Michael Capasso News

Italo Montemezzi's L'AMORE DEI TRE RE, which played four performances at City Opera's Rose Theate this weekend, was greeted as a masterpiece when it premiered at La Scala in 1913 proved popular for years at the Met. Today, I'm not sure that even Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann as the lovers could keep it afloat.

New York City Opera presents a new production of Italo Montemezzi's masterpiece L'amore dei tre re (The Love of the Three Kings) directed by Michael Capasso with Pacien Mazzagatti leading the New York City Opera Orchestra. The production marks the first time Montemezzi's opera will be heard in New York City in nearly a decade. Four performances of L'amore dei tre re will be presented at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m., April 14 at 2:00 p.m., and April 15 a 4:00 p.m.

There's no 'Enry 'Iggins or 'Liza Doolittle in Donizetti's IL PIGMALIONE or Rameau's PIGMALION--we'll have to wait for Lincoln Center Theatre's MY FAIR LADY revival (based on Shaw's PYGMALION) next month for that. But this pair of oddities, produced by New York City Opera last weekend at the Gerald Lynch Theatre, gave us the chance to see how the legend of the man who fell in love with a statue and brought it to life was handled by a pair of major composers--if not proving their neglect has been unwarranted.

New York City Opera continues its 2017-18 Chamber Opera Series with a unique double bill of Donizetti's Il Pigmalione and Rameau's Pigmalion, the first time these one-act gems will be presented on the same program. The production also marks the New York premiere of Donizetti's first opera. This double bill will be directed and choreographed by Richard Stafford, with Gil Rose conducting the New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Two performances of Il Pigmalione/Pigmalion will be presented at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater on Saturday, March 24 at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 25 at 4:00 p.m.

Following the success of its fall productions of Puccini's beloved La Fanciulla del West and the New York premiere of Tobias Picker's Dolores Claiborne, New York City Opera continues the 2017/2018 season in January 2018 with the New York premiere of Jos 'Pepe' Mart nez and Leonard Foglia's Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, the world's first mariachi opera.

Mascagni's Isabeau, set to open at Investec Opera Holland Park (OHP) on 14 July 2018, will be a co-production with New York City Opera (NYCO). Performances in New York will take place in spring 2019, on dates to be announced.

New York City Opera will present the celebrated Italian soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci in her highly anticipated return to New York on Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m. Due to popular demand, City Opera has added a second performance the following night, Wednesday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m. Both concerts will be at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Antonacci will perform a program tailored for City Opera featuring works by Debussy, Nadia Boulanger, Respighi, Britten, and Poulenc with her longtime collaborator pianist Donald Sulzen. The concerts will be Ms. Antonacci's first appearance in the U.S. in nearly three seasons.

Following the success of its fall productions of Puccini's beloved La Fanciulla del West and the New York premiere of Tobias Picker's Dolores Claiborne, New York City Opera continues the 2017/2018 season in January 2018 with the New York premiere of Jos 'Pepe' Mart nez and Leonard Foglia's Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, the world's first mariachi opera.

New York City Opera will honor the 90th birthday of Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Dominick Argento with a concert featuring two of his one-act operas on November 9, 2017 at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. Soprano Heather Buck will perform Miss Havisham's Wedding Night and baritone Aaron Engebreth will sing A Water Bird Talk with Gil Rose conducting the New York City Opera Orchestra.

There are no second acts in American lives, wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald in 'The Last Tycoon.' New York City Opera proves him wrong, with its new chamber version of the Tobias Picker-JD McClatchy 2013 opus DOLORES CLAIBORNE. Based on a novel by Stephen King perhaps better known from the film starring Kathy Bates this terse retelling of murder and misery among the rich and poor is never less than interesting and sometimes compelling in Michael Capasso's quickly moving production.

New York City Opera will honor the 90th birthday of Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Dominick Argento with a concert featuring two of his one-act operas on November 9, 2017 at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. Soprano Heather Buck will perform Miss Havisham's Wedding Night and baritone Aaron Engebreth will sing A Water Bird Talk with Gil Rose conducting the New York City Opera Orchestra.

