Carmen Jones - 2007 - West End Articles Page 14

Virginia Opera is wrapping up its 35th Anniversary Season with the scorching production of the Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. The production, also celebrating a famous 75th Anniversary, is a brave American classic bridging the gap between Broadway and opera. The clever love story between characters Porgy and Bess explodes with a fiery tempo, amid George and Ira Gershwin's distinguished style featuring jazz, Broadway, and opera. Porgy and Bess is based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and the play of the same name he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward, which focuses on African-American life in the early 1920s in Catfish Row located in Charleston, South Carolina.

Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet returns to the Met stage for its first performances since 1897, with the powerful pairing of Simon Keenlyside in the title role and Marlis Petersen as Ophélie. Keenlyside's acclaimed interpretation of Hamlet in Geneva, London and Barcelona finally arrives in the United States, with a performance in the Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser production that was hailed by the British press as 'magnificent . . . sheer vocal genius.' Petersen, who steps in for Natalie Dessay, brings her haunting portrayal of Ophélie to the Met; she earned praise for the role during a 2006 run of Hamlet in Düsseldorf. Louis Langrée conducts a cast that includes Jennifer Larmore as Gertrude, Toby Spence in his Met debut as Laërte, and James Morris in the role of Claudius. Jane Archibald, in her Met debut, sings the role of Ophélie on April 5 and 9. The creative team is rounded out by Christian Fenouillat with set designs, Agostino Cavalca with costume designs, and Christophe Forey with lighting designs, all in their Met debuts. Performances run through April 9, with the March 27 matinee shown worldwide as part of The Met: Live in HD

Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet returns to the Met stage for its first performances since 1897, with the powerful pairing of Simon Keenlyside in the title role and Marlis Petersen as Ophélie. Keenlyside's acclaimed interpretation of Hamlet in Geneva, London and Barcelona finally arrives in the United States, with a performance in the Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser production that was hailed by the British press as 'magnificent . . . sheer vocal genius.' Petersen, who steps in for Natalie Dessay, brings her haunting portrayal of Ophélie to the Met; she earned praise for the role during a 2006 run of Hamlet in Düsseldorf. Louis Langrée conducts a cast that includes Jennifer Larmore as Gertrude, Toby Spence in his Met debut as Laërte, and James Morris in the role of Claudius. Jane Archibald, in her Met debut, sings the role of Ophélie on April 5 and 9. The creative team is rounded out by Christian Fenouillat with set designs, Agostino Cavalca with costume designs, and Christophe Forey with lighting designs, all in their Met debuts. Performances run through April 9, with the March 27 matinee shown worldwide as part of The Met: Live in HD

With the much anticipated move by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City to the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in the fall of 2011, the 53rd Lyric Opera season will be the final one produced by the Company in the Lyric Theatre on 11th and Central streets in Kansas City, Missouri. With attendance and artistic quality at all-time highs, the Lyric Opera is already prepared for the move to the Kauffman Center in the fall of 2011.

A haunting tale of obsession, the internationally acclaimed Richard Jones production of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades opens Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 2010 spring repertory. Performances run April 16 - May 1, 2010 in the Brown Theater of the Wortham Theater Center. Opera News calls Richard Jones's production of The Queen of Spades, originally created for Welsh National Opera 'telling theatricality.' London's Observer wrote 'Once every few seasons, a production gets pretty much everything right. This is one ... dramatically spine-chilling, visually spare and coherent; it was the kind of theatrical experience which changes the way you look at life.'

Dmitri Shostakovich's The Nose has its Metropolitan Opera premiere on March 5 at 8:00 pm, conducted by Valery Gergiev, in a visually arresting new production by artist William Kentridge that features original collage, film, sculpture, and massive projections of the artist's drawings and prints. Making his Met debut, baritone Paulo Szot performs the role of Kovalyov in the story of the Russian official who wakes one morning to discover his nose has disappeared (and taken on a higher bureaucratic rank). Based on the short story of the same name by Nikolai Gogol, the opera is what Kentridge has called an exploration of "learning from the absurd." In this production, visuals include renderings of Soviet workers, snatches of newspaper, and projections of propaganda - as well as the missing appendage in adventures ranging from delivering a speech to riding a horse.

