Ken Howard News

Opera boasts some of the composer's most sensuous and compelling music

The Live in HD season continues on Saturday, October 17 with Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher's acclaimed new production of Verdi's late masterpiece based on Shakespeare's tragic drama of jealousy and deceit, Otello. Dynamic conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads Aleksandrs Antonenko in his first Met performances of the tormented Moor of Venice, with Sonya Yoncheva in her role debut as his innocent wife, Desdemona. The staging, also featuring Željko Lu?i? as Otello's sinister rival, Iago; Dimitri Pittas as Cassio; and Günther Groissböck as Lodovico, also marks the Met debut of set designer Es Devlin, whose previous designs include the 2014 revival of Machinal on Broadway and numerous opera productions for Covent Garden, La Scala, and other leading companies.

When Verdi and Boito were writing their operatic version of Shakespeare's OTHELLO, they were competing with the already-successful (though less faithful) version written by Rossini and thought about calling their opera IAGO. After seeing Bartlett Sher's new production of the Verdi OTELLO, I wondered whether it might have been renamed DESDEMONA--because soprano Sonya Yoncheva gave the opera's most devastating and gorgeous performance.

The second day of SAG-AFTRA's National Convention on Saturday began with a presentation by National Executive Director David White, which provided an update to convention delegates on the state of the union. White's presentation covered leadership and activism, union operations, upcoming initiatives and future strategic goals, as well as recent industry trends, including the impact of technology on the media industry.

With the season's first performance of Donizetti's ANNA BOLENA--that's Henry VIII's Anne Boleyn to all you Masterpiece Theatre fans--at the Met, the big news is that it's soprano Sondra Radvanovsky's first part of the Tudor Trilogy, with MARIA STUARDA and ROBERTO DEVEREUX to come later in the season. Alongside her, as Jane (here, Giovanna) Seymour, Boleyn's successor as consort to Henry, is mezzo Jamie Barton, this year's winner of the Richard Tucker Award, a past winner of the Met Council Auditions (and many other major awards) and a sensation when she sang her first big role at the Met two years ago, Adalgisa in Bellini's NORMA.

San Francisco Opera celebrates the opening of its 93rd Season tonight, September 11, 2015 with a gala performance of Verdi's Luisa Miller, conducted by Company Music Director Nicola Luisotti and featuring an international cast, led by soprano Leah Crocetto, tenor Michael Fabiano and baritone Vitaliy Bilyy.

San Francisco Opera celebrates the opening of its 93rd Season on Friday, September 11, 2015 with a gala performance of Verdi's Luisa Miller, conducted by Company Music Director Nicola Luisotti and featuring an international cast, led by soprano Leah Crocetto, tenor Michael Fabiano and baritone Vitaliy Bilyy.

Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera gets its NY premiere as it kicks-off the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) this July. Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera has a concept, book and lyrics by Elizabeth Searle, music by Michael Teoli, and will be directed by David Alpert (If/ Then), with musical direction by Henry Aronson (Rock of Ages), and choreography by Marc Kimelman (A Bronx Tale). Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera will play at the PTC Performing Space (555 West 42nd St.) from tonight, July 9, through July 16, 2015.

Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera gets its NY premiere as it kicks-off the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) this July. Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera has a concept, book and lyrics by Elizabeth Searle, music by Michael Teoli, and will be directed by David Alpert (If/ Then), with musical direction by Henry Aronson (Rock of Ages), and choreography by Marc Kimelman (A Bronx Tale). Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera will play at the PTC Performing Space (555 West 42nd St.) from July 9 - July 16, 2015.

Broadway director and choreographer Susan Stroman, whose many credits include the Tony Award-winning musicals Crazy for You, Contact, and The Producers, makes her Met debut with a lavish new staging of Lehar's effervescent operetta The Merry Widow

This review was first published by KDHX 88-1 St. Louis. Opera Theatre of St. Louis has opened a very fine production of 'Emmeline,' by Tobias Picker, with libretto by J. D. McClatchy. This remarkable piece premiered at the Santa Fe Opera in 1996 to great praise. It was done at the New York City Opera in '98 (with much the same cast)—again to considerable praise. It was deemed one of the great modern operas. Except for two 'reduced version' productions the work lay fallow until this full-scale revival by Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

This review was first published by KDHX, St. Louis. Opera Theatre of St. Louis has opened Handel's 'Richard the Lionheart,' and it is truly astonishing! It is, in all aspects, the most perfect production of an opera that I've ever seen. And voices? Ah, the voices are quite stunning! This is not to be missed. This is a masterpiece.

The restored director's cut edition of the musical 1776 was just released on Blu-ray, and Tony-winning director Peter H. Hunt revealed to the Los Angeles Times the drama behind the original 1972 release of the film -- and just how much producer Jack L. Warner left out.

A rare Puccini receives a lovely production: 'La rondine' at Opera Theatre of St. Louis

1776 arrives on Blu-ray at long last!

I think I bring this up every time I write about an opera, but it's just so funny to me that most of my early exposure to the medium came through films that I saw on TV when I was kid. Whether it was an Our Gang short (the one where Alfalfa wants to give up crooning to become an opera singer), a Bugs Bunny cartoon (Carl Stallings frequently drew from famous classical works), or even something from Tom and Jerry, I was privy to melodies that would eventually work their way into my musical subconscious. That's just one of the reasons I found the Opera Theatre of St. Louis' production of THE BARBER OF SEVILLE so engaging. Add to that the fact that the brilliant, sexy, funny, and colorful films of Pedro Almodovar provided the inspiration for the look and feel of this particular presentation, and you have a match made in heaven. You should make it a point to catch all of the Opera Theatre's productions, because they're always innovative, and I especially recommend the wacky comic delights of composer Giochino Rossini's THE BARBER OF SEVILLE.

The Met was running on all cylinders for the last performance of the season, with Verdi's UN BALLO IN MASCHERA in an energized version of the production that premiered in 2012. The trio of principals--soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia, tenor Piotr Beczala as Gustavo and baritone Alexey Markov as Anckarstrom--gave ringing, heart-felt performances in a concept from David Alden that previously seemed half-baked. Now, the singing and acting were so good that one could forget the conceit's shortcomings.

The Metropolitan Opera and Fathom Events partner to present "The Met: Live in HD' 2015 Summer Encores," a series of four encore performances from the 2014-2015 Live in HD series in more than 480 U.S. cinemas nationwide through Fathom's Digital Broadcast Network.

What: Donizetti's comic opera DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT Where: Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, Downtown Pittsburgh When: Saturday, May 2, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 8, 7:30 p.m.* Sunday, May 10, 2:00 p.m.

SAG-AFTRA President Ken Howard today praised the Fair Play Fair Pay Act of 2015, introduced by representatives Jerrold Nadler, Marsha Blackburn, John Conyers Jr. and Ted Deutch.