Richard Strauss News

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: Popcorn Falls, directed by Christian Borle, officially opens off-Broadway at the Davenport Theatre, and more!

This fall, Music Director and Conductor Valery Gergiev and St. Petersburg's legendary Mariinsky Orchestra return to Carnegie Hall with two performances in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. On Wednesday, October 31 at 8:00 p.m., the program features Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker (complete concert version). The following evening, Thursday, November 1 at 8:00 p.m., Mr. Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky in Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83, featuring pianist Nelson Freire, as well as Strauss's epic tone poem Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40.

Today, LSO Live releases its latest recording with Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda leading the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in Shostakovich's tragic and deeply affecting Symphony No. 8. This follows the critically acclaimed release of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in June 2018.   The recording is being made available as an exclusive digital download. This continues Noseda and LSO's ongoing commitment to performing the complete symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich.

In opera, there is often nothing more dangerous than female sexuality. Salome is a story where a woman's love becomes dangerous obsession, leading to bloodshed and necrophilia. From a feminist perspective, the story is challenging to say the least, but as Richard Strauss' opera, the result should be both brutal and beautiful. In this new production from the ENO, Australian Director Adena Jacobs makes her UK debut with a supposedly feminist perspective of the story that at times entertains, but more often baffles.

A new series for the 10th anniversary concert season brings Canadian trailblazers, each with a unique voice and perspective. The series continues with Canadian saxophone and flute master Jane Bunnett & Maqueque All-Stars on November 30. Bunnett once again brings the soul of Cuba to the hearts of Canadian music lovers with current and former Maqueque band members, including vocalist Dayme Arocena.

Auditions for Cincinnati Opera's 2019 Young Artist positions will be held at the Corbett Opera Center in Music Hall, 1243 Elm Street, Cincinnati, Ohio on November 2, 3, and 4, 2018.

Carnegie Hall today announced that British conductor Daniel Harding will return to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage to lead Amsterdam's renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in two back-to-back concerts in February, as part of the orchestra's spring 2019 US tour. Maestro Harding, who last appeared at Carnegie Hall in 2008, replaces Daniele Gatti for these February performances.

One of the nation's most adventurous opera companies, Odyssey Opera, continues its sixth season with the Boston premiere of the rarely performed 1858 opera Le medecin malgre lui (The Doctor in Spite of Himself). On the occasion of the bicentenary of Charles Gounod's birth (1818-1893), Odyssey Opera offers a chance to become better acquainted with one of the largest French composers of the second half of the 19th Century. Based on a play by the great French satirical playwright Moliere, Gounod's Le medecin malgre lui is a three-act comic opera set to a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carre. Odyssey Opera will feature baritone Stephen Salters (Sganarelle), mezzo-soprano Tascha Anderson (Jacqueline), the Boston debut of tenor Piotr Buszewski (Leandre), and a full orchestra and chorus conducted by Gil Rose, with stage direction by Daniel Pelzig (Santa Fe Opera, Met Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago). The fully-staged production will be sung in French with English subtitles, with never heard recitatives added by Erik Satie.

One of the nation's most adventurous opera companies, Odyssey Opera, continues its sixth season with the Boston premiere of the rarely performed 1858 opera Le medecin malgre lui (The Doctor in Spite of Himself). On the occasion of the bicentenary of Charles Gounod's birth (1818-1893), Odyssey Opera offers a chance to become better acquainted with one of the largest French composers of the second half of the 19th Century. Based on a play by the great French satirical playwright Moliere, Gounod's Le medecin malgre lui is a three-act comic opera set to a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carre. Odyssey Opera will feature baritone Stephen Salters (Sganarelle), mezzo-soprano Tascha Anderson (Jacqueline), the Boston debut of tenor Piotr Buszewski (Leandre), and a full orchestra and chorus conducted by Gil Rose, with stage direction by Daniel Pelzig (Santa Fe Opera, Met Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago). The fully-staged production will be sung in French with English subtitles, with never heard recitatives added by Erik Satie.

 Ellen Berelson, Chair of Washington National Opera's (WNO) Board of Trustees, and Timothy O'Leary, WNO's new General Director, announce important updates to the company's leadership structure, laying the groundwork for a new era of bold artistic plans and service to the Washington community. WNO has renewed the engagement of Francesca Zambello as Artistic Director for three years, following a unanimous vote by the WNO Board of Trustees to extend her contract. Also announced is the appointment of American conductor Evan Rogister as Principal Conductor through the 2021-2022 season. Additionally, O'Leary and Zambello have completed the formation of WNO's new management team through key hires for top administrative posts.

