Richard Bradshaw News

Vancouver, BC ~ Following the success of last year's 'Opera's Greatest Hits - and More!' concert at the Surrey Arts Centre, Vancouver Opera again brings the best of opera hits and Broadway tunes to Surrey. The affordable, family-friendly concert will be performed by this year's participants in VO's acclaimed Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists program, a springboard for artists on the verge of launching international careers.

The Canadian Opera Company presents its winter listings, including Don Giovanni and Die Walküre, as well as highlights of the Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre.

Out of a pool of 175 aspiring opera singers from across the country, theCanadian Opera Company has selectedseven to compete at Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition Gala today, November 25, 2014 at Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

FREE CONCERT SERIES IN THE RICHARD BRADSHAW AMPHITHEATRE December 2 – 18, 2014 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts 145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Chasing the Day, Broadsway, Christine Andreas in Love Is Good, Ann Hampton Callaway in Turning Points, A Night Like This Live in Concert, and Seth Sykes Sings Judy Garland.

Out of a pool of 175 aspiring opera singers from across the country, theCanadian Opera Company has selectedseven to compete at Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition Gala on November 25, 2014 at Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. This year hosted by world renowned Canadian tenor Ben Heppner,Centre Stage is the COC's annual fundraising gala dedicated to the discovery and celebration of the next generation of opera stars. TheEnsemble Studio Competition is the gala's feature event and an exhilarating vocal showcase with the singers, selected from nationwide auditions for the COC Ensemble Studio – Canada's premier training program for young opera professionals – vying for cash prizes ranging in value from $1,500 to $5,000.

Toronto – Today at the Canadian Opera Company's Annual General Meeting, the company reported on its artistic highlights, impressive endowment growth, growing attendance and subscription figures, and a general financial overview of the 2013/2014 season.

Today at the Canadian Opera Company's Annual General Meeting, the company reported on its artistic highlights, impressive endowment growth, growing attendance and subscription figures, and a general financial overview of the 2013/2014 season.

Vancouver, BC ~ The cultural event of the fall season hits Vancouver tonight, October 23: the world premiere of Vancouver Opera's revolutionary new opera, Stickboy, composed by Neil Weisensel with libretto by world-renowned spoken-word artist Shane Koyczan. This beautiful, courageous and visually stunning opera explores the inner life of a young boy transformed by bullying.

The Canadian Opera Company's 2014/2015 season gets off to a rollicking start with a hilarious new production of Verdi's Falstaff, from acclaimed Canadian director Robert Carsen. Inspired by the beloved Shakespearean character and the resulting folly of his ill-advised seduction attempts, Carsen's production of Falstaff sets the action in a lovingly rendered 1950s England. The all-Canadian cast stars world renowned bass-baritone Gerald Finley, returning to the COC mainstage after more than 20 years, in a highly anticipated role debut as the title character. Joining Finley is baritone Russell Braun as Ford, Falstaff's nemesis; soprano Lyne Fortinas Alice Ford, mezzo-soprano Lauren Segal as Meg Page and contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux as Mistress Quickly, the women determined to teach Falstaff a lesson; soprano Simone Osborne as the lovesick Nannetta; and tenor Frédéric Antoun as Nannetta's amorous suitor Fenton. COC Music Director Johannes Debus guides the COC Orchestra and Chorus through the lyricism and artistry of Verdi's score that captures all the joy, wisdom and profound humanity of Shakespeare's comic invention.

Vancouver, BC ~ The cultural event of the fall season hits Vancouver on October 23: the world premiere of Vancouver Opera's revolutionary new opera, Stickboy, composed by Neil Weisensel with libretto by world-renowned spoken-word artist Shane Koyczan. This beautiful, courageous and visually stunning opera explores the inner life of a young boy transformed by bullying.

The Canadian Opera Company'sFree Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre returns for a ninth season today, September 23, 2014, boasting a varied roster of established artists and rising stars from around the world in a wide range of art forms. The highly anticipated first performance of the 2014/2015 season introduces the young artists of the COC Ensemble Studio in a program of their favourite operatic gems.

Five talented singers, one skilled pianist and one up-and-coming stage director will be the latest group to receive specialized industry training, one-on-one coachings and exclusive performance opportunities when the third year of Vancouver Opera's Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program commences in September 2014.

Now in its 10th season, the New Creations Festival has become a hallmark of TSO programming. Throughout the festival's history, the TSO has welcomed artists from across Canada and the world, and premiered the works of emerging and renowned contemporary composers.

Earlier today, TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian announced the 2014/2015 season of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO), the Orchestra's 93rd season. The 2014/2015 season also marks the beginning of the Maestro's second decade on the podium with the TSO.

The stunt performers and coordinators from “Lone Survivor” and “Game of Thrones” are recipients of this year's Honors for Outstanding Action Performances by Film and Television Stunt Ensembles, it was announced today from the “20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards” red carpet by Screen Actors Guild Awards Committee members Scott Bakula and Shelley Fabares.

The stunt performers and coordinators from "Lone Survivor" and "Game of Thrones" are recipients of this year's Honors for Outstanding Action Performances by Film and Television Stunt Ensembles, it was announced today from the "20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards" red carpet by Screen Actors Guild Awards Committee members Scott Bakula and Shelley Fabares.

The Canadian Opera Company opens its 2013/2014 winter season with Così fan tutte (or The School for Lovers), Mozart's wry comedy about romantic love, fidelity and temptation. Sung in Italian with English SURTITLES, the COC's Così fan tutte comes to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts for 10 performances today, January 18 and January 24, 29, February 1, 6, 7*, 9, 15, 18, 21, 2014.

SAG Awards® Committee members Scott Bakula and Shelley Fabares will announce the recipients of the honors for Outstanding Action Performances by Film and Television Stunt Ensembles from the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® red carpet

One of the most innovative and powerful forces in the performing arts world today, director Peter Sellars returns to the Canadian Opera Company with an already acclaimed new COC production of Handel's Hercules, based on Sophocles' timeless tragedy. Sellars propels the Greek myth of Hercules into the modern day, directing the same star-studded cast that premiered this production to unanimous praise at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2011: American bass-baritone Eric Owens as Hercules (COC debut); British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote as Hercules' wife Dejanira; American countertenor David Daniels as Hercules' trusted aide, Lichas; American tenor Richard Croft as Hercules' son, Hyllus; and British soprano Lucy Crowe as the princess Iole (COC debut). Internationally renowned Baroque specialist Harry Bicket leads the COC Orchestra and Chorus through Handel's glorious music. The ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles was also a war general who knew first-hand the devastating psychological traumas facing returning veterans. With Hercules Sellars creates a healing work in which the untold horrors of war and the unspoken complications of reunion find their voice.