Rolando News

In 2019, San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program will present the first opera commissioned in the Program's history, the world premiere of If I Were You, by distinguished American composer Jake Heggie and noted librettist Gene Scheer. This ground-breaking work will be presented August 1 - 6, 2019, at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre. Today it was announced the opera will be conducted by Nicole Paiement and directed by Keturah Stickann. Information is available at www.merola.org. Tickets will go on sale in Spring 2019.

My grandparents story, one I have heard many times, is etched into my heart. As a third generation Cuban American living in Miami, Florida, as soon as we start to crawl, you are listening to Cuban music, eating your grandmother's potage (a stew of lentil beans and rice) and hearing about the good ole days before Fidel Castro stole Cuba from the people - people who still long for home. A home that was ripped from their fingers that 60 years later still proudly bleed red, white and blue. People who fled to the United States for the hope of a better life while leaving their hearts in the jewel of the Caribbean, Cuba. At the World Premiere of Havana Music Hall, the sounds of Cuban music filled the lobby and the excitement of audience members, who were dressed for the occasion in guayaberas (traditional Cuban shirts) and hats, bounced off the walls of the Actors' Playhouse on Miracle mile.

The world premiere of the new musical HAVANA MUSICA HALL is now playing at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Miami, Florida. The exciting new show centers around the lives of Havana Music Hall's best-known musicians who are just about to get their big break before Fidel Castro seizes power.

The world premiere of Havana Music Hall at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Miami is now on stage. The brand new original musical features Tony Award nominee John Herrera (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and rising star Linedy Genao (On Your Feet!) headlining the all-latinx cast of nineteen performers. The limited engagement runs through November 18, 2018. Opening night is set for Friday, October 19.

Rehearsals have begun for the world premiere of Havana Music Hall at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Miami.

Playwrights Project will produce its 34th annual festival of Plays by Young Writers, sponsored by the Sheila and Jeffrey Lipinsky Family Fund, at The Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre in the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center at The Old Globe on January 10 - January 26, 2019. The festival will feature winning scripts from Playwrights Project's California Young Playwrights Contest for ages 18 and under.

On Saturday, November 10, 2018 at 7:00pm, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra presents Stars Aligned, an exploration of classical works by composers who revolutionized America's collective imagination and cultural heritage through film scoring, at Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. Stars Aligned features works by composers with deep cinematic roots - Nino Rota, Miklos Rozsa, and Franz Waxman.

Actors' Playhouse announces the complete cast of the world premiere musical HAVANA MUSIC HALL at Actors' Playhouse this fall in Miami, Florida. Tony Award nominee John Herrera (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and rising star Linedy Genao (On Your Feet!) headline the all-latinx cast of nineteen performers for the show's limited engagement, October 10-November 18, 2018.

Concluding its highly successful 61st season, the Merola Opera Program announces the establishment of an Advisory Council, comprised of leaders in  the field of opera performance, young artist training, arts administration, performing arts, and philanthropy.

The quest to achieve the American dream is not a foreign concept, especially in today's society. But everyone's idea of what that dream entails can vary by sex, socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Clifford Odet's 1937 play  GOLDEN BOY examines one family's quest to dodge stereotypes and social status and rise with dignity in the process. Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre  Company is presenting this fascinating play in a gut wrenching production.

Get a first look below att Havana Music Hall at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Miami. The limited engagement will run from October 10-November 18, 2018. Opening night is set for Friday, October 19. 

This Saturday, September 22, medici.tv will broadcast the National Symphony Orchestra's 2018–2019 season opening gala concert live from the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Music Director Gianandrea Noseda will lead the orchestra in a program designed to celebrate space, including Holst's The Planets and an NSO-commissioned work by award-winning composer Michael Giacchino. The concert will also feature guest artist Joshua Bell.

Nicole Cabell and Alyson Cambridge, celebrated American sopranos and close friends, record together for the first time on 'Sisters in Song,' a new Cedille Records album of opera duets and specially commissioned duet arrangements of classical songs, African-American spirituals, and a folk tune, accompanied by the Lake Forest Symphony conducted by Vladimir Kulenovic.

The fruits of a partnership between James Rice Farms and Seven Three Distilling Co. are now available for sampling. The New Orleans distillery and the St. Landry Parish artisan rice grower teamed up to create the distillery's recently released Marigny Moonshine - an unaged Louisiana white whiskey made from Prairie Ronde Rice.

Luis Iga's ground-breaking Latinx feature film, 'Murder in the Woods,' makes its San Diego premiere at the FANtastic Horror Film Festival. The film stars José Julián (“A Better Life”) and features distinguished actor Danny Trejo (“Machete”).

Singer-Saxophonist, Danny Bacher is a fresh new face on the jazz landscape. His clean, crisp delivery is reminiscent of the true greats in entertainment. An engaging stage presence, a smooth-as-silk voice, and the gift of a storyteller all come together to complete his new recording, Still Happy

Rehearsals have begun for the world premiere of Havana Music Hall at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Miami.

Actors' Playhouse announces the complete cast of the world premiere musical HAVANA MUSIC HALL at Actors' Playhouse this fall in Miami, Florida. Tony Award nominee John Herrera (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and rising star Linedy Genao (On Your Feet!) headline the all-latinx cast of nineteen performers for the show's limited engagement, October 10-November 18, 2018.

Mezzo-Soprano Emily D'Angelo from Canada/Italy and Tenor Pavel Petrov from Belarus, have just been announced as the First Prize Winners of Operalia's 26th edition. D'Angelo also claimed the Birgit Nilsson Prize, the Pepita Embil Prize for Zarzuela and the Prize of the Audience for a first-time-ever clean sweep of all top honors in Operalia's 26 years history. 

NSO Music Director Gianandrea Noseda leads the Orchestra on a journey exploring the link between image and sound. Three performances-Thursday, September 27,  at 7 p.m.; Friday, September 28, at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, September 29, at 8 p.m.-at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall include Sergei Rachmaninoff's The Isle of the Dead; Ottorino Respighi's Trittico Botticelliano; and Maurice Ravel's orchestration of Modest Musorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition, originally composed for piano.