Joanna Settle

Karen Ouzounian to Perform Lembit Beecher's 'Tell Me Again' At Cabrillo Festival Of Contemporary Music
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jun 27, 2024

Cellist Karen Ouzounian will perform the West Coast premiere of Lembit Beecher’s 'Tell Me Again' at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, celebrating generational storytelling and migration stories.

Review: Orth-Moscovitch Stunning MADHOUSE Tells of Women Past the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown at Opera Philadelphia Festival O23
by Richard Sasanow - Sep 27, 2023

When composer Rene Orth came across the story of investigative reporter Nellie Bly’s expose of the abuse of women at an asylum in New York at the end of the 19th century, she immediately knew that “this story needed to be told as an opera.” She was right. The result of her efforts, with the first-rate creative team including librettist Hannah Moscovitch, is 10 DAYS IN A MADHOUSE, a 90-minute work that opened Opera Philadelphia’s festival (this year, called O23) with its world premiere at the Wilma Theatre.

Daniela Candillari to Conduct Two World Premieres at Opera Philadelphia and Washington National Opera
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Aug 14, 2023

Don't miss the world premieres of '10 Days in a Madhouse' and 'Grounded' conducted by Daniela Candillari at Opera Philadelphia and Washington National Opera. Get all the details on these exciting performances and the talented composers behind them.

Composer Rene Orth's 10 DAYS IN A MADHOUSE to Receive World Premiere At Opera Philadelphia
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Aug 8, 2023

Experience the world premiere of Composer Rene Orth's 10 Days in a Madhouse at Opera Philadelphia. Grammy-winning baritone Will Liverman stars in this psychological opera based on Nellie Bly's story. Don't miss the premiering performances from September 21 to September 30.

10 DAYS IN A MADHOUSE Receives World Premiere at Opera Philadelphia in September
by Stephi Wild - Aug 8, 2023

Composer Rene Orth's newest opera, 10 Days in a Madhouse will have its world premiere at Opera Philadelphia on Thursday, September 21, 2023 at 7:00pm, with additional performances on Saturday, September 23 at 2:00pm, Tuesday, September 26 and Thursday, September 28 at 7:00pm, and Saturday, September 30 at 2:00pm.

NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center Announces 2022-23 Season
by Stephi Wild - Aug 18, 2022

The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has announced its eighth season's lineup of performances, talks, and workshops centered around the theme 'Stories'. The events will showcase local, regional, and global artists whose works build on inspiring storytelling, inviting audiences to participate in the process of creative expression on and off the stage.

Three Bone Theatre Responds to this Moment with HANDS UP
by Perry Tannenbaum - Nov 22, 2020

As relevant and compelling as it was back in 2014 in responding to Michael Brown, HANDS UP is a perfect way for Three Bone Theatre to return to the Charlotte scene, more activist and more woke.

HERE Announces HERE THERE EVERYWHERE, In-Person and Expanded Online Programming
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jul 7, 2020

The OBIE-winning HERE, has announced HERE THERE EVERYWHERE, a return to live in-person events along with expanded online programming for its summer and fall 2020 season, featuring original relevant works by more than 235 diverse artists. A centerpiece of the season is #stillHERE: IRL, an adventurous new series that reimagines the live experience.

BWW Review: SKY ON SWINGS at Home Computer Screens
by Maria Nockin - May 23, 2020

On May 22, 2020, Opera Philadelphia presented the digital world premiere of composer Lembit Beecher and librettist Hannah Moscovitch's opera Sky on Swings. The company gave the opera's world premiere on Sept. 20, 2018, during its Festival O.

BREAKING THE WAVES to Receive Broadcast Premiere as Part of DIGITAL FESTIVAL O
by Chloe Rabinowitz - May 21, 2020

Opera Philadelphia's adaptation of Lars von Trier's searing, Oscar-nominated 1996 film Breaking the Waves made its world premiere in September 2016. It has since earned the Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA)'s inaugural Best New Opera Award, an International Opera Award nomination for Best World Premiere.

Broadcast Premiere Of SKY ON SWINGS Starring Frederica Von Stade Marks Week 4 Of Digital Festival O
by A.A. Cristi - May 18, 2020

Week 4 of Opera Philadelphia's Digital Festival O features the broadcast premiere of the 2018 chamber opera Sky on Swings, premiering on Friday, May 22, at 8:00 p.m. on YouTube and operaphila.org. Following Friday's digital opening night, the 2018 production will stream on-demand through Monday, August 31.

