Ken Howard News

Well, it's that time of the year again--time for a look-back on what was worth making note of during the calendar year that's about to come to an end. It's from a totally personal, subjective point of view, of course, but frankly that's the way opera-lovers always seem to like it, n'est-ce pas? The productions worth noting come from places big, small and in-between, from composers old as the hills to freshly minted or somewhere in between (likewise the performers), from traditional or boldly modern to simply stand up and sing.

Talk about baptism by fire! That's what Gustavo Dudamel--that wunderkind of the classical conducting world--faced as he reached the podium of the Met for the first time Friday night. Not only was he conducting Verdi's great opera, OTELLO, but he was doing so with a last-minute substitute in the title role. The result: All went well with the Met's production of the masterwork.

LOOKING FOR CHRISTMAS, the new Clint Black musical at The Old Globe is like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold day; it's a sweet, holiday confection.

There is a magic and mischief in the air in The Old Globe production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, now playing through November 18th around the San Diego community.  .

The Metropolitan Opera presents Verdi's towering Shakespearean masterpiece Otello, with performances December 14, 2018, to January 10, 2019. Otello marks the Met debut of conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who over the last decade has transformed the Los Angeles Philharmonic into one of the most closely watched classical ensembles in the world. Starring in the title role of Shakespeare's doomed Moor is Stuart Skelton, with Sonya Yoncheva as the devoted Desdemona and Željko Lu?i? as the treacherous Iago. The cast also features Jennifer Johnson Cano as Emilia, Alexey Dolgov as Cassio, and Met stalwart James Morris as Lodovico. Julianna DiGiacomo sings the role of Desdemona on December 28.

San Diego's favorite holiday tradition, back for its 21st incredible year, is a wonderful, whimsical production that will once again jump right off the pages of the classic Dr. Seuss book and onto the Old Globe's stage.

Fall under the spell of Shakespeare's most uproarious and popular comedy. Filled with magic, humor, music, and magnificent poetry, this dream unfolds in an enchanted forest where fairies play tricks on unsuspecting lovers, and bumbling actors are transformed beyond their wildest imaginings.

Nico Muhly's MARNIE, aided and abetted by Nicholas Wright's libretto, dramaturg Paul Cremo and the sweeping production of Michael Mayer--which had its US premiere Friday night at the Met--is that fabled “riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” Nothing is quite what it seems or results in easy answers--for the characters or the audience.

Anyone who was expecting the equivalent of Bette Midler's arrival as Dolly in the Harmonia Gardens when Jonas Kaufmann finally returned to the Met, on October 17, after four years and some high-profile cancellations, must have been wildly disappointed. Oh sure, Kaufmann looked like a glamorous buckaroo and compared to some of the star tenor misfires already this season at the Met, he had a triumph.

When the Met's literary advisor asked Nicholas Wright what he thought about doing the libretto for MARNIE, he said yes because he was really interested in working with composer Nico Muhly and Michael Mayer. He was somewhat reserved, however, about whether it was a good opera subject. That was understandable, of course, when he admitted, laughing, a case of mistaken identity.

SAG-AFTRA announced that members Marsha Hunt, Norman Lloyd, June Lockhart and Barbara Perry will be recipients of the SAG-AFTRA Founders Award for their historic contributions to the union. The special tribute will be presented Saturday during the SAG-AFTRA National Board plenary and honors early members of SAG-AFTRA's predecessor unions, SAG and AFTRA, who have provided meritorious service to fellow members. 

In honor of the 100th year of Veterans Day and the fifth anniversary of the founding of the Center for American War Letters at Chapman University, the play If All the Sky Were Paper is coming home to Chapman's Musco Center for the Arts stage for a special Veteran's Day performance on Saturday, November 10 at 7:30pm.

Two-time Emmy Award winning actor Loretta Swit was made an Honorary Member of The Lambs in recognition for his outstanding career in television theater and film, and for her charitable work with multiple organizations and as an animal rights activist. Past honorees include Matthew Broderick, Jim Dale and the late Ken Howard.

Short film SPARKY & BUTCH will premiere in The Louisiana Prize Fest, a festival celebrating film, music, and food in Northern Louisiana.

Short film SPARKY & BUTCH will premiere in The Louisiana Prize Fest, a festival celebrating film, music, and food in Northern Louisiana.

Puccini's La Fanciulla del West returns to the Metropolitan Opera for seven performances from Thursday, October 4, 2018.

Well, no one could accuse the opening of the Met's new season, with Darko Trasnjak's production of Saint-Saens' SAMSON ET DALILA, to Ferdinand Lemaire's libretto, of being drab. Starry, certainly. Over the top, definitely. Filled with feathers, absolutely. Call it “Crazy, Rich Philistines.”

For the first time in the history of the Met, Sunday matinees will become part of the weekly performance schedule, it was announced today as part of the recent agreement with the Met's musicians and chorus that was ratified today.

Season 12 of Great Performances at the Met concludes Sunday, September 9 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) with Cendrillon, Massenet's operatic take on the classic fairy tale Cinderella, starring Joyce DiDonato as the titular heroine and Alice Coote as Prince Charming, alongside Kathleen Kim as the Fairy Godmother andStephanie Blythe as Madame de la Haltière.

ARIADNE is an opera that shows the beauty of great voices and this cast had plenty to offer. Amanda Echalaz, whose voice has significant heft to it, sang Ariadne with beautiful rose velvet tones. She was a bit of a witch in the prologue, but in the opera, her voice rolled out over the audience like waves in the ocean. Offering pathos at the beginning, Echalaz's use of a tapestry of vocal color made her transition to Bacchus's lover credible