James Conlon News

At 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 29, Ravinia Music Director James Conlon leads an all-Tchaikovsky program with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and piano virtuoso Denis Matsuev. Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell returns to perform with the CSO at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25. The program will include the Overture to Barber's The School for Scandal, Op. 5, and Violin Concerto Op. 14; Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70; and Ravel's Tzigane Concert Rhapsody. Bell, who debuted with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 14, is a Grammy Award-winner and a Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame inductee. Soloists from the CSO appear in an intimate Martin Theatre concert at 8 p.m. on Monday, July 23, led by Conlon and featuring soprano Rachel Schutz in her Ravinia debut.

At 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 29, Ravinia Music Director James Conlon leads an all-Tchaikovsky program with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and piano virtuoso Denis Matsuev. Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell returns to perform with the CSO at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25. The program will include the Overture to Barber's The School for Scandal, Op. 5, and Violin Concerto Op. 14; Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70; and Ravel's Tzigane Concert Rhapsody. Bell, who debuted with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 14, is a Grammy Award-winner and a Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame inductee. Soloists from the CSO appear in an intimate Martin Theatre concert at 8 p.m. on Monday, July 23, led by Conlon and featuring soprano Rachel Schutz in her Ravinia debut.

Tonight, July 19, one of the highlights of James Conlon's 2012 season at Ravinia will be the American premiere of Kurt Weill's first completed stage work, Magical Night. The pantomime will be staged by T. Daniel Productions (TDP) and is based on a scenario by Russian writer Wladimir Boritsch.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Patti LuPone, composer tributes, new musicals in Chicago and New York, 'Beauty And The Beast' and 'The Jungle Book,' yet another 'Reefer Madness' and more....

Segerstrom Center for the Arts will present LA Opera's Off Grand in a special concert performance of Giuseppe Verdi's The Two Foscari (I Due Foscari) on Monday, October 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

On July 19, one of the highlights of James Conlon's 2012 season at Ravinia will be the American premiere of Kurt Weill's first completed stage work, MAGICAL NIGHT. The pantomime will be staged by T. Daniel Productions (TDP) and is based on a scenario by Russian writer Wladimir Boritsch. Soprano Janai Brugger will perform in her Ravinia debut. Schreker's THE WIND will also be performed on this concert.

Ravinia's 2012 Gala Benefit Evening, entitled "Leading Ladies" and featuring celebrated stars Patti LuPone and Patricia Racette, honors the 50th anniversary of the festival's Women's Board at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 21.

Fresh from a triumphant spring crowned by her 2012 Richard Tucker Award win, Ailyn Perez will spend her summer in the spotlight, headlining major productions with leading companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Her tour begins in Moscow, where she sings the role of Suzel in Mascagni's L'amico Fritz at the Moscow State Philharmonic Society (June 25). A brief stop in New York is highlighted by a special performance at the Greene Space (June 27) celebrating her Tucker Award win. From there, she heads to Ohio to sing Violetta in Verdi's La traviata at Cincinnati Opera (July 25-29), followed by performances as Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflote with the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia (Aug 16-18). The summer comes to a peak at the Salzburg Festival (Aug 23), when the lyric soprano reprises her star turn as Mimi in Puccini's La boheme.

Fresh from a triumphant spring crowned by her 2012 Richard Tucker Award win, Ailyn Perez will spend her summer in the spotlight, headlining major productions with leading companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Her tour begins in Moscow, where she sings the role of Suzel in Mascagni's L'amico Fritz at the Moscow State Philharmonic Society (June 25). A brief stop in New York is highlighted by a special performance at the Greene Space (June 27) celebrating her Tucker Award win. From there, she heads to Ohio to sing Violetta in Verdi's La traviata at Cincinnati Opera (July 25-29), followed by performances as Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflote with the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia (Aug 16-18). The summer comes to a peak at the Salzburg Festival (Aug 23), when the lyric soprano reprises her star turn as Mimi in Puccini's La boheme.

In a return engagement with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO), The Collegiate Chorale will perform 11 concerts in Tel Aviv and Haifa with the IPO under the baton of renowned conductors Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti. They will then travel with the IPO to Austria to make their Salzburg Festival debut, the first performance there by an American choir since the Chicago Symphony Chorus appeared in 1989.

The Collegiate Chorale presents Contemporary Voices tonight, May 21, 2012 at 7pm at St. Bartholomew's Church, 325 Park Avenue, NYC. The concert features five musical gems by 20th and 21st Century masters of choral composition. Single tickets start at $20 and are available online at collegiatechorale.org or by phone at The Chorale office at (646) 435-9465.