Week 3 Of Digital Festival O Features Broadcast Premiere Of THE BARBER OF SEVILLE
by A.A. Cristi - May 11, 2020

If you are still unable to get to the barber, Opera Philadelphia can at least bring a Barber to you! Week 3 of the company's Digital Festival O features a broadcast of Rossini's comic masterpiece The Barber of Seville, premiering on Friday, May 15, at 8:00 p.m. on YouTube and operaphila.org. Following Friday's digital opening night, the 2014 production will stream on-demand through Monday, June 29.

Opera Philadelphia Launches Digital Streaming Festival
by Stephi Wild - Apr 28, 2020

Over the past five years, Opera Philadelphia has presented no fewer than nine world premieres, scoring multiple awards and winning international audience and critical recognition. Now that the 2019-20 season has been cut short by the need for social distancing, the company is extending its season online with Digital Festival O.

Review Roundup: What Did the Critics Think of NOURA?
by Julie Musbach - Dec 11, 2018

Playwrights Horizons presents the New York premiere of Noura, a new American drama from 9 Parts of Desire playwright and actor Heather Raffo, continuing her longtime collaboration with director Joanna Settle, November 27-December 30, in the Mainstage Theater at Playwrights Horizons. Let's see what the critics had to say.

BWW Review: Heather Raffo's NOURA Takes An Ibsen-Like Approach To Iraqi Assimilation Into America
by Michael Dale - Dec 11, 2018

The lack of visible doors in our view of the home of the title character of Heather Raffo's drama of an immigrant Christian Iraqi family in America, Noura, appears more and more to be a symbolic gesture once it becomes apparent that her story takes its cue from Henrik Ibsen's A DOLL'S HOUSE.

Playwrights Horizons Announces Live For Five Lottery For Heather Raffo's NOURA
by A.A. Cristi - Nov 12, 2018

Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director Tim Sanford, Managing Director Leslie Marcus) will, from today, November 12, through Thursday, November 15, accept entries for the Live for Five online lottery, giving out $5 tickets to the New York premiere production of Noura, from 9 Parts of Desire playwright and actor Heather Raffo and director Joanna Settle. The Washington Post deemed this "epic-feeling, nearly searing portrait of a woman torn between cultures and family" the "best premiere of the Women's Voices Theater Festival" when it made its world premiere in Washington, D.C. earlier this year. Produced in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company, it will be performed at Playwrights Horizons from November 27 to December 30. Playwrights Horizons created Live for Five in 2007 as part of their Arts Access program to reach out to those who may not be able to afford the cost of a full-price theater ticket. Since its inception, over 3,000 theatergoers have been able to attend the theater thanks to the initiative.

Joanna Settle Directs Heather Raffo's NOURA at Playwrights Horizons
by Julie Musbach - Oct 18, 2018

Playwrights Horizons presents the New York premiere of Noura, a new American drama from 9 Parts of Desire playwright and actor Heather Raffo, continuing her longtime collaboration with director Joanna Settle, November 27-December 30, in the Mainstage Theater at Playwrights Horizons

Playwrights Horizons Offers Live For Five Lottery For Larissa FastHorse's THE THANKSGIVING PLAY
by Julie Musbach - Oct 1, 2018

Playwrights Horizons will, from today, October 1, through Thursday, October 4, accept entries for the Live for Five online lottery, giving out $5 tickets to the world premiere production of Larissa FastHorse's The Thanksgiving Play. Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Hand to God and Present Laughter on Broadway), this side-splitting comedy satirizing the performance of contemporary white liberalism begins October 12 and runs through November 25.

BWW Review: 'Losing Your Mind' Three Ways in a Weekend at Opera Philadelphia's Festival O18
by Richard Sasanow - Sep 26, 2018

Whether from disease, 19th century #MeToo-style abuse, or unrequited love, Opera Philadelphia's (OP) Festival O18 opening weekend showed us three ways that central female characters lost their grip on reality. While I considered only one of them a total success, audience openness to sometimes-demanding material made it clear that the company has found a formula that strikes at the hearts of opera-goers, new and old.

Playwrights Horizons Installs GalaPro To Increase Accessibility For Deaf And Hard-of-Hearing Patrons
by Stephi Wild - Sep 21, 2018

As Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director Tim Sanford, Managing Director Leslie Marcus) begins their 2018-2019 season with the New York Premiere of Craig Lucas's I Was Most Alive with You-a play featuring both Deaf and hearing casts-the company continues to emphasize a commitment to accessibility with the launch of an expanded captioning program, powered by GalaPro. GalaPro, which lets Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons view captions on their smartphones/devices, allows captions to be available at every post-opening performance on both Playwrights stages. GalaPro closed-captioning will be available for all I Was Most Alive with You performances after September 24.