Stephanie Blythe News

Live From Lincoln Center presents the New York Philharmonic's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's iconic American musical, Carousel, featuring a star-studded cast including Kelli O'Hara, Nathan Gunn, Stephanie Blythe, Shuler Hensley, Jason Danieley, Jessie Mueller, Kate Burton, John Cullum and New York City Ballet dancers Robert Fairchild and Tiler Peck. 'Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel' was hosted by Audra McDonald and aired on PBS stations on Friday, April 26, 2013. Click below to watch the full special!

Live From Lincoln Center presents the New York Philharmonic's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's iconic American musical, Carousel, featuring a star-studded cast including Kelli O'Hara, Nathan Gunn, Stephanie Blythe, Shuler Hensley, Jason Danieley, Jessie Mueller, Kate Burton, John Cullum and New York City Ballet dancers Robert Fairchild and Tiler Peck. 'Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel' is hosted by Audra McDonald and will air on PBS stations tonight, April 26, 2013 at 9 p.m. (ET) (check local listings).

The first of three complete Ring Cycles concluded on Tuesday night at the Metropolitan Opera as our hero, Siegfried, his true love, Brunnhilde, as well as the entirety of Valhalla went up in a burst of video projected and staged lit flames behind the massive 45-ton set of 24 rotating planks come to be known by some as Robert Lepage's Ring machine. Luckily for everyone involved- audience, performers and technicians alike, this cycle ran quite smoothly in comparison to previous seasons. One mishap happened in Das Rheingold as we descended into Nibelheim and the last five or six planks got stuck in the air and one black clad arm was seen pulling each back into place. Barring this one blip in an otherwise 19 hour breathtaking production is rather impressive given the scale and scope of this production which includes hydraulics, harnesses, flying, dying, fighting, love making, and a host of technical demands all enhancing the complex masterpiece which is Richard Wagner's music and libretto.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. The Jeff nominations are out, 'Big Fish' is open, 'Anything Goes' and 'Mormon' perform, plus Jessie Mueller's 'Carousel,' BoHo's 'Spider Woman, new season announcements and those two new Spanish opera productions!

Music Accord, a consortium of ten presenting organizations across the United States dedicated to supporting the cultivation of American chamber music, announces the upcoming premieres of five commissioned works by Mark Adamo, Shulamit Ran, Sebastian Currier, Lowell Liebermann and Brad Mehldau. Launched in 1998 with world premiere compositions from Jake Heggie and Elliott Carter, Music Accord has quietly been commissioning chamber and recital works from leading composers for nearly fifteen years, with the primary goal of both perpetuating the creation of new American works as well as presenting them in leading concert halls across the United States and abroad.

Live From Lincoln Center's season finale features series host Audra McDonald taking center stage at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall with "Audra McDonald In Concert: Go Back Home." At this special gala concert, the five-time Tony Award winner shines a light on her favorite music, including songs from a wide range of musical theater composers featured on her highly anticipated new recording, Go Back Home (Nonesuch), her first solo album in seven years. "Audra McDonald In Concert: Go Back Home" airs on PBS stations on Friday, May 24 at 9 p.m. (ET) (check local listings).

Live From Lincoln Center presents the New York Philharmonic's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's iconic American musical, Carousel, featuring a star-studded cast including Kelli O'Hara, Nathan Gunn, Stephanie Blythe, Shuler Hensley, Jason Danieley, Jessie Mueller, Kate Burton, John Cullum and New York City Ballet dancers Robert Fairchild and Tiler Peck. 'Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel' is hosted by Audra McDonald and will air on PBS stations on Friday, April 26, 2013 at 9 p.m. (ET) (check local listings). Check out three preview videos from the special beow!

Live From Lincoln Center features a special concert with internationally renowned, multi-platinum recording artist Josh Groban, performing songs from his most recent album release All That Echoes (Reprise) as well as other popular favorites. The broadcast, 'Josh Groban: All That Echoes,' is hosted by Audra McDonald and will air on PBS stations today, April 12, 2013 at 9 p.m. (ET) (check local listings).

In honor of this year's Verdi bicentennial, there will be a number of upcoming opportunities to hear her perform the great Italian composer's music. The first of these takes place this Monday, April 8, when Meade - winner of the 2011 Richard Tucker and 2012 Beverly Sills Awards - stars as Giselda in a concert performance of I Lombardi at New York's Lincoln Center.

Now in its 15th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook celebrates the best in American singing and songwriting with a new chapter in the Songbook story: 'American Songbook in the Penthouse,' a series of weekend-only performances by performers and composers presented in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, an intimate yet elegant venue that brings artists closer to the audience in a cabaret-style setting. The second weekend of Kaplan Penthouse performances, the sixth week of American Songbook 2013, runs April 5-6, 2013. April 5th belongs to Cristin Milioti, who was nominated for a Tony Award in 2012 for her lead role in the musical Once.

