Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 60th anniversary season with the company premiere of Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson's LOST IN THE STARS, February 12-20 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.
On paper, Vivaldi's 1737 opera seria CATONE IN UTICA--involving a confrontation between Cato and Caesar--seems a big mess: The music from the first act is missing and musicologists can't agree what the third act should look and sound like, leaving Act II to make or break a performance of the opera. Opera Lafayette brought us a version that sometimes thrilled us, sometimes tantalized us, but always made us grateful for the performance, fluidly directed by Tazewell Thompson.
Appomattox is being presented as a world premiere of a revised version. For those unaware, the opera started out as an opera in 2007, was transformed into a play and now is an opera again. After Saturday night's opening, it would appear that more rewrites are needed.
WNO's season continues with the world premiere of the newly revised version of Appomattox, the first opera WNO has presented by the iconic American composer Philip Glass, with a libretto by the Academy Award-winning writer Christopher Hampton, November 14-22 in the Opera House. In the first act, we eavesdrop on history as the Civil War comes to its final resolution at the courthouse in Appomattox. Then, in the newly composed second act, we fast- forward 100 years to the time of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as the struggle for civil rights continues. BroadwayWorld has a first look below!
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – The Glimmerglass Festival opened its third production of the 2015 season with Vivaldi's setting of Metastasio's poetic depiction of Cato the Younger.
This summer, a transition in leadership will begin at Syracuse Stage as Timothy Bond, producing artistic director, and Jeffrey Woodward, managing director, have announced plans to pursue new opportunities.
Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi answered a few questions from BroadwayWorld DC about what audiences might expect from the world premiere of BLUE VIOLA, their writing partnership, history with UrbanArias, and of course the whole contested debate about musical theatre vs. opera.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced its 2015-2016 theater season. As the nation's performing arts center, the Kennedy Center is dedicated to bringing theater's finest productions to its stages. Reaching hundreds of thousands of audience members annually, the upcoming theater season showcases a diverse range of theatrical productions from a dramatic, centuries-old classic tale to unforgettable Broadway sensations; the season has something to offer everyone in the family.
(WASHINGTON)—Washington National Opera (WNO), led by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, today announced its 60th anniversary season, one that highlights classic, contemporary, and American works. The 2015-2016 season includes a new-to-Washington staging of Bizet's Carmen, the world premiere of a newly revised version of Appomattox by composer Philip Glass and librettist Christopher Hampton, a revival of WNO's charming holiday production of Hansel and Gretel, the company premiere of Kurt Weill's Lost in the Stars in a gripping production from Cape Town Opera, and WNO's first complete staging of Wagner's extraordinary four-part Ring Cycle, with a world-class cast under the direction of Francesca Zambello and featuring the WNO Orchestra conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin. Highlights from the 2015-2016 season will be performed by the WNO Orchestra and special guests at a free preview concert on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 6 p.m. as part of the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
There is much more to the play than Mama's turn as a sort of Auntie Mame-of-the-Ituri-rainforest. It is also the unflinching story of how, in the words of Salima, men wage war "on [women's] bodies." Particularly in contemporary warfare rape is a form of combat, aimed at destroying societies. The scene in Act Two where Salima describes what happened to her is not only uncomfortable, it is a display of raw theatrical power and a tutorial about the mechanics of social destruction in the wake of rape.
The Pulitzer Prize winning drama Ruined by Lynn Nottage makes its Baltimore premiere at Everyman Theatre this winter. The epic play features a cast of 17, led by Everyman Resident Company Member Dawn Ursula, who was seen last season as Vera Stark in Nottage's comedic drama By the Way, Meet Vera Stark. The production is directed by internationally acclaimed director Tazewell Thompson and will run from tonight, February 4th through March 8th.
The Pulitzer Prize winning drama Ruined by Lynn Nottage makes its Baltimore premiere at Everyman Theatre this winter. The epic play features a cast of 17, led by Everyman Resident Company Member Dawn Ursula, who was seen last season as Vera Stark in Nottage's comedic drama By the Way, Meet Vera Stark. The production is directed by internationally acclaimed director Tazewell Thompson and will run from February 4th through March 8th.
The monologues will be read at a public reading tonight, November 6, 2014 following the 8:00 p.m. performance. The writers will also receive a session with American Voices New Play Institute Dramaturg Jocelyn Clarke, a listing in the Our War program and an award certificate. The finished monologues along with video clips of the performed monologues will be posted on Arena Stage's website and shared via social media. Directed by Anita Maynard-Losh, Our War runs October 21 - November 9, 2014 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.
In a bold undertaking as part of the company's involvement with the multi-year, multi-city National Civil War Project, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has commissioned Our War, a dynamic new theatrical event and collection of short stories that explores-through diverse perspectives-the historical memory and present-day reverberations of the U.S. Civil War. The series launched on October 21 and continues through November 9, 2014. BroadwayWorld has a first look at opening night below!
In a bold undertaking as part of the company's involvement with the multi-year, multi-city National Civil War Project, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has commissioned Our War, a dynamic new theatrical event and collection of short stories that explores-through diverse perspectives-the historical memory and present-day reverberations of the U.S. Civil War. The series launched on October 21 and continues through November 9, 2014. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!
In a bold undertaking as part of the company's involvement with the multi-year, multi-city National Civil War Project, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has commissioned Our War, a dynamic new theatrical event and collection of short stories that explores-through diverse perspectives-the historical memory and present-day reverberations of the U.S. Civil War. The series launches today, October 21, and continues through November 9, 2014.