Wei Wu News

Lyric Opera of Kansas City General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler today announced the company's 2020-2021 season. It features four mainstage productions, including The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, both of which are being performed on a Lyric Opera of Kansas City stage for the first time. Two all-time favorites known for incomparable melodies - Verdi's beloved La traviata and Bizet's passionate Carmen - round out the extraordinarily diverse season. The Kansas City Symphony Orchestra will accompany all performances at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Find biographies of the casts and creative teams at Lyric Opera of Kansas City and find high-resolution photos here.

San Francisco Opera's 2020 Summer SeasonSan Francisco Opera presents a trio of masterworks spanning the 18th century to the present for its 2020 Summer Season at the War Memorial Opera House June 7a?"July 3. In an update announced today, Caroline H. Hume Music Director Designate Eun Sun Kim will conduct Giuseppe Verdi's Ernani replacing James Gaffigan who has withdrawn from the production due to family reasons. The summer season will also include George Frideric Handel's Partenope in Christopher Alden's popular production and the Bay Area premiere of composer Mason Bates' kaleidoscopic exploration of life, love and creativity, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

This year's edition of PROTOTYPE, which refers to itself as 'Opera-Theatre-Now,' has come and gone. You never know what to expect, for better or for worse: Try guessing what's going to be 'the next big thing' at your own peril, even if it has played somewhere else first, for they things might not be what you expected at all.

The magic of the WNO's THE MAGIC FLUTE is that it is captivating for all ages and a tempting proposition for first-timers and opera-buffs alike.

Giuseppe Verdi's penultimate masterpiece is brought to its intense glory in a production filled with magnificent performances and crackling with dramatic fervor.

The whimsical tale of The Magic Flute comes to life at Washington National Opera (WNO) at the Kennedy Center Opera House from November 2a?"23, 2019. Performed in English with projected surtitles, this production of The Magic Flute features design by famed children's author/illustrator Maurice Sendak. This light-hearted and comical opera is a delight for newcomers and opera fans alike.

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents Otello, Verdi's penultimate opera, in its return to the Kennedy Center Opera House after a nearly 20-year absence, from October 26a?"November 16, 2019.

It's easy to see why 'Tosca' is one of the most popular works in opera.Its very musical style, broken free from the strict opera house rules before it, allows it to breathe. Singers are not urgently singing every moment. The supertitles person can take a break as it goes dark from time to time. Still, there is drama to burn in the story of an opera singer in the midst of a divided Italy in 1800.

Puccini's story of the strong-willed diva returns to the Kennedy Center stage in WNO's Tosca, from May 11 25, 2019. Tickets start at $35.

The Fix, a new opera by composer Joel Puckett and librettist Eric Simons on, premiered on Saturday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Music Theater at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. The opera is based on the true story of the "Black Sox" scandal in which the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series. Check out video of the production below!

This past weekend at the Ordway Center, MN Opera unveiled their World Premiere The Fix in tribute to the All-American sport and spirt of baseball. The story created through the company's New Works Initiative by Eric Simonson, who wrote the libretto and also directed the production, was accompanied by composer Joel Puckett. With glowing nostalgia, the 1919 White Sox under Charles Comiskey's ownership and headed by baseball great Shoeless Joe Jackson, sought to 'fix' the 1919 World Series, which disappointed baseball fans across America.

The Orchestra Now begins its spring season at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on Tuesday, March 26 at 7:30 pm. The concert will present works by Brahms and Grieg with pianist Alessandro Taverna led by distinguished guest conductor Fabio Luisi, music director of the Zurich Opera and principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. The season continues through May 19, 2019.

The Orchestra Now (TON) begins its spring season at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on Tuesday, March 26 at 7:30 pm. The concert will present works by Brahms and Grieg with pianist Alessandro Taverna led by distinguished guest conductor Fabio Luisi, music director of the Zurich Opera and principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. The season continues through May 19, 2019.

The Mason Bates-Mark Campbell opera, THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS--which debuted at the Santa Fe Opera in summer 2017--walked off with this year's Best Opera Recording at the Grammys on Sunday night. Michael Christie conducted the Santa Fe Opera orchestra, and the cast. Directed by Kevin Newbury, included Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones, Edward Parks, Garrett Sorenson & Wei Wu. It was produced by Elizabeth Ostrow.

Music's Biggest Night - the GRAMMYs - is here! Live from STAPLES Center, and hosted by Alicia Keys, the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. 

San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock today announced repertory and casting for the Company's 97th Season, opening Friday, September 6, 2019, with a gala performance of Charles Gounod's Romeo and Juliet (Rom o et Juliette) starring tenor Bryan Hymel and soprano Nadine Sierra in Op ra de Monte-Carlo Director Jean-Louis Grinda's production. In keeping with the Company's time-honored tradition, the new season will be inaugurated with San Francisco Opera Guild's elegant, signature benefit and celebration, Opera Ball 2019.

In their astounding new opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell explore the spiritual evolution of one of the most influential men of modern times as he creates a revolutionary new world of technological empowerment, then discovers a larger world within himself.

May 19th, May 21st & May 22nd, The Vagrancy announces BLOSSOMING: a new play reading series. The Vagrancy annually selects five playwrights with diverse perspectives to join their playwright's group. Beginning each fall, the writers meet regularly as they craft their plays. The Vagrancy hosts two development workshops wherein the plays are explored with the playwright, actors and a director in a rehearsal setting. BLOSSOMING is the first public reaching of the five original plays. Come be inspired, have a glass of wine, and help the play's development along with post-reading audience talk-backs.

Washington National Opera (WNO), led by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, announces its 2018-2019 season, one that continues its focus on bold productions of classic operas, fascinating contemporary perspectives, and the best in American artistry. The season includes a new WNO production of Verdi's classic romantic drama La traviata, the company premiere of Kevin Puts's and Mark Campbell's Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night, Tchaikovsky's epic Eugene Onegin, Gounod's devilishly entertaining Faust, and Puccini's towering masterpiece Tosca. The season also features a weekend of four world premieres during the American Opera Initiative Festival; a revival of WNO's hit world-premiere holiday family opera The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me; a special Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist performance of La traviata; and other exciting vocal events, including the annual Mars, lnc.'s Opera in the Outfield.

The Second Annual West Hollywood Dance Festival (WHDF), launched by MULTIPLEX DANCE and Chad Michael Hall, returns to the City of West Hollywood next week, with three public performances titled "The House of MULTIPLEX."