Washington National Opera (WNO), led by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, announces its 2018-2019 season, one that continues its focus on bold productions of classic operas, fascinating contemporary perspectives, and the best in American artistry. The season includes a new WNO production of Verdi's classic romantic drama La traviata, the company premiere of Kevin Puts's and Mark Campbell's Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night, Tchaikovsky's epic Eugene Onegin, Gounod's devilishly entertaining Faust, and Puccini's towering masterpiece Tosca. The season also features a weekend of four world premieres during the American Opera Initiative Festival; a revival of WNO's hit world-premiere holiday family opera The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me; a special Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist performance of La traviata; and other exciting vocal events, including the annual Mars, lnc.'s Opera in the Outfield.
In many areas of the arts in New York, January is a quiet month. But in the opera world, the last few weeks certainly have been jumping. It has also been a fine time for asking 'What is an Opera?' For me, January started with Prototype 2018's ACQUANETTA and ended this past weekend--with many in between--with New York City Opera's 'first mariachi opera,' CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA (TO CROSS THE FACE OF THE MOON).
Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Andre Bishop) has announced complete casting for its upcoming production of Lerner & Loewe's MY FAIR LADY. As previously reported, Lauren Ambrose will be playing as Eliza Doolittle and Harry Hadden-Paton will play Henry Higgins, alongside Norbert Leo Butz as Alfred P. Doolittle and Diana Rigg as Mrs. Higgins. Just announced are: Allan Corduner as Colonel Pickering, Jordan Donica as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, Linda Mugleston as Mrs. Pearce, and Manu Narayan as Zoltan Karpathy.
Kronos Quartet/Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA) is proud to announce the fourth group of composers for Fifty for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire. Launched in 2015, Kronos' Fifty for the Future is an exciting partnership with Carnegie Hall and others to create 50 new works - by 25 women and 25 men - expressly for the training of students and emerging professionals. Each year, ten composers are announced. As ever, scores, parts, recordings, videos, and other learning materials for the compositions will be offered free of charge online at kronosquartet.org/fifty-for-the-future.
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.
Bruce Stasyna, San Diego Opera's chorus master, will also lead the orchestra in the company's upcoming production of Astor Piazzolla's Maria de Buenos Aires. We met in the Civic Center's Copper Room recently to discuss that, his career, and more.
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.
THEATER 2020, Brooklyn Heights' NY Innovative Theater Award multi-nominated professional theater company is pleased to announce its Winter 2018 run of the Stephen Sondheim/John Weidman musical Assassins, in a limited run of 16 performances, Thursday, February 22nd - Sunday, March 25th, 2018.
Philip Torre, a baritone who has appeared on the stages of Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera and others, has been cast in the title role of Stephen Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. The production's Mrs. Lovett will be Jacquelyne Jones, who just completed a run in Firebrand Theatre's acclaimed production of LIZZIE, and appeared in Theo Ubique's HONKY TONK ANGELS as well as Kokandy Productions' HEATHERS last season. Theo Ubique Artistic Director Fred Anzevino, who will direct the production, announced the full cast today.
Washington National Opera (WNO) presents the sixth season of its acclaimed American Opera Initiative, a comprehensive commissioning program that brings contemporary American stories to the stage while fostering the talents of rising American composers and librettists. All of the program's world premiere operas are presented during the American Opera Initiative Festival weekend,January 19 21, 2018, all in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. The festival begins with the world premiere of a new hour-long work by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek, Proving Up, on January 19 and 21, 2018, directed by Alison Moritz and conducted by Christopher Rountree, both in their WNO debuts. Three new pairings of opera composers and librettists Nathan Fletcher and Megan Cohen, Gity Razaz and Sara Cooper, John Glover and Erin Bregman offer new, one-act operas during the festival. Two semi-staged concert performances of each 20-minute opera are presented on January 20, 2018.
Between vivid portrayals of characters from 1960's Manhattan to present day San Francisco, Marga Gomez ponders the ballads (or Latin Standards) penned by her late father Willy Chevalier: a comedian/producer/entrepreneur and composer of dance tunes steeped in jealousy and obsession.
Vocalists Sandra Moon, Mary Thorne and Anna Tonna will join forces with pianist Max Lifchitz in an intimate celebration of the Art Song as practiced by Latino Composers during the last 100 years.
The Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) announces the cast and creative team for Hamlet, directed by STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn and featuring acclaimed actor Michael Urie as the tortured Danish prince. Shakespeare's most celebrated tragedy will run January 16-February 25, 2018 at Sidney Harman Hall.
Right Angle Entertainment announced today the hiring of Jim Lanahan as Vice President. He will be based in the Los Angeles offices handling touring show general management, marketing and operations for the company. He joins Right Angle Entertainment with a long history of working with Broadway and the road's biggest producers and productions including Disney Theatrical Productions, Really Useful Group and Blue Man Productions. Additionally, John Poland and Elissa E. Szieff have joined the executive team as Director of Touring, and Chief Financial Officer, respectively. Poland will be in charge of tour coordination and Szieff will handle all company business management and accounting. Carla Marie Rugg continues on as Associate Producer, and Cliff Kellas remains in his role as General Manager.
Right Angle Entertainment announced today the hiring of Jim Lanahan as Vice President. He will be based in the Los Angeles offices handling touring show general management, marketing and operations for the company. He joins Right Angle Entertainment with a long history of working with Broadway and the road's biggest producers and productions including Disney Theatrical Productions, Really Useful Group and Blue Man Productions. Additionally, John Poland and Elissa E. Szieff have joined the executive team as Director of Touring, and Chief Financial Officer, respectively. Poland will be in charge of tour coordination and Szieff will handle all company business management and accounting. Carla Marie Rugg continues on as Associate Producer, and Cliff Kellas remains in his role as General Manager.
Pegasus Opera Company presents an opera double bill showcasing women in lead roles, Ruth and The Dark Lady of the Sonnets. There will be four performances starting Wednesday 28 February Friday 2 March, 7.30pm and Sunday 4 March, 2.30pm at the Actors Church (St Paul's), Covent Garden, Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ED.
A sizzling blend of domestic comedy and romance, symphonic music and opera, thrilling virtuosity and extraordinary artistry, will melt the icy grip of winter this February as The Dallas Opera presents a once-in-a-lifetime pairing: Erich Wolfgang Korngold's rarely performed 1916 opera, The Ring of Polykrates, preceded by the composer's famous Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 that premiered nearly three decades later in 1945.
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents Sci-Fi Spectacular, featuring music from Star Wars, Star Trek and more, January 6 7 in Newark and New Brunswick. Marina Sirtis, best known as counselor Deanna Troi on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the four feature films that followed, hosts.
The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of guest conductor Carolyn Kuan, will perform John Corigliano's Academy Award-winning score for The Red Violin, accompanied by Fran ois Girard's engrossing film in its entirety, at the Granada Theatre on Saturday, January 20, and Sunday, January 21. Featuring Canadian violinist Lara St. John as soloist, the concerts will take place at 8 pm on January 20 and at 3 pm on January 21. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at www.granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222.
