New York City Opera News

Tonight (March 10) Laura Osnes will assume the role of Ensign Nellie Forbush replacing Kelli O'Hara and David Pittsinger will again take over the role of Emile de Becque.

Tomorrow night (March 10) Laura Osnes will assume the role of Ensign Nellie Forbush replacing Kelli O'Hara and David Pittsinger will again take over the role of Emile de Becque.

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

Hell's Kitchen The Musical opened Off-Broadway February 11th at The Hudson Guild Theater. Veteran singer/songwriter and composer Jon Montgomery (Foreigner, KISS) adapted Hell's Kitchen The Musical from his screenplay 'The King Of 42nd Street.' He teamed up with pianist and composer Toby Kasavan (Bootsy Collins, Wilson Pickett), and after the score and book was written, Hell's Kitchen was first showcased at 353 Studios in 2004.

March 2, 2009 Los Angeles - The Off-Broadway hit ?Back to Bacharach and David? will have a short 23 performance engagement at The Music Box @ Fonda April 15 to May 17 (opening April 19).

New York City Opera and Target present a family performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute on Saturday, April 4th at 1pm at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens. The one hour, semi-staged presentation of the opera will be sung in English, and will feature New York City Opera singers and orchestra conducted by the company's Music Director George Manahan.

Mozart Festival Opera brings THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO to the State Theatre in Easton on Thursday, March 12th at 8 PM Tickets at $37/$32 can be obtained by visiting the State Theatre Box Office, 453 Northampton Street, Easton, by calling 1-800-999-STATE, 610-252-3132 or the 24-Hour Credit Card Hotline at 610-991-STATE (7828), or via the internet at www.statetheatre.org. The show is sponsored by PBS 39 & WDIY 88.1 FM..

Broadway's most talked about new musical and the biggest Tony Award-winner in years is coming to Cleveland. Spring Awakening, the 8-time Tony Award? winning Broadway musical, will open at PlayhouseSquare's PalaceTheatre and play for 16 performances, March 3-15. Spring Awakening is part of the KeyBank Broadway Series at PlayhouseSquare. Spring Awakening swept the 2007 Tony Awards? winning eight out of its eleven nominations, including Best Musical, Best Director (Michael Mayer), Best Book (Steven Sater), Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones), Best Orchestrations (Duncan Sheik), Best Lighting Design (Kevin Adams), Best Featured Actor (John Gallagher Jr.).

Ren?e Fleming reprises one of her most renowned portrayals when she sings the title role of Dvoř?k's fairy-tale opera Rusalka, which opens March 9. Stephanie Blythe sings the role of the witch Je?ibaba for the first time at the Met. Rusalka's beloved Prince will be played by tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko, in his Met debut. Christine Goerke returns to the company for the first time in four years, adding the role of the Foreign Princess to her Met repertory. Kristinn Sigmundsson sings Rusalka's father, the Water Gnome, also a Met role debut. Noted Czech conductor Jiř? Belohl?vek leads Dvoř?k's best-known opera for the first time at the Met. The production is by Otto Schenk; G?nther Schneider-Siemssen designed the sets; Sylvia Strahammer created the costumes; the lighting design is by Gil Wechsler, and the choreographer is Carmen de Lavallade. Laurie Feldman directs this revival, which runs through March 21.

Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Fl?rez, who created a sensation last season in La Fille du R?giment, star in a new production of Bellini's La Sonnambula opening March 2, directed by Mary Zimmerman and conducted by Evelino Pid?. Dessay takes the role of the sleepwalker Amina, with Fl?rez as her betrothed Elvino, and Michele Pertusi as the Count who almost ruins their wedding. Performances run through April 3, with Barry Banks singing Elvino at the final performance. Zimmerman returns with the creative team that collaborated on her hit production of Lucia di Lammermoor, which opened the 2007-08 season: Daniel Ostling, set designer; Mara Blumenfeld, costume designer; T.J. Gerckens, lighting designer; and Daniel Pelzig, choreographer.

