Lincoln Center Festival News

Schimmel Center with the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra presents the world premiere of The Struggle to Forgive: Confronting Gun Violence in America on Friday, May 4, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. Led by Music Director and Conductor Gary S. Fagin, the new cantata-which has a libretto by Fagin and features soprano Mikaela Bennett, mezzo-soprano Sarah Heltzel, and baritone Jorell Williams-gives voice to those whose lives have been impacted by gun violence in the United States, including victims and their families.

Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO) announces an exciting concert and reception featuring internationally acclaimed countertenor John Holiday on Sunday, April 8 at 7:00pm. Featuring an eclectic mix of opera, jazz and gospel selections, the concert will be held in the sanctuary at Plymouth Church in Des Moines. Scott Arens, DMMO's director of marketing and public relations, will be joining Mr. Holiday at the piano for the performance.

What does it mean to be a woman in the times of the #metoo and #timesup movements? What would our historical sisters have to say about it? From Sappho and Hildegard von Bingen to present day, this classical cabaret explores some of the innermost thoughts, desires, dreams, and experiences of women through music and poetry. Opera on Tap makes its' Flea debut as an Anchor Partner, presenting a diverse program of classical song in their signature fresh, heartfelt, and entertaining style.  

Third Eye Theatre Ensemble announces its 5th season, which celebrates women, love, and the transformative power of embracing our own authentic selves.

The New York Choral Society (NYCHORAL) will hold its annual Spring Gala at New York's Metropolitan Club (1 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022) on Thursday evening, April 5, 2018, starting at 6:00 pm. The organization will honor renowned opera singer and recitalist Stephanie Blythe with the NYCHORAL Music Excellence Award for her contributions to the musical profession, as well as Sylvia R. Hoisington who is celebrating her 50th season with the chorus. Produced in partnership with the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, the evening's showcase performance will feature soprano Amanda Majeski and tenor Ben Bliss, both of whom will be participating in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Cosi fan tutte from March 15 to April 9, 2018. Members of the NYCHORAL Chamber Ensemble will also perform. The evening will feature a silent auction of unique items and experiences. The program is as follows:

The New York Choral Society (NYCHORAL) will hold its annual Spring Gala at New York's Metropolitan Club (1 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022) on Thursday evening, April 5, 2018, starting at 6:00 pm.

Baz Bamigboye of The Daily Mail has reported that Academy Award winning actor, Cate Blanchett, has signed on to play the role of Margo Channing in a stage adaptation of the classic film All About Eve.

The Shed's Artistic Director and CEO Alex Poots today unveiled the first group of commissions for the 2019 inaugural season in its future home on Manhattan's west side, and provided major updates about the organization's leadership, program, and capital campaign. New York City's first arts center dedicated to commissioning, producing, and presenting new work across the performing arts, visual arts, and popular culture, The Shed will open to the public in spring 2019 with commissioned programs filling its iconic and expansive multi-use hall, two floors of column-free galleries, and versatile and intimate theater.

Renowned experimental, often-controversial opera and theater director Peter Sellars will join Debbie McNulty, director of Mayor Turner's Office of Cultural Affairs, and Patrick Summers, artistic director of Houston Grand Opera, in a public conversation about art and activism moderated by the Rothko Chapel's executive director, David Leslie, on Tuesday, March 20, 7-8:30 p.m. at the Rothko Chapel, 3900 Yupon St., Houston. The "pay what you can" event has a suggested value of $20. Registration is advised; visit rothkochapel.org or call 713-524-9839.

The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Most announce further details of the upcoming festival The Ecstasy of Tristan and Isolde. In a special two-week series of concerts revolving around performances of Wagner's Romantic opera Tristan and Isolde, Franz Welser-Most explores the depths and wonder of ecstasy - in a journey toward transcendence and understanding, through music, art, and belief. This festival is part of the Orchestra's historic 100th season and the 16th year of the Orchestra's acclaimed partnership with Franz Welser-Most.

'Isabelle Huppert reads Sade: Juliette and Justine, the Vice and the Virtue' is the electrifying one-woman show by the internationally renowned, multi-award winning French film actress ISABELLE HUPPERT which she will perform - for one night only - at Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall on Saturday June 9th at 7.30pm.

