Stephen Schwartz to be Honored at American Opera Projects's 25th Anniversary Gala, 5/12

On Monday, May 12, 2014, AOP (American Opera Projects) hosts its 25th Anniversary Gala honoring Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist of Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell as well as the AOP-developed opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon that premiered at Opera Santa Barbara and ran at New York City Opera for ten performances in their 2010-11 Season. The evening, titled "Opera Sings Broadway Sings Opera," brings together stars of Opera and Broadway at The Players (16 Gramercy Park South), an historic theatre club in Manhattan. Doors open at 7:30pm with performances scheduled to begin at 8:00pm. Tickets begin at $250 and are available at AOP's website www.operaprojects.org.

Artists scheduled to perform include Lauren Flanigan, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Simone Osborne, Jessica Phillips, Betsy Wolfe, and Michael Marcotte. Other special guests to be announced...

Stephen Schwartz has written music and lyrics for Broadway shows for over 40 years, as well as for film and television, winning multiple GRAMMY and Academy Awards. From writing the songs and lyrics for Godspell in 1971 and Pippin in 1972 to Wicked in 2003, to creating songs for DreamWorks' first animated feature, The Prince of Egypt, for which he won an Academy Award, Mr. Schwartz has had a prolific career. In 2008, Wicked reached its 1,900th performance on Broadway, making Mr. Schwartz the only songwriter in Broadway history ever to have three shows run more than 1,900 performances. He was recently given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. Featuring soprano Lauren Flanigan creating the title role of Myra, Mr. Schwartz's first opera, Séance on a Wet Afternoon, was developed in public workshops by AOP, before premiering at Opera Santa Barbara and at New York City Opera.

At the forefront of the contemporary opera movement for a quarter-century, AOP (American Opera Projects) creates, develops, and presents opera and music theatre projects collaborating with young, rising, and established artists in the field. Recent AOP world premieres include Nkeiru Okoye's Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom (Irondale Theater), Lera Auerbach's The Blind (Lincoln Center Festival), Phil Kline's Out Cold (BAM), Gregory Spears' Paul's Case (PROTOtype Festival and Pittsburgh Opera), Stefan Weisman and Anna Rabinowitz's Darkling (East 13th Street Theater), and Stephen Schwartz's Séance on a Wet Afternoon (Opera Santa Barbara and New York City Opera).

To purchase tickets for the "OPERA SINGS BROADWAY SINGS OPERA" benefit and for more information on AOP please call (718) 398-4024 or visit www.operaprojects.org.