New York City Opera opened New York's cultural season with a new production of Puccini's beloved La fanciulla del West, which WQXR called one of the resurrected City Opera's strongest productions yet. This October City Opera follows the success of La fanciulla del West with the world premiere of a new chamber adaptation of Tobias Picker's 2013 opera Dolores Claiborne, based on the novel by Stephen King. The adaptation has been prepared for City Opera by Picker, who is also City Opera's Composer-in-Residence.

The last time the Met did Puccini's LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST--GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST--it was such a dispiriting affair that I was ready to write it off as past its expiration date. New York City Opera to the rescue!, opening its season with a lively revival of the Italian master's work about the California Gold Rush and the tough-babe-with-a-heart-of-marshmallow who runs the saloon.

59E59 Theaters has announced the line-up of shows for Fall 2017.  All performances take place at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues).

After a critically acclaimed 2016/2017 season, New York City Opera is again at the forefront of New York's cultural season, opening its 2017/2018 season on September 6, 2017 at 7:30PM with a new production of Puccini's La fanciulla del West directed by Ivan Stefanutti with James Meena conducting the New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Soprano Kristin Sampson returns to City Opera to sing the role of Minnie, joined by tenor Jonathan Burton as Dick Johnson in his City Opera debut, and bass-baritone Kevin Short as Jack Rance.

New York City Opera's 2017/2018 season will offer four new mainstage productions at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater, including a Spanish-language opera as part of its Ópera en Español series. City Opera will also offer two New York City Opera Concerts in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall and a chamber opera series at locations to be announced. New York City Opera Orchestra will be featured in every opera.

In its 2016 - 2017 season, New York City Opera presented the New York staged premiere of Rachmaninoff's Aleko, the New York premiere of Tobin Stokes's Fallujah, 10 sold-out performances of Bernstein's Candide, the modern-day revival of Respighi's La Campana Sommersa, and the American premiere of Antonio Literes's Baroque rarity Los Elementos. This June, New York City Opera concludes the season with the eagerly anticipated New York premiere of Peter Eotvos's Angels in America, based on the play by Tony Kushner.

Los Elementos by Literes Tuesday, June 13 - La Cenerentola by Rossini Tuesday, August 22 - La Fanciulla del West by Puccini Friday, September 15 - Viva Verdi: Arias and Duets by Verd. Featuring extraordinary performances produced by New York City Opera,  including original hour-long previews of the company's upcoming shows.

Last June, New York City Opera inaugurated its Opera en Español series with the long-awaited New York premiere of Daniel Catàn's Florencia en el Amazonas. This May, following the critical success of the company's modern day revival of Respighi's rarely heard La Campana Sommersa, New York City Opera will present the second installment in its Opera en Español series with the American premiere of Antonio Literes's circa 1713 Spanish Baroque opera, Los Elementos. Richard Stafford will direct and choreograph the compact, one-hour work with sets by John Farrell, costumes by Janet O'Neill, lighting by Susan Roth and hair and makeup by Georgianna Eberhard. Sopranos Samarie Alicea and Chelsea Bonagura and mezzo-sopranos Melanie Ashkar and Kelsey Robertson will make their City Opera debuts as the four elements: Air (El Ayre), Water (El Agua), Earth (La Tierra), and Fire (El Fuego). City Opera veteran baritone Marco Nisticó returns to portray Time (El Tiempo) and mezzo-soprano Magda Gartner is featured as the Dawn (La Aurora). Pacien Mazzagatti, New York City Opera's Principal Conductor, will lead the New York City Opera Orchestra in Literes's evocative and atmospheric score.

Since opening the 2016 - 2017 season last September, New York City Opera has reestablished itself as a vital part of New York City's cultural landscape, delivering new productions, New York premieres and sold-out performances.