Renee Fleming News

GPR Records (Glen Roven, Peter Fitzgerald, Richard Cohen, artistic directors) will release a children's CD of Catherine Zeta-Jones narrating The Runaway Bunny, based on the best selling children's classic by Margaret Wise Brown. Michael Douglas narrates everyone's favorite elephant - The Story of Babar - The Little Elephant, a 1931 classic written by Jean de Brunhoff. Also on the CD will be English Baritone Mark Stone singing Goodnight Moon also by Margaret Wise Brown. The CD, distributed by Naxos, will be released on November 15th and will be available at www.GPRRecords.com, Amazon, and iTunes.

On Monday, October 22, 2012, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) hosted the 30th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City and presented 25 Awards to emerging artists in theater, dance and film, as well as the Princess Grace Statue Award presented to actor Patrick Page and sound designer Darron L West. The Gala took place in the presence of TSH The Prince and Princess of Monaco.

DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. today announced that acclaimed soprano Renee Fleming has performed the original song 'Still Dream' on the soundtrack for the upcoming Rise of the Guardians, which also features a score by Four-Time Academy Award nominated and Grammy Award winning composer Alexandre Desplat. Varese Sarabande will release the soundtrack on November 13, preceding the film's nationwide release on November 21.

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) has just announced that the 30(th) Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala will be held on Monday, October 22, 2012 at Cipriani 42(nd) Street in New York City. The Awards ceremony will include the presentation of 25 awards to emerging artists in theater, dance and film as well as Princess Grace Statue Awards to be presented to Patrick Page and Darron L West. A special honor will be presented to one of the founding Trustees, Lynn Wyatt, for her dedicated service and help in establishing the Foundation in 1982. The 30(th) Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala will take place in the presence of TSH The Prince and The Princess of Monaco. Legendary newswoman Paula Zahn will act as Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening. The evening will be chaired by Renee Fleming and Tim Jessell and H.R.H. Princess Firyal of Jordan. Presenting Sponsor for the Gala is Hermes; Crown Sponsor is Lily Safra. A unique live auction will feature a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Monaco for the Grand Prix and opportunities to name a Princess Grace Award. Bringing down the gavel will be Paddle8's co-founder, Alexander Gilkes.

Today we are talking to a breathtakingly gifted vocalist who premiered the first single from his brand new solo album COMFORTABLE right here in this very column on BroadwayWorld earlier this week - the one and only Tituss Burgess. In this career-spanning conversation, Burgess and I touch upon many of the Broadway entities which he has played a part in over the last decade or so - THE LITTLE MERMAID, JERSEY BOYS and GOOD VIBRATIONS included - as well as sharing some onset stories involving his stints on NBC's hit comedy 30 ROCK. Most of all, Burgess and I dissect the finer points of his sophomore solo album, COMFORTABLE, and he explains his songwriter process and progress, as well as the many influences and inspirations that have infused this passion project over the course of its years in writing, recording, and, now, finally, releasing. Plus, Burgess looks ahead to the future and clues us in on his late-night concert at New World Stages on Sunday night. All of that and much, much more!

A quickly-rising star who is already one of the opera world's most sought-after vocalists, soprano Susanna Phillips has filled the upcoming season with an exciting schedule of engagements. Phillips returns to New York's Metropolitan Opera for her fifth consecutive season, makes her Carnegie Hall solo recital debut, and taps into her Southern heritage as Stella in Andre Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire with Renee Fleming in performances at Carnegie Hall and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Sirius XM Radio announced that legendary entertainer Carol Burnett-joined by her longtime co-stars Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence-will sit down for a rare Q&A session with an audience of SiriusXM listeners to celebrate the DVD release of THE Carol Burnett SHOW, the 25-time Emmy® Award-winning series considered by many to be the greatest comedy-variety show ever produced.

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) announced today that legendary entertainer Carol Burnett-joined by her longtime co-stars Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence-will sit down for a rare Q&A session with an audience of SiriusXM listeners to celebrate the DVD release of THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW, the 25-time Emmy® Award-winning series considered by many to be the greatest comedy-variety show ever produced.

Lloyd Burlingame, a prominent Broadway designer, celebrates his faithful and intrepid Seeing Eye Dogs in a new book release, Two Seeing Eye Dogs Take Manhattan! A Love Story. Two Seeing Eye Dogs Take Manhattan (ISBN: 978-1-477446-02-7, Trade Paper, 234 pages, $14.95) will be available wherever books are sold in August 2012.

