer Prize and Grammy- winning composer, John Adams. In 1971, a game of ping pong brought China and America to opposite sides of a 9 foot table, but it wasn't until after President Nixon and Chairman Mao Tse-Tung shook hands in 1972 that the gates of China opened to the modern world. John Adams describes Nixon in China as 'part epic, part satire, part a parody of political posturing, and part serious examination of historical, philosophical, and even gender issues.'

A haunting tale of obsession, the internationally acclaimed Richard Jones production of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades opens Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 2010 spring repertory. Performances run April 16 - May 1, 2010 in the Brown Theater of the Wortham Theater Center. Opera News calls Richard Jones's production of The Queen of Spades, originally created for Welsh National Opera 'telling theatricality.' London's Observer wrote 'Once every few seasons, a production gets pretty much everything right. This is one ... dramatically spine-chilling, visually spare and coherent; it was the kind of theatrical experience which changes the way you look at life.'

See two of opera's brightest stars on Sunday, March 14 in the intimate Lund Auditorium. Chicago fan-favorites, baritone, Nathan Gunn and soprano, Elizabeth Futral come together for a very special event supporting student scholarships at Dominican University. The program ranges from opera to musical theatre to songs by Tom Waits. Among the highlights is a selection from André Previn's Brief Encounter in which Gunn and Futral premiered the lead roles at Houston Grand Opera.

California Stage of Sacramento will be presenting the Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill musical, The Threepenny Opera, begining February 5th. This classic show tells the story of what happens when the banks get richer and the poor get poorer. The musical incorporates the tale of the doomed love affair of Mac Heath, London's reining thief, and Polly Peachum, the deceptively sweet daughter of a successful businessman who specializes in human misery and controls the city's beggars. Based loosely on John Gay's much earlier Beggars' Opera, it is filled with betrayals, schemes, revenge, reversals of fortune, and Weill's famously dissonant score.

Based on Carlyle Brown's own travels in West Africa, The Fula from America is the story of one African-American's search for an African identity.

As a student at Middlebury College in the 1980's, Bill Burden was a busy guy. He sang in the choir and the Dissipated 8 while starring in concerts and musicals. He was by general agreement the best male voice on campus, but his career path pointed to international finance, and singing just wasn't part of his long-term plans.