To mark the bicentennial of Wagner's birth, Fabio Luisi launches three complete cycles of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Metropolitan Opera with an account of Das Rheingold on Saturday, April 6. It was with his leadership of the two last operas of Wagner's epic saga that Luisi, the Met's Principal Conductor, took home his first Grammy Award last month, when Deutsche Grammophon's DVD release of the full cycle, recorded live at the house, was named Best Opera Recording of 2012. Running through May 11, the upcoming performances - as on the award-winning recording - will feature Deborah Voigt's star turn as Brunnhilde in Robert Lepage's visionary, cutting-edge production.

Now in its 15th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook celebrates the best in American singing and songwriting with a new chapter in the Songbook story: 'American Songbook in the Penthouse,' a series of weekend-only performances by performers and composers presented in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, an intimate yet elegant venue that brings artists closer to the audience in a cabaret-style setting. 'American Songbook in the Penthouse' embraces adventuresome performers and celebrates composers and lyricists, both newer and veteran. With a seating capacity of just 225, the Kaplan Penthouse allows acoustic performers to be heard the way they intend - near to the audience and without elaborate amplification. The size of the space also allows performers to interact with their audience to make them an integral part of their performance, something difficult to do in a larger, more formal venue.

The Metropolitan Opera will commemorate the 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner's birth with three complete performances of his epic four-opera masterwork, Der Ring des Nibelungen. The Ring cycles will begin April 6 at 1 p.m. with Das Rheingold and continue through the last day of the Met season, May 11, with an 11 a.m. matinee of Gotterdammerung.

Live From Lincoln Center presents 'Kristin Chenoweth: The Dames of Broadway...All of 'Em!!!', a specially conceived concert for Lincoln Center's 2013 American Songbook series, which salutes the great roles for leading ladies and the sidekick scene stealers from an array of Broadway composers and lyricists, creating a performance that promises to be at once intimate and filled with her trademark 'razzle dazzle.' 'Kristin Chenoweth: The Dames of Broadway...All of 'Em!!!' is hosted by Live From Lincoln Center series host Audra McDonald and will air on PBS stations tonight, March 24, at 8 p.m. (ET) (check local listings).

Live From Lincoln Center presents the New York Philharmonic's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's iconic American musical, Carousel, featuring a star-studded cast including Kelli O'Hara, Nathan Gunn, Stephanie Blythe, Shuler Hensley, Jason Danieley, Jessie Mueller, Kate Burton, John Cullum and New York City Ballet dancers Robert Fairchild and Tiler Peck. "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel" is hosted by Audra McDonald and will air on PBS stations on Friday, April 26, 2013 at 9 p.m. (ET) (check local listings).

Live From Lincoln Center presents famed mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe's personal tribute to the late Kate Smith, an iconic American singer during the mid-20th century who was a symbol of national optimism. The broadcast, "Celebration: Stephanie Blythe Meets Kate Smith," is hosted by Audra McDonald and will air on PBS stations on Friday, April 19, 2013 at 9 p.m. (ET) (check local listings).

The Collegiate Chorale announces Song of Norway by Robert Wright and George Forrest on April 30, 2013 at 6:30pm at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Avenue, NYC. Tickets are on sale at www.carnegiehall.org. Single tickets for this concert start at $25.

Musically, 'Carousel' is by far the most intelligently written and sophisticated of the entire Rodgers and Hammerstein canon. The story and some of the lyrics may betray just a hint of datedness, but not enough to undermine the brilliance of the work, even approaching seventy years after it was written.

After an intense semi-final round of competition, the Metropolitan Opera today announced the names of ten finalists who will sing on the Met stage in the 2013 National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert on Sunday, March 10 at 3:00 p.m., with the MET Orchestra conducted by Marco Armiliato. The auditions, which are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, have been an important stepping stone in the career of many of the opera world's leading artists. 20 gifted young singers from around the country arrived in New York on Thursday afternoon to prepare for today's semi-final round, in which they sang on the Met stage for the first time in their careers before a panel of judges. After deliberations, the panel has narrowed the field to ten singers who will move to the final phase of the competition.

Live From Lincoln Center features a special concert with internationally renowned, multi-platinum recording artist Josh Groban, performing songs from his most recent album release All That Echoes (Reprise) as well as other popular favorites. The broadcast, 'Josh Groban: All That Echoes,' is hosted by Audra McDonald and will air on PBS stations on Friday, April 12, 2013 at 9 p.m. (ET) (check local listings).