Long Beach Opera is bringing back its popular and relevant series of Community Conversations June 14, 21, and 28 that were inspired by the LBO world premiere production of The Central Park Five, which recently won the Pulitzer prize. These Conversations are available on facebooklive and archived following at www.longbeachopera.org.
Over the last five years, Opera Philadelphia has presented an impressive group of new operas it has commissioned, along with some classics from the standard rep. Starting tomorrow, we'll get a look at some of the best of them, with the company's Digital Festival running through May 29, available on YouTube and the company's website.
Over 1,000 people from 21 different countries tuned in via multiple platforms on Saturday evening to honor a pair of Houston's most dedicated philantrophists and an iconic advocate for young stars.
Over the past five years, Opera Philadelphia has presented no fewer than nine world premieres, scoring multiple awards and winning international audience and critical recognition. Now that the 2019-20 season has been cut short by the need for social distancing, the company is extending its season online with Digital Festival O.
Artist Relief Tree (ART), an online fundraiser supporting artists affected financially by COVID-19, announced today that it is beginning a second phase of fundraising toward US$1,000,000. Funds will be used to support artists of any discipline with a one-time 'solidarity' donation of US$250.
Opera Omaha announces its third annual ONE FESTIVAL. The ONE Festival is a place for wild dreams, wilder execution, and exploration of those ideas on a grand scale. Programming is driven by the artists, not the executives. With an emphasis on experimentation and new worka?'yet not tethered to premieresa?'ONE fosters an environment that encourages and celebrates bold risks and transformative storytelling. At a glance, one might assume this is happening in NYC or LA; but this opera hothouse sizzles in the dead center of our country, far from the coasts.
On February 1, 2020, Los Angeles Opera presented the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin's third opera, Euridice. He composed it together with Sarah Ruhl who wrote the original 2003 play. Aucoin, Ruhl, and this presentation's stage director, Mary Zimmerman, have been the recipients of the MacArthur Fellowships known as 'Genius Grants.'
The LA Opera and the Metropolitan Opera join forces to co-produce the world premiere of EURYDICE from the creative minds of composer/conductor Matthew Aucoin and librettist Sarah Ruhl; beginning February 1, 2020 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Based on Sarah's 2003 play EURYDICE, this Greek myth unfolds from the heroine's perspective. Mary Zimmerman directs a talented cast that includes: Danielle de Niese, Rod Gilfry, Joshua Hopkins, John Holiday, Barry Banks, Stacey Tappan, Raehann Bryce-Davis and Kevin Ray.
Sarah graciously took time out to answer a few of my inquisitive queries.
LA Opera begins the new year with a new opera: the world premiere of Eurydice by composer Matthew Aucoin and librettist Sarah Ruhl, based on her 2003 play of the same name. Directed by Mary Zimmerman, Eurydice opens on February 1, 2020.
LA Opera begins the new year with a new opera: the world premiere of Eurydice by composer Matthew Aucoin and librettist Sarah Ruhl, based on her 2003 play of the same name. Directed by Mary Zimmerman, Eurydice opens on February 1, 2020.
MasterVoices, led by Artistic Director Ted Sperling, continues its 2019-20 season on January 10 and 11 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College of Criminal Justice with the New York premiere of Iron & Coal, Jeremy Schonfeld's multimedia rock-opera about his family's experience in the Holocaust and its aftermath. Along with MasterVoices, joining Schonfeld onstage will be distinguished theater artist Rinde Eckert, tenor Daniel Rowan, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and the New York-based contemporary music ensemble, Contemporaneous.
Last evening, the Apollo Theater celebrated its 14th Annual Spring Gala, raising over $2 million for its year-round artistic and community programming initiatives.