The State Opera of South Australia's 2019 season boasts the most powerful and impressive program in recent times thanks to a new artistic and executive leadership for the company.

San Francisco Opera presents Richard Strauss' Arabella in five performances at the War Memorial Opera House from October 16 through November 3. Last performed by the Company 20 years ago, Arabella returns in Tim Albery's acclaimed production with leading Strauss interpreter Marc Albrecht, making his United States opera debut on the podium. The cast features soprano Ellie Dehn performing the title role for the first time, baritone Brian Mulligan in his role debut as Mandryka, soprano Heidi Stober as Zdenka, tenor Daniel Johansson in his first San Francisco Opera engagement as Matteo and Hye Jung Lee as the Fiakermilli. Company Chorus Director Ian Robertson prepares the San Francisco Opera Chorus.

Conductor Manfred Honeck's 2018/2019 season begins with a busy fall schedule, featuring appearances with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) in September and October, and his returns to the San Francisco Symphony in October and the New York Philharmonic in November. Shortly after Honeck opened his 11th season as Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on September 15, the orchestra announced that it had extended his contract as Music Director through the 2021/2022 season.

Folks Operetta is proud to announce its upcoming concert Forbidden Opera: Reclaiming the lost operas of the Second World War, directed by Folks Operetta Artistic Director Gerald Frantzen and written by Frantzen and Hersh Glagov, at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, 9603 Woods Dr. Skokie, IL.

The San Diego Symphony's annual January Festival returns in its fourth year entitled, Hearing the Future. Throughout the festival, which runs January 9 - 27, 2019, the organization explores and celebrates the power of music and art to give voice to the evolution and revolutions in the world at large. The festival, curated by composer-conductor Matthew Aucoin (b.1990), will shine a spotlight on the music being made today - from composers and performers who are still in high school, to a 90-year-old jazz master. The festival will also explore the way music from the past - from Haydn, Beethoven and Berlioz to the creators of African-American spirituals - engaged with the most urgent issues of their time.

Kahchun Wong's inaugural season as Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra begins with the opening concert on Saturday, September 22, 2018. Later in the 2018/2019 season, Kahchun Wong will make his New York conducting debut and his New York Philharmonic debut leading that orchestra's annual Lunar New Year concert in February 2019.

As Chicago's vibrant Polish community celebrates the 100 year anniversary of the regaining of Polish independence, Chicago Philharmonic honors the rich music traditions of Poland and the importance of the community in the cultural history of Chicago in Chicago Philharmonic Festival: Poland 2018, November 7-11. The ambitious festival will present world-class Polish musicians and soloists, Polish-Chicago music and arts organizations, music from Polish composers, the Chicago Philharmonic orchestra, and Artistic Director Scott Speck across five concerts presented in five days throughout the city of Chicago culminating in a free performance on November 11 - the day celebrating the 100th year of independence and Armistice Day.

On 8 September, La Monnaie/De Munt, the Belgian National Orchestra and BOZAR will join forces for the third iteration of United Music of Brussels. This year's theme is wonderment as a trigger for curiosity and creativity: the wonderment people will experience as they discover both new locations and enjoy unique musical experiences that challenge the boundaries of classical music. From 2 p.m. until 7 p.m., the public and passers-by can walk from Place de la Monnaie to the Centre for Fine Arts, with multiple different and unexpected stops along the way, in fifteen iconic locations in the city centre. These mini-concerts will combine classical music and dynamic DJ sets, or jazz beats and dance. They will turn a great opera into a light-hearted musical, and a historic concert hall into a film set. We like to present to you the complete festive program where performers and visitors can share their sense of wonderment, during this congenial musical end to the summer, which also kicks off another exciting musical season!

Un total de 23 conciertos conforman el segundo segmento de la temporada 2018 de la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (OSN), que se llevará a cabo del 7 de septiembre al 16 de diciembre, bajo la guía de su director titular, el maestro Carlos Miguel Prieto, en su sede habitual, el Palacio de Bellas Artes. Las sesiones se realizarán los viernes a las 20:00 y los domingos a las 12:15, excepto un concierto especial que se realizará en La Paz, Baja California Sur.

In conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of Stanley Kubrick's influential 1968 masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, the University Musical Society (UMS) and the University of Michigan's College of Engineering (Michigan Engineering) co-present a free campus-wide multimedia celebration of the film's socio-technical themes. The celebration, taking place September 21-27, 2018, will feature a free screening of the film with live orchestral and choral accompaniment, technology demonstrations, speakers, and panel discussions. All events are free and open to the public. A complete schedule is included at the bottom of this release.