Houston Grand Opera News

The 2010 Sundance Institute's Playwrights' Retreat at Ucross begins today and will run through February 19, 2010.

Reprise Theatre Company presents Audra McDonald in Concert for one performance only on Monday, February 1 at 8:30 pm, at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. Audra McDonald is the latest in Reprise Theatre Company's tradition of presenting Broadway stars in concert, which have included Patti LuPone, Carol Burnett, Ben Vereen, Kristin Chenoweth, and Brian Stokes Mitchell.

In March 2010, The New York Philharmonic This Week - the two-hour, national, weekly radio program of concerts by the New York Philharmonic, hosted by Emmy and Golden Globe Award-Winner Alec Baldwin - features five programs led by guest conductors.

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.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of George Gershwin's enduring masterpiece, a new production of Porgy and Bess has been mounted-with full approval of the Gershwin estate-by veteran opera producer Michael Capasso (General Director of New York's vibrant Dicapo Opera). Featuring a stellar cast, live orchestra, and brand new sets, costumes, and lighting, this groundbreaking opera weaves a tale of prejudice, love, and tragedy. Incorporating a wealth of blues and jazz into the classical art of opera, Gershwin considered Porgy & Bess his finest work with songs such as 'Summertime' and 'It Ain't Necessarily So.' Columbus resident and OSU graduate Eric McKeever will be performing the role of Jake for the national tour which runs through June.

Theatre Southwest will present their production of David Lindsey-Abaire's play, WONDER OF THE WORLD, beginning December 31st with a special New Years Gala. The show will run through January 23rd. The cast for the production will include James Reed, Stacy A. Spaeth, Ananka Kohnitz, Cheryl Tanner, Brian Heaton, Jeanette Sebesta, and John Kaiser. The show is directed by David Holloway.

Rubicon Theatre Company opens the 2009-2010 Season with the World Premiere of a musical from John Caird, the Tony and Olivier Award-Winning director of Les Misérables and Nicholas Nickleby, and the creators of Jane Eyre.

The Gershwins' beloved opera Porgy and Bess - recognized as an American masterpiece - plays the Aronoff Center's Procter & Gamble Hall on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 8:00 PM as part of the Cincinnati Arts Association's 2009-10 Season of Classic Nights Out.

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) General Director Brian Dickie has completed casting principal roles for COT's 2010 Spring Festival Season: Gioachino Rossini's Moses in Egypt (Mose in Egitto) starring Andrea Concetti; Francesco Cavalli's Jason (Giasone) starring Franco Fagioli; and Jake Heggie's Three Decembers starring Frederica von Stade in her final opera performances in Chicago before retirement.

Acclaimed soprano Nina Stemme returns to the Met for the first time in nine years, adding the demanding title role of Ariadne auf Naxos to her company repertoire.

Michael Maniaci, male soprano, makes his recording debut with Boston Baroque and its founding conductor, Martin Pearlman.

Broadway stars Teri Dale Hansen ('The Boys from Syracuse') and Norm Lewis ('The Little Mermaid' and the upcoming 'Sondheim on Sondheim') bring beloved music of the Great White Way to Princeton on Saturday, January 30, as part of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra's PSO POPS! sixth annual Broadway Concert.

Dynamic tenor José Cura sings the title role of Verdi's rarely performed Stiffelio, the composer's daring opera about faith, jealousy, and redemption.

Following the record-breaking and critically acclaimed engagement of 'American Idiot' at the Berkeley Rep, the production is now Broadway-bound. 'American Idiot' will begin previews in March 2010 and open on Broadway in April at the St. James Theatre. The Broadway cast will be announced shortly.

Reprise Theatre Company presents Audra McDonald in Concert for one performance only on Monday, February 1 at 8:30 pm, at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. Audra McDonald is the latest in Reprise Theatre Company's tradition of presenting Broadway stars in concert, which have included Patti LuPone, Carol Burnett, Ben Vereen, Kristin Chenoweth, and Brian Stokes Mitchell.

Producers Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman announced today that following the record-breaking and critically acclaimed engagement at Berkeley Rep, the production will begin previews on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 and open on Broadway Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at the St. James Theatre (246 West 44 Street). The Broadway cast will be announced shortly.

Dynamic tenor José Cura sings the title role of Verdi's rarely performed Stiffelio, the composer's daring opera about faith, jealousy, and redemption.

Houston's premier early music ensemble, Ars Lyrica Houston, plans a New Year's Eve performance that will include an American premiere of J. A. Hasse' early masterpiece Marc Antonio e Cleopatra.

Theatre Southwest will present their production of David Lindsey-Abaire's play, WONDER OF THE WORLD, beginning December 31st with a special New Years Gala. The show will run through January 23rd. The cast for the production will include James Reed, Stacy A. Spaeth, Ananka Kohnitz, Cheryl Tanner, Brian Heaton, Jeanette Sebesta, and John Kaiser. The show is directed by David Holloway.

Natasha Middleton, Artistic Director of Media City Ballet of Los Angeles (MCBLA), will present 'A WORLD OF HOLIDAY DANCE,' a multicultural celebration featuring six diverse Los Angeles-based dance companies, to be presented at the Alex Theatre; 216 N. Brand Boulevard; Glendale, CA 91203 on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.