Henri Meilhac News

The Glimmerglass Festival, the summer opera and musical theater festival in Cooperstown, New York, has announced plans for the summer of 2021 in the wake of its 2020 season cancelation due to COVID-19. The 2021 season will run July 15 through August 17.

Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, today announced details of the company's 2021 Summer Festival, which is currently scheduled to open June 13 and continue through July 25. The season marks a return to the stage following the cancellation of the company's 100th Anniversary Season due to the pandemic.

The Chinese-produced opera film Carmen will be shown at the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on August 16.

San Francisco Opera continues streaming performances as part of its Opera is ON initiative with Richard Strauss' Salome (June 20), Jules Massenet's Manon (June 27) and Carlisle Floyd's Susannah (July 4). The presentations, filmed live in high-definition at the War Memorial Opera House, will be viewable on demand for free at sfopera.com on the streaming date starting at 10 am PT and expiring at 11:59 pm the following day.

Following the cancellation of the 2020 Festival Season, Des Moines Metro Opera and Iowa PBS have formed a unique partnership to bring the opera season into a digital format with online streams and televised broadcasts of four fan-favorite productions.

MasterVoices continues its 2019-20 season on Thursday April 2, at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Artistic Director Ted Sperling will lead a concert staging of Bizet's Carmen in its original Opéra Comique version, with dialogue rather than recitative, sung in English translation by award-winning Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick. His translation of Carmen was commissioned and premiered by the Houston Grand Opera in 1981 and served as the English text for Peter Brook's ingenious 90-minute La tragédie de Carmen which was performed at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York in 1984. The MasterVoices performance will mark the New York premiere of the full translation.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler today announced the company's 2020-2021 season. It features four mainstage productions, including The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, both of which are being performed on a Lyric Opera of Kansas City stage for the first time. Two all-time favorites known for incomparable melodies - Verdi's beloved La traviata and Bizet's passionate Carmen - round out the extraordinarily diverse season. The Kansas City Symphony Orchestra will accompany all performances at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Find biographies of the casts and creative teams at Lyric Opera of Kansas City and find high-resolution photos here.

New Philharmonic, under the musical direction of Maestro Kirk Muspratt, opens 2020 with Franz Lehár's popular operetta a?oeThe Merry Widow,a?? featuring a libretto by Viktor Leon and Leo Stein, at the McAninch Arts Center. Due to the growing popularity of New Philharmonic's winter operas, a performance on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. has been added to the regular two performance run. Other performances are Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. This operetta, staged by Michael La Tour, will be sung in English. A free MAC Chat will take place one hour prior to each performance.

New Philharmonic, under the musical direction of Maestro Kirk Muspratt, opens 2020 with Franz Lehár's popular operetta a?oeThe Merry Widow,a?? featuring a libretto by Viktor Leon and Leo Stein, at the McAninch Arts Center. Due to the growing popularity of New Philharmonic's winter operas, a performance on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. has been added to the regular two performance run. Other performances are Saturday, Jan.

New Philharmonic, under the direction of Maestro Kirk Muspratt, opens 2020 with Franz Lehár's popular operetta 'The Merry Widow,' featuring a libretto by Viktor Leon and Leo Stein, at the McAninch Arts Center. Due to the growing popularity of new Philharmonic's winter operas, New Philharmonic has added a 7:30 p.m. performance on Friday, Jan. 24 to the regular two performance run. Other performances are Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. Thisoperetta, staged by Michael La Tour, will be sung in English. A free MAC Chat will take place one hour prior to each performance.

Ted Sperling, Artistic Director of MasterVoices, announced details of the acclaimed ensemble's 78th season, celebrating the joy of choral singing and the power of the human voice to unite, inspire and connect since 1941. Highlights include three major musical presentations at top venues, including a New York premiere, and the World Premiere of a new work, commissioned by the Company. Throughout the season there will be collaborations with leading singers, artists, ensembles and organizations, some who are familiar with and others who are new to the Company.

One of the nation's most adventurous opera companies, Odyssey Opera, presents the fully staged production of La belle Hélène (The Beautiful Helen) by Jacques Offenbach with libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. This final performance of Odyssey Opera's sixth season is the last of three works performed in 2019 inspired by one of the most enigmatic figures in ancient history, Helen of Troy. Directed by Frank Kelley, this performance will be sung in English with mezzo-soprano Ginger Costa-Jackson (Met Opera, San Francisco Opera) playing the lead role of Helen of Troy, and orchestra and chorus conducted by Gil Rose.

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) today announced the 2019 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by the current stars of Waitress, Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan, at the official announcement event at Sardi's Restaurant, which was streamed live online here at BroadwayWorld.

General Director Ken McConnell and Artistic Director Tobias Picker today announced Tulsa Opera's 72nd season comprising classics such as Bizet's Carmen and Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and a new production of Mr. Picker's 1996 opera Emmeline, to be performed in Oklahoma for the first time, and led by Mr. Picker in his opera-conducting debut.

Mezzo-soprano Clementine Margaine reprises her remarkable portrayal of opera's ultimate seductress, a triumph in her 2017 debut performances, with impassioned tenors Yonghoon Lee and Roberto Alagna as her lover, Don Jose. Omer Meir Wellber and Louis Langree share conducting duties for Sir Richard Eyre's powerful production, a Met favorite since its 2009 premiere.

Beginning June 5 and continuing through the 29th, San Francisco Opera presents a trio of extraordinary lyric works Georges Bizet's Carmen, George Frideric Handel's Orlando and Anton n Dvo k's Rusalka featuring powerful leading women in the title roles. Spanning three centuries and sung in French, Italian and Czech, the 2019 Summer Season repertory will occasion the Company debuts of four conductors, including two women, in productions that are new to the War Memorial Opera House stage. Some casting updates for the repertory were announced today and additional casting of supporting roles will be released at a future date.

Tenor Roberto Alagna and soprano Aleksandra Kurzak discuss their on- and off-stage romance with host Ailyn Pérez during the Live in HD transmission of “Carmen.”

Broadcast live from New York's Metropolitan Opera, Carmen is a powerful production, a Met's favourite since its 2009 premiere. Mezzo-soprano Clementine Margaine reprises her remarkable portrayal of opera's ultimate seductress, a triumph in her 2017 debut performances, with impassioned tenors Yonghoon Lee and Roberto Alagna as her lover, Don Jose.

Mezzo-soprano Clementine Margaine reprises her remarkable portrayal of opera's ultimate seductress in a LIVE simulcast presentation of The Metropolitan Opera's production of Carmen.

Antoinette Halloran and Alexander Lewis captivate the audience.