Joseph Beutel News

On the surface, LoftOpera and Regina Opera couldn't be more different--the former turning away hipsters in East Williamsburg (call it Bushwick), the latter providing a matinees-only environment for a family audience. But these two Brooklyn institutions do have one important thing in common: They respect the classics (TOSCA and LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, respectively)--do them up simply and well, and reach their audiences without gimmicks (or high prices). And, I found, their performances were more enjoyable than recent big-name outings of the same titles in New York, with performers who stood up well against better known names.

'I have only one purpose in life-- to be loved,' believes Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll in the Skylight Music Theatre's new production of the chamber opera Powder Her Face. Staged in the Cabot Theatre defined by bravado, brilliance and bravery, Milwaukee hosts the 1995 opera by British composer Thomas Adès an artist awarded the prestigious Grawemeyer Prize for Composition. With the libretto written by Phillip Hensher based on the sensational divorce proceedings of the Duchess of Argyll, the story toys with society's fascination of any royal's private life similar to how the Duchess toyed with the numerous men in her life.

Skylight Music Theatre will present the Wisconsin premiere of the groundbreaking chamber opera, Powder Her Face, January 29 through February 14, 2016 in the Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center (158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee, Wis.)

? Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA (EVUSA), one of New York's preeminent choral ensembles, presented SING CHRISTMAS, a sing-along of traditional carols and holiday songs by Broadway's finest, last night at Feinstein's / 54 Below.

Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA (EVUSA), one of New York's preeminent choral ensembles, will present SING CHRISTMAS, a sing-along of traditional carols and holiday songs by Broadway's finest, tonight, December 3 at 9:30pm at Feinstein's / 54 Below.

Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA (EVUSA), one of New York's preeminent choral ensembles, will present SING CHRISTMAS, a sing-along of traditional carols and holiday songs by Broadway's finest, on December 3 at 9:30pm at Feinstein's / 54 Below.

American Classical Orchestra presents J.S Bach's St. John Passion, conducted by Thomas Crawford, on Tuesday, November 3 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall with renowned tenor Rufus Muller as the Evangelist, making a return engagement in Bach's beloved St. John Passion Members of the American Classical Orchestra Chorus will be featured in the solo arias. Bach's two surviving passions, the St. Matthew and the St. John, have become the bedrock of our western classical music canon. The passion offers compelling musical representations of the gospel story in graphic detail and timeless expanse. In the St. John, Bach's instrumental pallet is unique, employing now legendary solos for flute, 'hunting oboes', and Bach's most haunting solo for the viol da gamba.

Gotham Chamber Opera announces Edward Barnes as the company's new Executive Director, effective June 1, 2015. Mr. Barnes will succeed Gotham's previous executive director, David Bennett, who will become general director of the San Diego Opera. In addition, David Rubeo has been promoted to Associate Director.

Through it's grant-making to thousands of nonprofits each year, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) promotes opportunities for people in communities across America to experience the arts and exercise their creativity.

Gotham Chamber Opera announces its 15th Anniversary Season, which will begin in the fall of 2015 with a 15th Anniversary Celebration Concert (date and venue tba). The season continues in February 2016 with Alessandro Stradella's 1675 San Giovanni Battista (Saint John the Baptist)in a co-production with the Netherlands Nationale ReisOpera, and a concert at (le) poisson rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, NYC, featuring a new work by David Hertzberg, winner of the Catherine Doctorow Prize for Music. The season concludes with the New York premiere of Charlie Parker's Yardbird, a co-production of the Apollo Theater, Gotham Chamber Opera and Opera Philadelphia, at the world famous Apollo Theater in May/June 2016.

Gotham Chamber Opera, in collaboration with the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, presents a double bill of Alexandre bis & Comedy on the Bridge, both by Bohuslav Martinu, from today, October 14 - 18, 2014 at Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 524 West 59th Street.

Gotham Chamber Opera, in collaboration with the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, presents a double bill of Alexandre bis & Comedy on the Bridge, both by Bohuslav Martinu, from October 14 - 18, 2014 at Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 524 West 59th Street.

Gotham Chamber Opera, in collaboration with the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, presents a double bill of Alexandre bis & Comedy on the Bridge, both by Bohuslav Martinu, from October 14 - 18, 2014 at Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 524 West 59th Street, NYC. Performances: Opening Night gala on Tuesday at 7:30pm; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30pm. Tickets are $30-$175 and are available online at www.ticketcentral.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200, or in person at 416 W. 42nd Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues) in the lobby of Playwrights Horizons.

Gotham Chamber Opera announces the 2014/2015 season, which begins with Alexandre bis/Comedy on the Bridge, both by Bohuslav Martinu, from October 14 - 18, 2014, followed by the revival of Gotham's 2010 production El gato con botas (Puss in Boots) in December at El Museo del Barrio.

Casting is complete for the New York City Center Encores! production of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella, running for seven performances, April 2 - 6, 2014.

OperaDelaware announced today that the final performance of its popular Inside the Opera Studio series, Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) is sold out for 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 9. A limited number of tickets remain for the Friday, March 7 performance, which will be held at 7:30 at the OperaDelaware studios at 4 Poplar Street, Wilmington. Patrons are urged to visit www.operade.org or call 302-442-7807 and purchase tickets for the Friday show as soon as possible. Ticket prices range from $25 to $60.

The Caramoor Festival in Katonah, NY said “Bon anniversaire, Joseph Vert”--that's “Happy Birthday, Giuseppe Verdi” in French--on Saturday night, with a performance of LES VEPRES SICILIENNES, celebrating the composer's bicentenary. It offered a fine opportunity to hear an opera that followed the composer's “big three” middle works--RIGOLETTO, IL TROVATORE and LA TRAVIATA--but hasn't really found a place in the modern repertoire. It's your 'typical' opera story--boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl, and the French are massacred, set against the 13th century occupation of Sicily by France.

Starting tonight, Tuesday May 28th at 7pm EST, operamusicbroadcast.com will present a live webcast of InsightALT, a week-long festival that offers an intimate, inside look into American Lyric Theater's process of creating new operas at all stages of their development.

Starting May 28th at 7PM EST, operamusicbroadcast.com will present a live webcast ofInsightALT, a new festival that offers an intimate, inside look into American Lyric Theater's process of creating new creating new operas at all stages of their development.

American Lyric Theater (ALT) today announced complete casting forInsightALT, the company's upcoming festival dedicated to providing an intimate, up-close look at its process of creating new operas.