The rustic elegance of The Wallis's Sorting Room continues its third season with nine eclectic programs from June 13 - 29, 2019. The Sorting Room transforms the Lovelace Studio Theater into a 140-seat custom built nightclub space that offers Los Angeles audiences a rare opportunity to experience some of the best and emerging talent in cabaret, live contemporary music, spoken word, and more. Named in honor of the room's original purpose as a mail sorting room during Hollywood's Golden Age, The Sorting Room's summer session includes:
Trinity Church Wall Street's Time's Arrow festival (March 5-9), known for its signature combination of early and new music, focuses this spring on amplifying the voices of female artists and exploring sensitive contemporary themes. The centerpiece of the festival is a juxtaposition of two musical portraits of the biblical figure Susanna: Handel's oratorio Susanna, and Artemisia, an opera by Laura Elise Schwendinger, with a libretto by Ginger Strand. Complementing these large-scale pieces is a concert centered on works by Barbara Strozzi, the most prolific composer of secular vocal music in Venice in the mid-17th century and a renowned poet who likely wrote many of her own texts. Performed by Trinity Choir soprano Molly Netter, the concert also features world premieres by Jessica Meyer, Doug Balliett, Alyssa Weinberg, and others (March 8). A Pipes at One concert on that same day, featuring Trinity Associate Organist Janet Yieh, will also reflect the Time's Arrow theme, with compositions by Rachel Laurin, Florence Price, Lili Boulanger, Clara Schumann, and others. All performances take place in the intimate surroundings of St. Paul's Chapel, a Georgian-era gem just a few blocks north of Trinity, and the oldest public building in continuous use in Manhattan.
A major highlight of MasterVoices' 77th season will take place on Wednesday, November 28 at 8 pm in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium when the ensemble's Artistic Director Ted Sperling leads the New York premiere of a multi-media version of Israel in Egypt, Handel's timely oratorio of exile and displacement, reflecting the biblical account of the heroic flight of Israelites enslaved in Pharaonic Egypt and their crossing the Red Sea. In collaboration with The Juilliard School, MasterVoices will feature soloists who are current students or alumni from the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, including sopranos Mikaela Bennett and Jessica Niles, countertenor John Holiday, baritone Gregory Feldmann and bass-baritone Erik Van Heyningen, as well as rising star tenor Andrew Stenson.
MasterVoices and its 150 choristers opens its 77th season on Wednesday, November 28 at 8 pm at Carnegie Hall when the ensemble's Artistic Director Ted Sperling leads the New York premiere of a multi-media version of Handel's Israel in Egypt. The timely oratorio of exile and displacement is reflecting the biblical account of the heroic flight of Israelites enslaved in Pharaonic Egypt and their crossing the Red Sea.
A major highlight of MasterVoices' 77th season will take place on Wednesday, November 28 at 8 pm in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium when the ensemble's Artistic Director Ted Sperling leads the New York premiere of a multi-media version of Israel in Egypt, Handel's timely oratorio of exile and displacement, reflecting the biblical account of the heroic flight of Israelites enslaved in Pharaonic Egypt and their crossing the Red Sea.
Ars Lyrica Houston presents its first full-length Baroque opera production on Friday, November 16 at 7:30 pm & Sunday, November 18 at 2:30 pm in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. The cast for Ars Lyrica's production of this early Handel masterpiece includes: Sofia Selowsky as Agrippina, John Holiday as Nero, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen as Ottone, Camille Ortiz as Poppea, and Timothy Jones as Claudio. Conductor and artistic director Matthew Dirst describes the opera as "Handel's first operatic masterpiece, the work that forged his reputation as a theatrical genius."
Ted Sperling, Artistic Director of MasterVoices, announced details of the acclaimed ensemble's 77th season, celebrating the power of the human voice to unite, inspire and connect since 1941. The upcoming season will be framed by two major musical events, the New York premiere of a multi-media version of Handel's oratorioIsrael in Egypt performed at Carnegie Hall, and a new adaptation of the Kurt Weill-Ira Gershwin-Moss Hart avant-garde musical, Lady in the Dark, starring Victoria Clark at New York City Center. Lady in the Dark has not been seen in New York since it was presented at New York City Center in 1994 as part of the inaugural Encores! season.