BWW Review: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS Wrangles a Dynamic Operatic Experience at The Long Center in Austin, TX
by Amy Bradley - Feb 1, 2018
With the history of ARIADNE AUF NAXOS as rich and complicated as the melodrama within itself, the reinvention presented by the Austin Opera this season is reminiscent of this Opera's rich history and beginnings. Premiering initially in 1912, Richard Strauss conceived a performance mixing the comedic style of Moliere' with the musically focused German-style melodrama opera. Appearing originally in two contrasting acts, the first begins as a play, and the second transitions into a full-fledged opera with comedic highlights. Historically, audiences were flustered in Munich and London by the contrasting art forms rolled into one night of entertainment - specifically, opera aficionados were loathe to sit through an entire act of a performance, before hearing the opera they were expecting in act two. After a variety of attempts with different versions and audience locations, Strauss' Libretto partner Hofmannsthal proposed a new first act be written to provide context on marrying the dramatization of operatic performance style with less prestigious but entertaining commedia dell'arte. Thus the second version of ARIADNE AUF NAXOS was presented in 1916 in Berlin and despite unsuccessful returns of a few productions, this opera/commedia concoction went on to be performed all over European Opera houses until it's first presentation in the United States in 1925. This rich history and reworking lend well to the present production at The Long Center presented by Austin Opera.
BWW Review: 1st Stage Takes on a Rarely Done Musical With FLOYD COLLINS
by Jennifer Perry - Jun 6, 2016
1st Stage's production is - for me, at least - a very, very welcome addition to the 2015-2016 theatre season. While Guettel's intricate and original score is, quite simply, extraordinary - and reason enough to make the trek to the McLean/Tysons Corner area to hear it sung live - Director Nick Olcott and his talented and committed cast and design team offer other reasons to pay this little gem of a production a visit.
THE VALLEY OF ASTONISHMENT Begins 9/14 at Theatre for a New Audience
by Tyler Peterson - Sep 2, 2014
The United States premiere of the internationally acclaimed new work written and directed by Peter Brook and Marie-Helene Estienne, The Valley of Astonishment, featuring Kathryn Hunter (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Kafka's Monkey), Marcello Magni (Fragments), and Jared McNeill (The Suit), begins previews Sunday, September 14, at 7:30pm for an opening Thursday, September 18,at 7:30pm and a run through Sunday, October 5, at Theatre for a New Audience, Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place.
NY PHIL BIENNIAL to Run Through June 7 at Lincoln Center Campus
by BWW News Desk - May 29, 2013
From May 28 to June 7, 2014, the New York Philharmonic will present the inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL, a kaleidoscopic exploration of today's music by a wide range of contemporary and modern composers that will showcase an array of curatorial voices through concerts presented with partners in venues both on and off the Lincoln Center campus.
BWW Reviews: BoHo’s FLOYD COLLINS - An Impressive Blend of Stagecraft and Musicianship
by Paul W. Thompson - Jun 18, 2012
Chicago's non-Equity Bohemian Theatre Ensemble has undertaken Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's 1996 off-Broadway masterpiece (or close to it) and put it on at Theater Wit on West Belmont Avenue for the next month (through July 25, 2012). If you have imagination enough to meet the company halfway, somewhere between the hardscrabble Kentucky soil and the cave beneath it where the real Floyd Collins met his doom in 1925, you will come away with a musical and theatrical experience you are unlikely to repeat anytime soon, anywhere else.
The Lyric Theatre Announces 2 New Shows For May
by BWW
News Desk - May 14, 2010
The LYRIC THEATRE was built in 1925 as a silent movie house and was operated until the depression when it was closed and eventually sold. Over the next 50 years it was bought and sold to various concerns and used in a variety of manners.
The Lyric Theatre Announces 2 New Shows For May
by Gabrielle Sierra - Apr 2, 2010
The LYRIC THEATRE was built in 1925 as a silent movie house and was operated until the depression when it was closed and eventually sold. Over the next 50 years it was bought and sold to various concerns and used in a variety of manners.