The Collegiate Chorale presents Contemporary Voices on May 21, 2012 at 7pm at St. Bartholomew's Church, 325 Park Avenue, NYC. The concert features five musical gems by 20th and 21st Century masters of choral composition. Single tickets start at $20 and are available online at collegiatechorale.org or by phone at The Chorale office at (646) 435-9465.

On July 19, one of the highlights of James Conlon's 2012 season at Ravinia will be the American premiere of Kurt Weill's first completed stage work, Magical Night. The pantomime will be staged by T. Daniel Productions (TDP) and is based on a scenario by Russian writer Wladimir Boritsch.

The Collegiate Chorale presents Contemporary Voices on May 21, 2012 at 7pm at St. Bartholomew's Church, 325 Park Avenue, NYC. The concert features five musical gems by 20th and 21st Century masters of choral composition. Single tickets start at $20 and are available online at collegiatechorale.org or by phone at The Chorale office at (646) 435-9465.

The Collegiate Chorale presents Contemporary Voices on May 21, 2012 at 7pm at St. Bartholomew's Church, 325 Park Avenue, NYC. The concert features five musical gems by 20th and 21st Century masters of choral composition. Single tickets start at $20 and are available online at collegiatechorale.org or by phone at The Chorale office at (646) 435-9465.

Today, April 29, the seventh annual Opera News Awards will be presented at a gala celebration in the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza in New York City, paying tribute to five extraordinary artists who have made an invaluable contribution to the art form: sopranos Karita Mattila and Anja Silja, baritones Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Peter Mattei, and director Peter Sellars. Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, who sings Fricka in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Wagner's Ring, will host the awards. Among the special guests for this year's festivities are conductor James Conlon (a 2005 Opera News Award-winner), who will present the award to Ms. Silja; legendary baritone (and 2008 Opera News Award-winner) Sherrill Milnes, who will present the award to Mr. Hvorostovsky; bass-baritone Eric Owens, another star of the Met's Ring, who will present to Mr. Sellars; Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, who will present to Ms. Mattila; and soprano Deborah Voigt, a 2007 Opera News Award-winner and the Met's current Brunnhilde, who will present the award to Mr. Mattei. The guest list will also include Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine of Sweden, who will attend to watch her countryman, Peter Mattei, be honored. Her Excellency, Ambassador Ritva Jolkkonen, Consul General of Finland in New York, will also be a guest at the festivities, honoring Ms. Mattila.

The Dallas Opera presents the finale of its 2011-2012 "Tragic Obsessions" Season: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's comic-drama, THE MAGIC FLUTE (Die Zauberflote), opening Friday, April 20, 2012 at 7:30 PM in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

The Dallas Opera, in partnership with Cowboys Stadium, has entered world record territory: more than 30,500 tickets to the Dallas Opera's one-night-only April 28th Dallas Opera Cowboys Stadium Simulcast, presented by The Dallas Foundation, have been requested by opera lovers from throughout Texas and 26 additional states. Ticket requests have also come in from the District of Columbia and Canada since the joint announcement was made on January 26th at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic and Classical KUSC in partnership with WFMT Radio Network, have confirmed 150 markets nationwide will carry the annual radio broadcast concert series (a number that will grow throughout the coming year). The 2011 series was broadcast in 193 markets and reached over 2.6 million listeners.

On Sunday, April 29, the seventh annual Opera News Awards will be presented at a gala celebration in the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza in New York City, paying tribute to five extraordinary artists who have made an invaluable contribution to the art form: sopranos Karita Mattila and Anja Silja, baritones Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Peter Mattei, and director Peter Sellars. Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, who sings Fricka in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Wagner's Ring, will host the awards. Among the special guests for this year's festivities are conductor James Conlon (a 2005 Opera News Award-winner), who will present the award to Ms. Silja; legendary baritone (and 2008 Opera News Award-winner) Sherrill Milnes, who will present the award to Mr. Hvorostovsky; bass-baritone Eric Owens, another star of the Met's Ring, who will present to Mr. Sellars; Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, who will present to Ms. Mattila; and soprano Deborah Voigt, a 2007 Opera News Award-winner and the Met's current Brunnhilde, who will present the award to Mr. Mattei. The guest list will also include Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine of Sweden, who will attend to watch her countryman, Peter Mattei, be honored. Her Excellency, Ambassador Ritva Jolkkonen, Consul General of Finland in New York, will also be a guest at the festivities, honoring Ms. Mattila.