Nathan Gunn News

The Metropolitan Opera today announced the names of eight finalists who will sing in the 2009 National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert on February 22 at 3:00 p.m., with the Met Orchestra conducted by Patrick Summers.

Eight new productions, four of which are company premieres, will highlight the Metropolitan Opera's 2009-10 season. General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine jointly announced plans that include: the Met premieres of Rossini's Armida, Verdi's Attila, Jan?ček's From the House of the Dead, and Shostakovich's The Nose; new productions of Bizet's Carmen, Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Thomas's Hamlet, and Puccini's Tosca; and 18 revivals from the company's repertory. The season is the first to be entirely planned under Gelb's leadership, in collaboration with Levine (the past three seasons were planned before Gelb became General Manager in 2006-07 but included some productions, repertoire, and casting changes made by Gelb).

The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall announces its 2009-2010 season of jazz and classical concerts, which includes Jazz @ Massey Hall (series of 3 concerts), International Vocal Recitals (series of 4 concerts), Virtuoso Performance (series of 3 concerts), and four special concerts. Subscriptions are currently on sale. For more information call: 416-872-4255, go online at www.masseyhall.com or www.roythomson.com, or visit the Roy Thomson Hall box office.

THE SWEETEST SOUNDS -- ALLEGRO Written in 1947, ALLEGRO was preceded in the R&H canon by OKLAHOMA! and CAROUSEL, and followed directly by SOUTH PACIFIC and THE KING AND I. In this podcast, hosted by Jeff Lunden, the bold innovations and experimental aspects of ALLEGRO are explored in the context of the first complete recording of its score, released by Sony Masterworks Broadway today, February 3, 2009. The CD is produced by David Lai, Bruce Pomahac and Ted Chapin.

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

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.

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.

The Metropolitan Opera will release the DVD of its abridged, English-language production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, the inaugural transmission of the company's Emmy award-winning Live in HD series from December 2006. The first self-produced DVD by the Met, The Magic Flute DVD will retail for $25.00. It will be available exclusively at the Met Opera Shop beginning December 18, timed to performances of The Magic Flute on the Met stage beginning December 22.

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

Eminent artist friends and peers of this year's six honorees converged in Washington, D.C. last night (Dec. 7) to present entertaining and heartfelt tributes at THE 31ST ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS, an entertainment special to be broadcast Tuesday, Dec. 30 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, with Caroline Kennedy as host for the sixth consecutive year.

The Metropolitan Opera will release the DVD of its abridged, English-language production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, the inaugural transmission of the company's Emmy award-winning Live in HD series from December 2006. The first self-produced DVD by the Met, The Magic Flute DVD will retail for $25.00. It will be available exclusively at the Met Opera Shop beginning December 18, timed to performances of The Magic Flute on the Met stage beginning December 22.

Young singers from around the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico will compete for $15,000 cash prizes and the chance to perform in the Grand Finals Concert on the nation's most prestigious opera stage when the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions launches its 55th annual auditions program this fall.

The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization confirmed today that principal orchestral and vocal work has been completed for the first complete recording of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ALLEGRO. A release date for the recording will be announced shortly.

The New York Philharmonic presents Lerner & Loewe's classic musical of King Arthur and the Round Table.

The New York Philharmonic presents Camelot beginning May 7th.

Celebrated Baritone Nathan Gunn, who will be performing the role of Lancelot in the New York Philharmonic's production of Camelot, discusses the classic musical and it's eternal passions, bonds of valor and it's tragic love triangle.

PBS to broadcast 'Camelot' on May 8th.

The New York Philharmonic has launched an online photo album following the cast of 'Camelot.'

Stacy Keach to guest star as Merlyn in the New York Philharmonic's 'Camalot' May 7-10, 2008

The New York Philharmonic's five, semi-staged performances of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot will star Gabriel Byrne (King Arthur); Marin Mazzie (Guenevere); Nathan Gunn (Lancelot); Christopher Lloyd (Pellinore); and Marc Kudisch (Lionel).