On October 23 & 24, Persona, a new opera from composer Keeril Makan and adaptor / librettist / director Jay Scheib, will make its world premiere at National Sawdust. Commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects and National Sawdust, and adapted by Scheib from Ingmar Bergman's film of the same name, Persona is a provocative, highly cerebral, and artistically complex depiction of human frailty, cruelty and identity. These world premiere performances—which represent the first opera staged at National Sawdust—feature music direction by Evan Ziporyn and music by the ensemble Either/Or.
The Met came late to the trio of Donizetti operas about British queens, when it finally mounted ANNA BOLENA mounted for Anna Netrebko in 2011. This was long after Beverly Sills made her deal with the devil, trading her voice for the cover of Time Magazine, by singing Anne Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I at New York City Opera. The Met is finally getting around to mounting its own take on the operas this season (the so-called Tudor Trilogy) not for Netrebko but for American Sondra Radvanovsky. As Anna, she delivers a thrilling, go-for-broke performance.
The magic begins again when one of L.A.'s most beloved and longest running shows, SMOKE AND MIRRORS returns to the Odyssey Theatre on Oct. 24 through Dec. 20.
Mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel, in her New York Philharmonic debut, will replace Marietta Simpson, who has withdrawn due to illness, in In Their Footsteps: Great African American Singers and Their Legacy.
Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern announce the cast for the first show of Vineyard Theatre's 2015-2016 season, the musical comedy GIGANTIC, beginning previews at The Acorn Theatre @ Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street) on November 11. Single tickets are now available by calling Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or visiting www.telecharge.com/Off-Broadway/Gigantic.
Tonight, October 9, noted orchestrator and conductor Fred Barton will bring the music of Broadway and the American Songbook to the Schimmel Center at Pace University, in American Showstoppers: An Evening of Johnny Mercer. In his seventh concert at Pace, Fred Barton now brings the power of Mercer's music and lyrics front and center, with a 14-piece orchestra and a cast of 16 Broadway singers and dancers, with direction and choreography by Scott Thompson. The cast is headlined by Damon Kirsch, Tony nominee Lee Roy Reams, two time Tony nominee Vivian Reed, Nick Spangler, Tony Nominee Lauren Worsham, and Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba. The cast also features Jesse Luttrell, Sean McGibbon and Molly Pope.
LA Opera's 30th Anniversary Season will include the west coast premiere of Song from the Uproar, a new multimedia opera by Brooklyn-based composer Missy Mazzoli. This compelling new work is presented under LA Opera's Off Grand banner, which complements the company's mainstage programming through a wide variety of forms of artistic exploration. A unique combination of live music and original film, Song from the Uproar was inspired by the life and writings of early 20th-century explorer Isabelle Eberhardt. The audience witnesses key moments in her life: the death of her family, her journeys in the North African desert, her ecstatic religious conversion and, ultimately, her tragic drowning in a flash flood at the age of 27.
Yale Repertory Theatre opens its 2015-16 season with the world premiere of INDECENT, a new play with music, written by Paula Vogel, created by Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, and directed by Rebecca Taichman, at the University Theatre (222 York Street), now through October 24. Opening Night is tonight, October 8. The world premiere of INDECENT is a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse, where it will play November 13-December 10.
NYCO Renaissance, under the leadership of Roy G. Niederhoffer and Michael Capasso, was joined by the official committee of unsecured creditors for the New York City Opera case. They filed as a '“a monumental step forward” and “in the best interests of the debtor's estate and creditors.” A plan will be submitted in the near future.'
Yale Repertory Theatre opens its 2015-16 season with the world premiere of INDECENT, a new play with music, written by Paula Vogel, created by Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, and directed by Rebecca Taichman, at the University Theatre (222 York Street), tonight, October 2, through October 24. Opening Night is Thursday, October 8. The world premiere of INDECENT is a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse, where it will play November 13-December 10.
First announced back in 2009, BroadwayWorld.com broke news earlier this year about the long gestating BAT OUT OF HELL Musical - revealing exclusively that musician and producer Todd Rundgren joined the team and that the show was hoping to make a 2016 world premiere in Toronto. Producers Michael Cohl and David Sonenberg have joined the project as co-producers, alongside the previously announced Elva Corrie.
BALAM Dance Theatre (BALAM), a New York City based dance company that has performed worldwide, has been selected to perform again in a New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera production. Under Verismo Opera's Artistic Director Lucine Amara, BALAM will perform in Gaetano Donizetti's 'Lucia di Lammermoor' on Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. at the Bergen Performing Arts Center, located at 30 North Van Brunt Street in Englewood, New Jersey.
Los Angeles sensation Ken Roht is arriving in New York City, along with his musical extravaganza ORANGE STAR DINNER SHOW. There are three performances only: September 27th, 28th, and 29th (8:00) at 3Legged Dog (80 Greenwich St).
Vancouver, BC ~ Vancouver Opera kicks off the exciting 2015-2016 season with Giuseppe Verdi's thrilling blockbuster, Rigoletto. Powerful baritone Gordon Hawkins will sing the title role, with international superstar soprano Simone Osborne as Gilda and acclaimed tenor Bruce Sledge as the Duke. Sensational melodies, heartbreaking drama and vivid characters make this dark, tender drama of love and revenge irresistible.
Lyric Opera of Kansas City General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler today announced the four conductors for the 2015-2016 season in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Gary Thor Wedow (pictured, left, Mozart's Don Giovanni), and David Charles Abell (Bizet's Carmen) will be returning to the Lyric Opera. Alexander Polianichko (Dvorak's Rusalka) and Christopher Allen (Donizetti's The Elixir of Love) will be making their Lyric Opera debut.
TONY ROBERTS reveals the story of his legendary five-decade career on stage and screen in the new memoir "Do You Know Me?" It will be available as a hardcover book through Amazon.com (available for pre-order here) and an audio book from Audible.com (available for pre-order here), read by the author himself, on October 6.
Thirty five singers selected from the 2015 New Jersey state wide auditions will join the MidAtlantic Chorus and Orchestra, nationally acclaimed guest soloists and the Seton Hall University Chorus on stage at Carnegie Hall, October 17th in 'A Prayer for Peace' announced Jason C. Tramm, conductor and Artistic Director of the MidAtlantic Opera.
