Spoleto Festival USA News

Lyric Opera of Chicago today announced the company’s 2022/23 Season, featuring productions of classic operas, a continuing long-term focus on developing and presenting new work, plus the return of Lyric’s annual spring musical.

OPERA America has announced honors for exemplary artists, administrators, advocates, and trustees in two prestigious award programs, the Opera Hall of Fame and National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards.

Today, The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst have announced updates to musician personnel with the appointment of five new members and one member in an assistant principal position.

Single tickets for Michigan Opera Theatre's spring season will go on sale to the public on Thursday, October 21 at noon ET. Tickets can be purchased here. 

Making its London premiere after its UK debut at the Edinburgh International Festival 2019, Roots is a medley of folktales brought to life with 1927's signature fusion of handcrafted animation and storytelling

Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents the St. Lawrence String Quartet on Tuesday, September 21 at 8:00 pm at Samueli Theatre in a program of works by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.  SLSQ are Geoff Nuttall, violin; Owen Dalby, violin; Lesley Robertson, viola; Stephen Prutsman, piano; and Christopher Costanza, cello.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents the St. Lawrence String Quartet on Tuesday, September 21 at 8:00 pm at Samueli Theatre in a program of works by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.  SLSQ are Geoff Nuttall, violin; Owen Dalby, violin; Lesley Robertson, viola; Stephen Prutsman, piano; and Christopher Costanza, cello.

After more than 400 applications and four weeks of in-person auditions to screen in excess of 200 hopefuls, the Columbus Symphony will begin the 2021-22 season with seven new, full-time musicians in its ranks.

The Colburn School today announced its 2021-22 class of Salonen Fellows in the Conservatory of Music’s Negaunee Conducting Program.

It's a ride on the rails, a trip on the wide-open highway, and a journey into the backwoods of Tennessee. RING OF FIRE brings the music of Johnny Cash to life with an exhilarating story of struggle and success, recklessness and redemption, love and family. With more than two dozen classic Cash hits, including “I Walk the Line,” “A Boy Named Sue,” and “Cry Cry Cry,” a multi-talented cast of actor-musicians creates a unique portrait about an American legend in this rollicking and heartfelt stage production.

On Thursday, August 12, 2021 at 8:30pm ET, composer, pianist and vocalist Michael Harrison will offer his debut performance of traditional Indian classical music, which he has adapted for piano with tabla accompaniment, presented by Drive East by Navatman.

Learn more about the shows in the lineup here!

Syracuse Stage Artistic Director Robert Hupp today announced an expansion of the senior artistic staff. As of September 1, veteran New York based director Melissa Crespo becomes the theater's associate artistic director. Kyle Bass, who currently holds that position, will transition to a new role as the theater's first resident playwright and will remain a member of the theater's senior artistic staff.

In his new role, Hanna will advance Spoleto's commitment to produce and present innovative and world-class artistic programming across performing arts disciplines; provide a platform for young and established artists alike; feature the rich cultural diversity and creative community of Charleston, SC; and promote the Festival's hometown as an international arts destination.

Ushering a jubilant return to live performance, Spoleto Festival USA's 45th season was marked by change, big names, and bold ideas. “I am proud of my staff's commitment to making this season a reality,” says General Director Nigel Redden. “While it may have differed from our original hopes in terms of scale, I am immeasurably pleased with our outcome.'

On Wednesday, June 30, 2021 at 7pm ET, Arts Letters & Numbers presents, as part of its exhibition in the CITYX Venice Italian Virtual Pavilion of the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, an exploration of composer/pianist Michael Harrison's new album, Seven Sacred Names, through musical performances and interactive conversation.

This new initiative allows Professional Company Members to receive up to $10,000 to subsidize as much as 50 percent of the fee of a woman stage director or conductor who is contracted for the first time by the company.

A late shift in venues moved the visitation of THE WOMAN IN BLACK, that famed West End perennial second in longevity to only The Mousetrap, from the Charleston Visitor Center Bus Shed - quite an intriguing choice - to Spoleto Festival USA's Festival Hall. Results are mixed.

Perhaps we can declare that social distancing is as antithetical to telling a gripping ghost story as it is to sustaining a great vibe at a bar or a pub. After a 30-year run in London's West End, where it remains on a pandemic-induced hiatus, THE WOMAN IN BLACK certainly has a pedigree to please. The play, adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from Susan Hill's 1983 novel, is only surpassed by Dame Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap as the longest-running play in West End history.

On June 18, 2021, composer and pianist Michael Harrison releases his new album Seven Sacred Names on Cantaloupe Music.