From the very first note, Brooklyn-based composer Christopher Cerrone draws listeners into his vibrant sonic imagination—a sublime world of ethereal colors and deep emotional resonance. Riding high following the extraordinary success of his groundbreaking futuristic opera, Invisible Cities, Cerrone teams up with Grammy-award winning Third Coast Percussion ensemble and mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway to perform recent chamber works, including the world premiere of a work commissioned for this Portrait.

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced the date and partial casting for its 2018 WNO Gala, which takes place on Sunday, May 20 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. The annual Gala concert features a world-class cast  starring Tony and GRAMMY Award-winning actor Patti LuPone; Emmy-nominated singer and actor Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, 30 Rock); and stars from WNO's current season—mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (Rosina in The Barber of Seville) and soprano Kathryn Lewek (Cunegonde in Candide)—as well as members of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program and other special guests to be announced at a later date. Renowned baritone Nathan Gunn will host and perform, alongside his wife, pianist Julie Gunn.   Conductor John DeMain leads the WNO Orchestra in this event honoring the centennial of iconic composer, conductor, educator, and humanitarian Leonard Bernstein's birth. The WNO Gala is the culminating event in this season's Center-wide celebration of the musical genius, and Jamie Bernstein, the composer's eldest daughter, will also participate in the festivities.   Gala packages for the full evening include a cocktail reception on the Kennedy Center's River Terrace at 4:30 p.m., followed by the 6 p.m. performance. The event concludes with elegant dinners hosted by Ambassadors and foreign dignitaries at embassies and residences throughout Washington.

Olivia De Prato, co-founder and first violinist of the Mivos Quartet, announces the March 2, 2018 release of her debut solo album,Streya, on New Focus Recordings. A passionate advocate for new music, De Prato chose to record music by six composers with whom she has collaborated closely since moving to New York in 2005: Samson Young, Victor Lowrie, Ned Rothenberg, Taylor Brook, Reiko Füting, and Missy Mazzoli.

Following a five year search for a permanent home, Target Margin Theater (Founding Artistic Director David Herskovits, Associate Artistic Director Moe Yousuf, General Manager Lu Liu) is proud to present the world premiere of Pay No Attention To The Girl (March 29-April 21), which marks the Company's debut off-Broadway performances in their new 3,250 sq. ft. home in Brooklyn. Directed by Founding Artistic Director David Herskovits, Pay No Attention To The Girl is an interlocking set of tales about the deceptions of the sexes that lead us deep into the labyrinth of The Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Silk Road, MENA (Middle Eastern / North African), and South Asian stories.

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA; Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director) has added a performance (February 8 at 9pm) to its critically lauded world premiere production of Adrienne Kennedy's He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box, directed by Evan Yionoulis. The run will conclude, as a scheduled, on February 11.

Ghostlight Records celebrates Hal Prince's historic 90th Birthday today with the announcement that the label will release PRINCE OF BROADWAY Original Broadway Cast Recording in physical, digital and streaming formats on Friday, April 20.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Adrienne Danrich in Love & Trouble: Five Personas ~ One Voice on February 20, 2018. In collaboration with classical and musical theater composer Dave Hall. Danrich has created a unique, toe-tapping, emotionally riveting, and uplifting concert honoring the stories of five different women. Danrich seamlessly transforms from one character to the next with quick-witted, lively dialogue and songs that will transport you from the jazz and blues lounge to the gospel revival to the opera house. The music for Love & Trouble was written by Hall and Danrich with lyrics and poems by Danrich.

This spring, Candoco Dance Company will present the London premiere of Face In from multi-award-winning and internationally recognised choreographer Yasmeen Godder. Face In was originally commissioned by Stine Nilsen and Pedro Machado who recently stepped down as Artistic Co-Directors of Candoco.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) announces the cast and creative team for Hamlet, directed by STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn and featuring acclaimed actor Michael Urie as the tortured Danish prince. Shakespeare's most celebrated tragedy will run January 16-February 25, 2018 at Sidney Harman Hall.