Nathan Gunn News

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, announces details of Opera Conference 2009: Making Opera Matter, to be held in Houston, Texas from April 29 to May 2. Co-hosted by Houston Grand Opera, this largest gathering of opera professionals in North America will convene at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the heart of Houston's business and entertainment districts.

Houston Grand Opera closes the 2008-09 season with its 39 th world premiere, Andr? Previn's Brief Encounter, at the Wortham Theater Center's Brown Theater, May 1 - May 8, 2009. Brief Encounter is German-born American pianist, conductor and composer Andr? Previn'ssecond opera. His first opera, A Streetcar Named Desire, which won the Grand Prix du Disques recording award, had its premiere in San Francisco in 1998 to much acclaim and continues to beperformed internationally.

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, announces details of Opera Conference 2009: Making Opera Matter, to be held in Houston, Texas from April 29 to May 2. Co-hosted by Houston Grand Opera, this largest gathering of opera professionals in North America will convene at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the heart of Houston's business and entertainment districts.

The Metropolitan Opera announced plans for its free outdoor events this summer, which will take place in the Lincoln Center Plaza and in parks throughout New York City. In a brand new initiative, the Met's Summer HD Festival will feature screenings of ten productions from the Met's Peabody and Emmy Award-winning Live in HD series in Lincoln Center Plaza on consecutive nights, beginning Saturday, August 29.

Broadway legend Barbara Cook will return to the New York Philharmonic for two evenings - Saturday, May 30, and Tuesday, June 2, 2009, both at 8:00 p.m. - with the Philharmonic conducted by her acclaimed music director, Lee Musiker. Ms. Cook's appearances follow the success of her three sold-out 80th-birthday concerts with the Philharmonic in the 2007-08 season.

New York Philharmonic Music Director Designate Alan Gilbert will lead the New York Philharmonic in five free concerts this summer throughout the City of New York, from July 14 to 20. He will conduct all of the 2009 New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, sponsored by Target, which will take place July 14?17, 2009 in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, as well as two free indoor concerts, in Staten Island and Queens, on July 18 and July 20 respectively.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) continues its 54 th season with Verdi's haunting and tragic tale Rigoletto. Rigoletto, which was last performed at HGO in 2001, returns to the Wortham Theater Centerwith a powerful new staging of Michael Yeargan's classic production that was inspired by Italianpainter Giorgio di Chirico.

Well, it's time to get out of your homes, dorms and apartments and enjoy all the upcoming great weather. That means, of course, that your portable music devices need to be 'loaded up' with all the stuff you want to hear, while at the airports, beaches, parties and other destinations you'll be frequenting over the Spring and Summer seasons. Here's the latest stuff I've been sent (or acquired) and assigned to listen to.

The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization released the first complete recording of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ALLEGRO on Sony Masterworks Broadway on February 3, 2009. The CD is produced by David Lai, Bruce Pomahac and Ted Chapin.

On March 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., The Collegiate Chorale appeared with The New York City Opera Orchestra at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall in a performance of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 Broadway operetta The Firebrand of Florence.

Nathan Gunn talks about Broadway, Opera and teaching the next generation of singers

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) raised nearly $200,000 at their annual gala held on March 7, 2009 at the The Spertus Institute in Chicago. This year's gala celebrated the company's 35th Anniversary and honored General Director Brian Dickie as he marks his 10th Anniversary with the company. Over 250 guests enjoyed an evening of cocktails, dinner, raffles, silent and live auctions throughout Spertus Institute, allowing the visitors the opportunity to experience the bold and crisp architectural spaces of the building. COT Board Trustee and Gala Committee Chairman Lincoln S. Ellis emceed the evening and mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy was the evening's featured performer.

On March 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., The Collegiate Chorale appears with The New York City Opera Orchestra at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall in a performance of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 Broadway operetta The Firebrand of Florence. The performance, led by guest conductor Ted Sperling, stars baritone Nathan Gunn, soprano Anna Christy, baritone Terrence Mann, and soprano Victoria Clark. Krysty Swann, David Pittu and Patrick Goss complete the cast, and narration will be provided by Stage Director Roger Rees. Boasting a score by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by playwright and screenwriter Edwin Justus Mayer, The Firebrand of Florence had a short run on Broadway in 1945. The work was subsequently not heard for over a half-century until three presentations - Ohio Light Opera (1999), the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London (2000) and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna (2000) - shed new light on the relatively obscure work. The performances were not only accepted, but widely acclaimed, thus giving hope for a new life in a new century. Variety's theater critic Steven Suskin says 'I have long believed that Firebrand in concert should be a dazzling delight.' Benvenuto Cellini, the great Florentine artist, is sentenced to hang, but he is pardoned when the duke realizes that he has not completed a previously commissioned sculpture. Freed, he is able to turn his attention to his favorite model (and object of his affections), Angela. The Duke also is interested in Angela. In a typical operetta plot, Cellini swashbuckles around the stage, keeping the Duke away from Angela, keeping himself away from the Duchess, and escaping yet another death sentence by fleeing to Paris, as the end of the show recapitulates the beginning.

Tony-nominee Terrence Mann talks about Kurt Weill, Ira Gershwin, and the rewards of being a teacher

Victoria Clark talks about Kurt Weill, motherhood and teaching the next generation of artists.

Houston Grand Opera closes the 2008-09 season with its 39 th world premiere, Andr? Previn's Brief Encounter, at the Wortham Theater Center's Brown Theater, May 1 - May 8, 2009. Brief Encounter is German-born American pianist, conductor and composer Andr? Previn'ssecond opera. His first opera, A Streetcar Named Desire, which won the Grand Prix du Disques recording award, had its premiere in San Francisco in 1998 to much acclaim and continues to beperformed internationally.

The Metropolitan Opera today announced the winners of the 2009 National Council Auditions. They are: Paul Appleby of South Bend, Indiana; Anthony Roth Costanzo of Durham, North Carolina; Sung Eun Lee of Seoul, South Korea; and Nadine Sierra of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Selected from eight finalists who performed arias with the Met Orchestra, conducted by Patrick Summers, at the Grand Finals Concert on February 22, each winner takes away a cash prize of $15,000.

The first full recording of Allegro, a 1947 musical by Rodgers & Hammerstein, has just been released on CD. Allegro producer Ted Chapin visited NPR Fresh Air from WHYY, February 17, 2009 to chat about the restored gem.

The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization is now home to a newly launched podcast series on iTunes. The Sweetest Sounds, hosted by R&H President Ted Chapin (except where noted), and produced by award-winning NPR documentarian Jeff Lunden, will be an ongoing series of audio podcasts highlighting the musicals and authors we proudly represent.

This spring, the Metropolitan Opera will present The Audition, a documentary film about the intense challenges and pressures young opera singers face as they try to become opera stars. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke, The Audition will be shown on 400 screens across the country on April 19 at 3pm EST (and in Canada on June 6 at 1pm EST) as part of the Metropolitan Opera's series of high definition presentations in movie theaters and performing arts centers. The Audition is a suspenseful competition narrative that provides a revealing behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to make it as an opera star. The feature-length film documents the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, where each year thousands of hopefuls compete for a cash prize, the chance to sing on the storied Met stage-and the opportunity to launch a major operatic career. The film focuses on the final week of the competition, as judges narrow the field down from 22 semi-finalists to11 finalists while the stakes get higher and the pressure grows more intense. The documentary crew was given unprecedented access to the singers, judges, and events backstage at the Met.