GPR Records will release a recording of Catherine Zeta-Jones narrating The Runaway Bunny, based on the best selling children's classic by Margaret Wise Brown. Also on the CD will be English Baritone Mark Stone singing Goodnight Moon and a special guest superstar narrating Poulenc's Babar, The Elephant. The CD will be released on November 15th, will be available at www.GPRRecords.com, Amazon, and iTunes.

The Diva and the Baritone, stars Metropolitan Opera baritone Theodore Lambrinos and his singing partner and wife, international operatic soprano Hallie Neill. Elliot Finkel, a concert pianist with the chops of a Broadway musical director wrote the arrangements to showcase the couple's amazing vocal talents in a charming mix of Broadway, opera and the best of the Great American songbook.

The Diva and the Baritone, stars Metropolitan Opera baritone Theodore Lambrinos and his singing partner and wife, international operatic soprano Hallie Neill. Elliot Finkel, a concert pianist with the chops of a Broadway musical director wrote the arrangements to showcase the couple's amazing vocal talents in a charming mix of Broadway, opera and the best of the Great American songbook.

Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Patrick Wilson (A'95) will deliver CMU's keynote address for its 115th Commencement at 11 a.m., today, May 20 in Gesling Stadium. Wilson, a critically acclaimed, award-winning actor, was most recently seen in Paramount Pictures' Young Adult and also starring in the CBS drama, AGifted Man.

Accordo, established in 2009, is a Minnesota-based chamber group. Its third season, which opened with a program of Romantic String Sextets and closes with tonight's May 14 offering, is presented by The Schubert Club, Northrop Concerts and Lectures, and Kate Nordstrum Projects at the National Historic Landmark Christ Church Lutheran.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis has been selected as the 2012 winner of the Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Dean Toni-Marie Montgomery announced today. In connection with the Nemmers Prize, Kernis will be in residence at Northwestern for four weeks each throughout the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, during which time he will undertake various educational activities. The prize will be formally awarded to Kernis in a ceremony to take place during his final weeks at the University.

The McCallum Theatre, the Coachella Valley's premiere theatrical venue, celebrates its 25th Anniversary Season with a star-studded lineup of Classical Music, Jazz, Cabaret, Comedy and a Broadway Blockbuster Series which includes Rock of Ages, Dreamgirls and West Side Story. The McCallum Theatre opened its doors on January 2, 1988 with a gala performance honoring Bob Hope that was nationally televised. Since then The McCallum has been the Coachella Valley's mecca for world-class entertainment including an extensive array of Broadway and Cabaret offerings. The man behind the tremendous success of the McCallum's eclectic performance calendar for the past thirteen years is Mitch Gershenfeld, Director of Presentations and Theatre Operations, who will take the helm as the theatre's President and CEO beginning June 1. I had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Gershenfeld as he begins preparations for The McCallum's exciting Silver Anniversary Season. Gershenfeld is warm, passionate, highly astute, a performing arts afficionado and a genuinely kind man. Here are a few highlights from that conversation.

The McCallum Theatre, the Coachella Valley's premiere theatrical venue, will celebrate its 25th Anniversary Season with a star-studded lineup of Classical Music, Jazz, Cabaret, Comedy and a Broadway Blockbuster Series which includes Rock of Ages, Dreamgirls and West Side Story. The season kicks off on August 31 with comedy legend Steve Martin joined by the Grammy nominated Steep Canyon Rangers. This wonderfully eclectic season also includes Pink Martini, Howie Mandell, Barbara Cook, Michael Feinstein, Elaine Page and Yo-Yo Ma, to name a few.

Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Patrick Wilson (A'95) will deliver CMU's keynote address for its 115th Commencement at 11 a.m., Sunday, May 20 in Gesling Stadium. Wilson, a critically acclaimed, award-winning actor, was most recently seen in Paramount Pictures' Young Adult and also starring in the CBS drama, AGifted Man.

Accordo, established in 2009, is a Minnesota-based chamber group. Its third season, which opened with a program of Romantic String Sextets on February 6 and closes with the May 14 offering, is presented by The Schubert Club, Northrop Concerts and Lectures, and Kate Nordstrum Projects at the National Historic Landmark Christ Church Lutheran.