REDCAT Presents World Premiere Of SUGAR HOUSES
by A.A. Cristi - Feb 24, 2020
REDCAT, CalArt's downtown center for contemporary arts, presents the world premiere of Sugar Houses by renowned Los Angeles-based choreographer Rosanna Gamson of Rosanna Gamson/World Wide.Â
Photo Flash: GRETEL! at Milwaukee's First Stage
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Feb 24, 2020
This past weekend First Stage opened GRETEL!, a new folk rock musical developed as part of the First Stage Foundry Stage Series. It combines the tale of HANSEL AND GRETEL with VASILISA THE BRAVE (the Russian Cinderella) into a story family audiences will find both compelling and inspiring. Directed by Artistic Director Jeff Frank and showing First Stage's commitment to developing new work, this folk rock musical runs now through March 22 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center.
THE TWISTED TALE OF HANSEL AND GRETEL Returns To The Belgrade Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Feb 18, 2020
Following its sell-out premiere at Birmingham Hippodrome and successful tour in 2018, Open Theatre Company's The Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel sets off on a brand new adventure this spring, returning to the Belgrade Theatre in March as part of its second tour.
Photo Flash: Opera San Jose Presents IL TROVATORE
by A.A. Cristi - Feb 14, 2020
This February, Opera San José will highlight the raw emotions that drive Giuseppe Verdi's turbulent tale of love and revenge in its production of Il trovatore. Featuring an emotional, heart-stopping score, this mesmerizing story of romance, obsession, and retribution will be conducted by Joseph Marcheso, Opera San José's Music Director and Principal Conductor, and directed by Brad Dalton, acclaimed for staging major opera productions for San Francisco Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, and many other international companies. It will be presented at the magnificent California Theatre, the elegant 1927 former movie palace meticulously restored to opulent splendor and now one of the world's most intimate opera houses.
The Metropolitan Opera Has Announced its 2020â€"21 Season
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Feb 13, 2020
Today, the Metropolitan Opera announced its 2020-21 season, the first in which Yannick Nézet-Séguin assumes his full breadth of musical duties as the company's Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, conducting six productions. His schedule includes the Met premiere of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, the first contemporary opera conducted by the maestro on the Met stage, as part of his ongoing commitment to opera of our time at the Met, which will expand in the seasons to come.
BWW Review: San Diego Opera's Sly and Whimsical HANSEL AND GRETEL at the Civic Center
by Ron Bierman - Feb 10, 2020
Engelbert Humperdinck's HANSEL AND GRETEL opened Saturday to an audience that included several dozen children, who followed their attention from beginning to end with color, movement, and singing backed by lushly orchestrated music. Even a five year-old girl sitting in front of me on a raised seat kept her eyes on the stage without a single fidget. Director Brenna Corner's playful production emphasized the fairy-tale nature of the story. During the overture a boy entered in front of the curtain, picked up a large book lying center stage and blew a cloud of dust from its cover. Fascinated, he dropped to the floor reading with a rapt expression while members of the San Diego Opera's children's chorus entered behind him, each with a letter on the front of their costumes. Once assembled the letters lit up to say, 'Once upon a time...,' and the story began. It continued after intermission with 'And then...' though not before a necessary rearrangement of the 'And...' brought a second laugh. The approving audience laughed again when the production closed with 'The end.'
LA Opera Will Present the Company Premiere of ROBERTO DEVEREUX
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Feb 5, 2020
Inspired by Tudor-era English history, Roberto Devereux finds Queen Elizabeth I clinging onto her power, influence and heart in the final year of her reign. Her younger lover Devereux-fighting charges of treason-is discovered to have a secret affection for another woman. As Elizabeth searches for her rival, she soon realizes the 'other woman' is much closer to her than she ever could have imagined, while Devereux is left to fight for his freedom-and his head-all on his own.
Milwaukee's First Stage Will Present GRETEL!, A LIVE FOLK ROCK MUSICAL
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Feb 5, 2020
GRETEL!, a new folk rock musical developed as part of the First Stage Foundry Stage Series, combines the tale of HANSEL AND GRETEL with VASILISA THE BRAVE (the Russian Cinderella) into a story family audiences will find both compelling and inspiring.
