Richard Wesley News

OPERA America has announced the recipients of the 2022 Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors. The program incentivizes companies to hire women in these key artistic roles in order to enrich the production and performance of new operas and works from the inherited repertoire; introduce audiences to the talent and insight of new artists, and inspire future generations of creative artists who identify as women. 

Can we talk—about live opera in New York and elsewhere on the East Coast in the coming months?

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) have announced a robust slate of playwright commissions through Manhattan Theatre Club's new partnership with the Edgerton Foundation, as well as a new round of commissions supported by ongoing partnerships with Bobbie Olsen and other donors.

Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Crossroads Theatre Company's Artistic Director, Ricardo Khan about his career and the season ahead.

Premiere Stages at Kean University will present the staged reading of Tylie Shider's Certain Aspects of Conflict in the Negro Family October 29-31 in Kean University's Liberty Hall Academic Center (1003 Morris Avenue Building 2, Union, N.J.).

Long Beach Opera has announced an audacious 2022 season that seeks to usher in a new era for the company. In addition to the recent announcements of James Darrah as Artistic Director and Derrell Acon as Associate Artistic Director, LBO has announced the appointment of conductor Christopher Rountree as its new Music Director, beginning immediately. 

Crossroads Festival Theatre consists of two installments: Fall Festival and Spring Festival, running September 22 – October 10, and June 7 to June 26, 2022, respectively.  

New York City Opera has announced the appointment of internationally acclaimed conductor and pianist Constantine Orbelian as the company’s Music Director and Principal Conductor.  Maestro Orbelian will conduct his first NYCO production this summer when the company performs a newly created version of Rigoletto on Sunday, August 29.

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) have announced that Manhattan Theatre Club will present its 2021 Spring Gala, “NYC MTC: A Virtual Gala for Manhattan Theatre Club,” on Thursday, June 10 at 7:00pm ET. It will be available to view until 7:00pm ET on Monday, June 14.

Manhattan Theatre Club has announced the addition of seven new members to the company’s Board of Directors, reflecting MTC’s continuing efforts to broaden and diversify its board. These new members were elected to the MTC Board during the last twelve months: Mary Baccash, Howard B. Fife,  Clyde B. Jones III, and more.

NEAT will be the next offering in MTC’s virtual Curtain Call series. Originally produced at MTC in 1997, NEAT is written and performed by Tony Award nominee Charlayne Woodard and will feature original music by acclaimed Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones. The production will stream on demand from Thursday, April 15 through Sunday, April 25.

Richard Wesley’s 'Black Terror' is co-produced by WACO Theater Center, which is based out of Los Angeles’ North Hollywood neighborhood. The production will be directed by WACO’s Co-Artistic Director, Richard Lawson, and will live-stream online this summer.

The artistry, excellence and advocacy of the late Cicely Tyson will be spotlighted at Crossroads Theatre Company’s annual fundraising gala A Night with Crossroads to be held on Thursday, May 20, 2021 at 7pm, the Crossroads Board of Trustees announced today. 

From April 6-10, American Lyric Theater (ALT) presents FROM ERASED TO SELF-EMPOWERED: CELEBRATING BIPOC OPERA COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTISTS, a three-part online seminar and roundtable, culminating in a free virtual concert performance April 10th at 7:30 pm et. The program is open to composers, librettists, educators and the general public. Advance registration is required.

 It is a new chapter at Portland Opera, as the company shares a rearticulated vision for the future, built on foundational progress accomplished during COVID-19 closures, and upcoming programming shaped by a new mission and values for the organization. 

Manhattan Theatre Club will present a new reading of Three Days of Rain, originally produced in MTC’s 1997-1998 season, as the next offering in MTC’s virtual Curtain Call series. Streaming on demand from Thursday, March 11 through Sunday, March 21, Three Days of Rain will reunite its incredible original stars.

Manhattan Theatre Club will present The Past Is The Past as the first production in MTC’s virtual Curtain Call series, streaming on demand from Thursday, February 18 through Sunday, February 28 only. The scene is a pool hall, where a man in his mid-40s shoots a solitary game until a college student he has never met challenges him to play.  

Today American Lyric Theater has announced the Opera Writers Diversity and Representation Initiative as part of an ongoing commitment to mentoring the next generation of operatic writers. First steps include the appointment of conductor Kelly Kuo as ALT’s new Associate Artistic Director and the creation of a free, virtual Opera Writers Symposium.

While physical stages remain dark across America, Manhattan Theatre Club invites audiences to gather virtually as a community and find connection, inspiration, and entertainment through a series of virtual theatrical experiences from the comfort of their homes.

At New Federal Theatre's 50th Anniversary Gala Sunday January 17, special guests will include Debbie Allen, Trazana Beverly, Mya Carter, Patrice Johnson Cevannes, Debbi Blackwell Cook, D.K. Dyson, Joseph Edwards, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Ted Lange, Pauletta Washington, Kevin Maynor, S. Epatha Merskerson, Phylicia Rashad and more.