Jean Kalman News

Nine theater artists will be honored by the Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee during the presentation of its 46th Annual Awards in a luncheon ceremony this fall. Eighty-one theater artists were nominated for outstanding artistry in 46 productions presented during the 2009-2010 New York theater season. (A complete list of nominees follows this awards announcement.)

Russell Thomas will sing the role of Foresto in Verdi's Attila at tonight's performance, replacing Ramón Vargas, who is ill. Thomas, who was scheduled to sing Uldino this evening will be replaced in that role by Eduardo Valdes.

Franco Vassallo will sing the role of Ezio in Verdi's Attila on March 19, 22, and 27, replacing Carlos Alvarez, who is ill. Vassallo is currently appearing at the Met as Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, the role of his 2005 company debut. Last season the Italian baritone was Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore, and in 2007, audiences around the world saw him as Riccardo in The Met: Live in HD transmission of I Puritani, now available in DVD.

Giovanni Meoni will make his Met debut singing the role of Ezio in the premiere of Verdi's Attila, tomorrow evening, replacing Carlos Alvarez, who is ill.

Verdi's Attila will have its Met premiere on February 23, conducted by Riccardo Muti and directed by Pierre Audi in their Met debuts.

The National Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for its upcoming production of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. The show will play the Olivier, running September 9 through December 8.

The National Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for its upcoming production of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. The show will play the Olivier, running September 9 through December 8.

The National Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for its upcoming production of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. The show will play the Olivier, running September 9 through December 8.

The Metropolitan Opera has reason to celebrate; $2.5 million worth of tickets were sold on Sunday, the first day of sales, through its box office, telephone call center and Web site, up from $2 million on the first day of sales last year, according to the Associated press.

The winners in the ninth annual Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards, the only major UK theatre prize-giving decided by the public, were announced today (Sunday 15 February) at a glittering, star-studded evening at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

Eight new productions, four of which are company premieres, will highlight the Metropolitan Opera's 2009-10 season. General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine jointly announced plans that include: the Met premieres of Rossini's Armida, Verdi's Attila, Jan?ček's From the House of the Dead, and Shostakovich's The Nose; new productions of Bizet's Carmen, Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Thomas's Hamlet, and Puccini's Tosca; and 18 revivals from the company's repertory. The season is the first to be entirely planned under Gelb's leadership, in collaboration with Levine (the past three seasons were planned before Gelb became General Manager in 2006-07 but included some productions, repertoire, and casting changes made by Gelb).

Tchaikovsky's romantic masterpiece Eugene Onegin, based on the Pushkin poem, returns to the Met on Friday, January 30, with a superb international cast. American baritone Thomas Hampson returns to the role of Onegin, the haughty aristocrat who acknowledges love too late, opposite the Finnish soprano Karita Mattila making her Met role debut as Tatiana, who grows from a love-struck young girl to an aristocratic woman. Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk is her sister, Olga; Polish tenor Piotr Beczala is Lenski, Onegin's doomed friend; and Russian bass Sergei Aleksashkin is Gremin, the elderly prince who marries Tatiana. Aleksashkin will sing the first two performances and American bass James Morris, taking on the role for the first time at the Met, does the remainder of the run. Czech maestro Jiř? Bĕlohl?vek conducts all performances, through February 21. The production is by Robert Carsen, sets and costumes are by Michael Levine, Jean Kalman is the lighting designer, and the choreographer is Serge Bennathan.

The Year of Magical Thinking will be featured on 'The Today Show' on Friday morning, April 13, between 8:30-9:00AM

The Year of Magical Thinking will enjoys its world premiere March 29, at Broadway's Booth Theatre. The one-woman production, written by acclaimed author Joan Didion and based on her best-selling memoir, stars Vanessa Redgrave (Oscar-winner for Julia) and will run for a limited engagement of 24 weeks. David Hare directs.

Performances of THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING begin tonight, Tuesday, March 6.

Theatre directors Mary Zimmerman, Adrian Noble, Richard Jones and John Doyle will be among those staging operas at the Met during the opera company's 2007-2008 season.

The winners are currently being announced for the 2007 Laurance Olivier Awards, the UK's most prestigious theatrical awards.

A brand new cast recording of the 2006 revival of Kander and Ebb's musical, Cabaret, featuring the Lyric Theatre, London cast has been released. It is available to purchase at the theatre, and online through the shop at the musical's official website.

The nominations have been announced for the 2007 Laurance Olivier Awards, the UK's most prestigious theatrical awards. The awards will be presented on February 18, 2007 at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

Tickets to The Year of Magical Thinking, starring Academy Award- and Tony Award-winner Vanessa Redgrave, are now on sale to holders of American Express cards