Kentucky Opera Announces Brown-Forman 2020/21 Season
by Stephi Wild - Jan 31, 2020
The 20/21 season begins with Kentucky Opera's second annual Open House at the Brown Theatre. This free-of-charge event on June 14 will feature fun for all ages with engaging activities, backstage tours, performances, and a peek at the upcoming season. On the mainstage, the opera continues to humanize the art form with three productions that celebrate the importance of friendship and community. In its second season, the Awakenings series will continue to partner with social service organizations to explore the connection of the operas' themes to our society today with arts-centered conversations. The Awakenings panel discussions are designed to open our eyes to the world around us by challenging tradition, questioning social narratives and inviting varied perspectives.
Bronx Arts Ensemble Announces Free Children's Musical Series at Bronx Public Libraries 
by Rebecca Russo - Jan 30, 2020
Bronx Arts Ensemble(BAE) and the Children's Theatre Company at Lehman College will perform several performances of each of three musicals this spring at local branches of the New York Public Library in a newly official and ongoing partnership. These musicals have a long history with the Bronx Arts Ensemble, going back to the first performance of Peter and the Wolf in 1980, and in recent years the musical series has evolved to the commissioning of fully original scores. On March 11, 2020, BAE and the Lehman Children's Theatre will present the World Premiere of Penelope's Rainy Day, with book and lyrics by Dante Albertie and music by Mary Ann McSweeney, at Edenwald Library, with performances to follow at the Bronx Library Center and Wakefield Library. All performances listed below are free and open to the public.
BWW Interview: Director Brenna Corner of San Diego Opera's HANSEL AND GRETEL
by Ron Bierman - Jan 29, 2020
Brenna Corner started out with dreams of Broadway. It wouldn't be a big surprise if the versatile young director's dreams came true, but not in the way she'd originally pictured. I met with her to learn more about that and the San Diego Opera's upcoming production of Hansel and Gretel.
'Broadway was the original idea when I was very, very little. I grew up in the theater, my mom's a costume designer. My dad was a carpenter in the shop. I just grew up loving theater. I lived in a little town in southern Alberta with a community theater that did amazing shows that I got to see, and I started to understand what a wonderful thing storytelling could be for the community.'
Madison Lyric Stage Announces 2020 Season; Subscriptions Now On-Sale
by Stephi Wild - Jan 14, 2020
Madison Lyric Stage, a professional theater company serving the Connecticut Shoreline, has announced its 2020 mainstage season: a double bill of Puccini's Suor Angelica and Schoenberg's Erwartung in April; the landmark Mart Crowley play The Boys in the Band in July; and, for Halloween, the Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler musical masterpiece Sweeney Todd. All three productions will be directed by Marc Deaton.
Houston Grand Opera Has Announced Concert of Arias 2020 Semifinalists
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jan 8, 2020
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has selected the semifinalists for the 32nd annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias, to be presented in the Wortham Theater Center on Feb. 7, 2020 at 7 p.m. A limited number of tickets for the performance are available for purchase here. The program will also be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube for all to enjoy, inviting viewers to cast their votes for the Online Viewers' Choice Award.
Houston Grand Opera to Present New Production of Verdi's AIDA
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Dec 17, 2019
Verdi's timeless Aida returns to the Wortham stage in an awe-inspiring new production directed by Phelim McDermott. This stunning new design is enhanced by the incorporation of visionary artists Basil Twist's silk choreography. Set in ancient Egypt during the pinnacle of war, the captive princess Aida falls in love with a conquering general and must choose between true love and loyalty to her country. Verdi's powerful music heightens the unforgettable story of betrayal and sacrifice.
BWW Review: THE SNOW QUEEN, Rose Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Dec 14, 2019
Kingston's Rose Theatre always goes all-out for their Christmas production. After last year's huge success with Hansel And Gretel, writer and director Ciaran McConville turns his hand to another Hans Christian Andersen tale with The Snow Queen.
Stewart Copeland's New Opera ELECTRIC SAINT to Premiere in Weimar in 2020
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Dec 9, 2019
In a working partnership approaching three decades, composer Stewart Copeland and librettist Jonathan Moore bring their latest opera 'Electric Saint' to Kunstfest Weimar in September of 2020. The project is a co-commission of the innovative Kunstfest alongside Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar (DNT). The world premiere performance will take place at Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar on September 6, 2020, with seven subsequent performances in Weimar.