John Osborn News

Maria Callas got the world used to hearing singing that was not always pitch-perfect yet still essential listening. I kept thinking about this at the Met the other night during the new production of Rossini's LA DONNA DEL LAGO with a cast headed by a couple of stars, mezzo Joyce DiDonato and tenor Juan Diego Florez, who are well known for their bel canto style.

On Wednesday 14 January 2015, at HUSH in Mayfair, the finalists of the International Opera Awards 2015 were announced. These were selected by the jury chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine and classical music critic with The Daily Telegraph.

On the heals of its hit musical production Titanic, Griffin Theatre Company continues its 2014-15 season with Lanford Wilson's acclaimed drama BALM IN GILEAD directed by ensemble member Jonathan Berry and featuring an ensemble cast of 27 actors and musicians. BALM IN GILEAD will play March 14 - April 19, 2015 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago.

As 'king of the overture,' Rossini certainly knew how to put an audience in a good mood and his GUGLIELMO TELL--better known as WILLIAM TELL--is no exception. With an elaborate introduction that most Americans over a certain age know from “The Lone Ranger” serials and other themes used in decades of cartoon features, it's still dazzling and great fun to hear. It's particularly so, when it's in the hands of an exciting ensemble like the orchestra of Turin's Teatro Reggio Torino, under music director, Gianandrea Noseda.

Carnegie Hall has announced its December 2014 calendar. Scroll down for details!

It's unlikely anyone leaving a performance of 'The Motherf**ker With the Hat' (MOFO) will be indifferent. That makes actor Juan Chioran happy. 'To be indifferent is the biggest crime in theatre,' he says on a day off from the popular show now playing at the new Coal Mine Theatre on the Danforth. He demands to be engaged, he adds, every time he attends a production.

The Public Theater announced a second extension for the critically acclaimed FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3), a world premiere play written by Public Theater Master Writer Chair Suzan-Lori Parks. Directed by Jo Bonney, FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3) will now run through Sunday, December 7. It was originally scheduled to close on November 16 and extended the first time through November 30.

As previously reported, Village Voice theatre writer and creator of the Obie Awards, Jerry Tallmer passed away earlier this week on, November 9, 2014. He was 95 years old.

According to the New York Times, Village Voice writer and creator of the Obie Awards, Jerry Tallmer, passed away yesterday, November 9, 2014. He was 95 years old.

The Public Theater announced a two-week extension today for the critically acclaimed FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3), a world premiere play written by Public Theater Master Writer Chair Suzan-Lori Parks. Directed by Jo Bonney, FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3) began previews on Tuesday, October 14 in the Anspacher Theater and was originally scheduled to close on Sunday, November 16. It will now run an additional two weeks through Sunday, November 30.

On Sunday, December 7 at 2:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall presents Teatro Regio Torino in a concert performance of Rossini's opera Guglielmo Tell (William Tell) conducted by Gianandrea Noseda and sung in Italian by an outstanding cast that includes baritone Dalibor Jenis in the title role, tenor John Osborn as Arnoldo, and soprano Angela Meade as Matilde. The concert is part of the opera company's first-ever North American tour, with stops in Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Toronto.

The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera's award-winning series of live transmissions to more than 2,000 movie theaters in 65 countries around the world, will feature ten operas in the 2014-15 season, including all six new productions in the Met season. All ten performances, transmitted live from the Met stage, will feature the world's finest singers, conductors, and theatrical artists.

The University Musical Society (UMS) kicks off the holiday season on Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7 with the annual Ann Arbor community tradition of Handel's Messiah, featuring the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and the UMS Choral Union, conducted by Jerry Blackstone. On Tuesday, December 9, UMS presents Teatro Regio Torino Orchestra and Chorus in its first-ever American tour; the ensemble will perform an opera in concert of Rossini's William Tell in Hill Auditorium. The month's offerings wrap up on Thursday, December 11 with a high definition broadcast from the National Theatre, London of David Hare's Skylight, directed by Stephen Daldry and starring Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan.

TACT/The Actors Company Theatre, the critically-acclaimed and Drama Desk nominated Off-Broadway company 'dedicated to presenting neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit,' presents the first New York revival in 30 years of The Killing of Sister George, the controversial 1964 play by Frank Marcus. The first production of the company's 22nd Season will be directed by TACT Company Member Drew Barr, who directed the company's Fall 2012 production of Brian Friel's Lovers. Performances begin at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre (410 West 42nd Street - between 9th & 10th Avenues) tonight, September 23, 2014. Opening night is set for Tuesday, October 7 at 7:30pm. Performances will continue through November 1, 2014.

Angela Meade - the face of Opera News's forthcoming annual "Diva" issue - dominates the New York cultural scene this season. In concert, the American soprano makes her New York Philharmonic debutunder Alan Gilbert's direction in Verdi's Requiem (Jan 15-17), and gives two performances at Carnegie Hall, first joining the Philadelphia Orchestra for Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony (Oct 31), and then starring in Rossini's William Tell with Italy's Teatro Regio di Torino led by Gianandrea Noseda (Dec 7), in the penultimate stop on their North American tour.

Pride Films and Plays will follow up its sold-out Jeff Recommended run of Terrence McNally's Some Men with the Chicago premiere of The Submission by Jeff Talbott, winner of the 2011 Laurent's/Hatcher Award and the Outer Circle's John Gassner Award for Best New Play in 2012. The dynamic new work runs October 12 through November 25 at the Apollo Studio Theatre, 2540 N. Lincoln.

TACT/The Actors Company Theatre, the critically-acclaimed and Drama Desk nominated Off-Broadway company, presents the first New York revival in 30 years of The Killing of Sister George, the controversial 1964 play by Frank Marcus. The first production of the company's 22nd Season will be directed by TACT Company Member Drew Barr, who directed the company's Fall 2012 production of Brian Friel's Lovers. Performances begin at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre (410 West 42nd Street - between 9th & 10th Avenues) on Tuesday, September 23, 2014. Opening night is set for Tuesday, October 7 at 7:30pm. Performances will continue through November 1, 2014. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast in rehearsal below!

TACT/The Actors Company Theatre, the critically-acclaimed and Drama Desk nominated Off-Broadway company 'dedicated to presenting neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit,' is pleased to announce the cast and creative team for the first New York revival in 30 years of The Killing of Sister George, the controversial 1964 play by Frank Marcus.

Carnegie Hall has announced its December 2014 calendar. Scroll down for details!

Performances of Dead Behind These Eyes will take place at Sing Sing Karaoke (81 Avenue A) on August 29-31 at 7.30pm and September 3-5, 7, 10-14 and 17-19 at 7.30pm Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by calling 212.352.3101 or visiting www.abronsartscenter.org. Performance suitable for ages 21 and above.