Lineup of shows coming up at Joe's Pub for the month of March.

Parsons Dance presents REMEMBER ME, an all-new version of last season's collaboration with the lead vocalists of East Village Opera Company (EVOC), featuring the music of the acclaimed rock opera band at The Joyce Theater from February 2-21, 2010.

When Skylight audiences last saw Figaro in The Barber of Seville, he was triumphant after engineering a romantic coup.

Parsons Dance presents REMEMBER ME, an all-new version of last season's collaboration with the lead vocalists of East Village Opera Company (EVOC), featuring the music of the acclaimed rock opera band at The Joyce Theater from February 2-21, 2010.

Parsons Dance presents REMEMBER ME, an all-new version of last season's collaboration with the lead vocalists of East Village Opera Company (EVOC), featuring the music of the acclaimed rock opera band at The Joyce Theater from February 2-21, 2010.

Parsons Dance presents REMEMBER ME, an all-new version of last season's collaboration with the lead vocalists of East Village Opera Company (EVOC), featuring the music of the acclaimed rock opera band at The Joyce Theater from February 2-21, 2010.

Parsons Dance presents REMEMBER ME, an all-new version of last season's collaboration with the lead vocalists of East Village Opera Company (EVOC), featuring the music of the acclaimed rock opera band at The Joyce Theater from February 2-21, 2010.

CORNELIA STREET CAFÉ 29 Cornelia Street, NYC, New York 212-989-9319

When Skylight audiences last saw Figaro in The Barber of Seville, he was triumphant after engineering a romantic coup.

Nicolas Kent will direct the World Premiere of Frank McGuinness' Greta Garbo Came to Donegal which runs from 7 January to the 20 February, with press night on 11January 2010. Design is by Robert Jones with lighting by Matthew Eagland and sound by Tom Lishman.

Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel returns to the Met beginning December 14 as this year's special holiday presentation.

A new production of Bizet's Carmen, directed by Richard Eyre and starring El?na Garan?a in the title role and Roberto Alagna as Don José, premieres at a New Year's Eve gala performance. Garan?a makes her Met role debut as the gypsy femme fatale, reuniting with Alagna following their recent success in these parts at London's Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

As we celebrate Christmas and await the New Year, here's a new audio interpretation of 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry, written and recorded by local DC actors and designers who make up The Audible Group. It is Christmas Eve, 1935. In a small apartment in the H Street NE neighborhood of Washington, DC where James and Della Young, a young couple who, though rich in love, but down to their last pennies, still manage to give each other the perfect gift. It will fill you - from head to mistletoe - with the holiday spirit. Listen here

A new production of Bizet's Carmen, directed by Richard Eyre and starring El?na Garan?a in the title role and Roberto Alagna as Don José, premieres at a New Year's Eve gala performance. Garan?a makes her Met role debut as the gypsy femme fatale, reuniting with Alagna following their recent success in these parts at London's Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel returns to the Met beginning December 14 as this year's special holiday presentation.

The 79th consecutive season of the Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcasts launches on December 12, 2009 at 12:30 p.m. EST with a live performance of Puccini's Il Trittico, starring Patricia Racette singing all three leading soprano roles. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe also appears in the Puccini triple-bill.

Nicolas Kent will direct the World Premiere of Frank McGuinness' Greta Garbo Came to Donegal which runs from 7 January to the 20 February, with press night on 11January 2010. Design is by Robert Jones with lighting by Matthew Eagland and sound by Tom Lishman.

The 79th consecutive season of the Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcasts launches on December 12, 2009 at 12:30 p.m. EST with a live performance of Puccini's Il Trittico, starring Patricia Racette singing all three leading soprano roles. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe also appears in the Puccini triple-bill.

Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel returns to the Met beginning December 14 as this year's special holiday presentation.