Visionary director Martha Clarke brings Hieronymus Bosch's provocative painting to life in Garden of Earthly Delights, exploring heaven, hell, and the beauty and sins amid, began performances Saturday, November 8 at Off-Broadway's Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane.

Tony Award winners Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons return to Broadway to star together in the world premiere of Impressionism, a new American play by Michael Jacobs. The production, which is directed by Tony Award-winner Jack O'Brien, will plays the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

Eric Schaeffer, Artistic Director of Signature Theatre, today announced casting for the world premiere production of the musical Giant by composer Michael John LaChiusa and playwright Sybille Pearson.

Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of ALT, has announced that the company has commissioned The Golden Ticket, a new opera based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In his announcement, Edelson explained that all of Dahl's beloved characters find a unique voice in this exciting new opera. 'If thoughts of Augustus Gloop being swept away in the Chocolate River, Violet Beauregarde inflating like a giant blueberry, Mike Teavee being demagnified into the tele-dimension, and Veruca Salt being thrown down the rubbish shoot by a gang of nut-inspecting squirrels sound like your idea of a fun night at the opera - or better yet, unlike any night at the opera or theater you've ever experienced - The Golden Ticket is....just the ticket!'

Blue Hill Troupe, Ltd., the only musical theater group in New York City to donate its net proceeds to charity, presents the flagship production of its 85th season: a fresh take on Gilbert & Sullivan?s first full-length collaboration, The Sorcerer.

Marion J. Caffey?s 3 Mo? Divas has been awarded its first PBS Television Special! After receiving rave reviews and playing to sold out audiences & standing ovations ?3 Mo? Divas (Smashing Musical Barriers)? will air nationally March 1st-10th and June 1st-15th (WLIW in NYC on March 10th @ 8pm - check local listings for exact dates and times in other areas). In celebration of the PBS Special, 3 Mo' Divas will also release their debut CD ?Smashing Musical Barriers? on March 1st and a Hi-Def & Blu-Ray DVD recording of the PBS special on May 12th.

New York City Opera's acclaimed VOX: Showcasing American Opera series marks its 10th anniversary on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Place, at Washington Square South) at New York University. New York City Opera's annual VOX series demonstrates the company's commitment to the development of American opera, giving a free-of-charge platform to new or previously unperformed American operas. The final excerpt presented on Saturday, May 2, will mark the 100th opera presented by VOX.

Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Fl?rez, who created a sensation last season in La Fille du R?giment, star in a new production of Bellini's La Sonnambula opening March 2, directed by Mary Zimmerman and conducted by Evelino Pid?. Dessay takes the role of the sleepwalker Amina, with Fl?rez as her betrothed Elvino, and Michele Pertusi as the Count who almost ruins their wedding. Performances run through April 3, with Barry Banks singing Elvino at the final performance. Zimmerman returns with the creative team that collaborated on her hit production of Lucia di Lammermoor, which opened the 2007-08 season: Daniel Ostling, set designer; Mara Blumenfeld, costume designer; T.J. Gerckens, lighting designer; and Daniel Pelzig, choreographer.

Kansas City opera fans have been waiting 10 years for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City to produce the audience favorite, La Traviata. On March 14, 16, 18, 20, & 22, 2009 the Lyric Opera of Kansas City will present Verdi's spellbinding tragedy, La Traviata at the Lyric Theatre in downtown Kansas City. Under the spell of one exquisite party, Violetta is tempted - and eventually swayed - to abandon her life of endless immoral pleasure to join lovesick Alfredo in the love affair of a lifetime despite Violetta's secret terminal disease. Violetta's colored past proves to be a hurdle for Alfredo's father, who persuades her to leave Alfredo for his own good. The pair is only reunited for the final moments of Violetta's life.

Hell's Kitchen The Musical opened Off-Broadway February 11th at The Hudson Guild Theater. Veteran singer/songwriter and composer Jon Montgomery (Foreigner, KISS) adapted Hell's Kitchen The Musical from his screenplay 'The King Of 42nd Street.' He teamed up with pianist and composer Toby Kasavan (Bootsy Collins, Wilson Pickett), and after the score and book was written, Hell's Kitchen was first showcased at 353 Studios in 2004.