Kristin Chenoweth, Lauren Flanigan, Lou Reed, et al. Set for New York City Opera’s 2010-2011 Season
New York City Opera has announced its 2010-2011 season, which will spotlight American composers and 20th-century works.
The season will begin with the New York premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s A Quiet Place (October 27-November 21), which portrays the estranged members of an American family — mother, father, daughter and gay son — as they reunite at a funeral after twenty years. Christopher Alden will direct the production, which will star Sara Jakubiak, Patricia Risley, Dominic Armstrong, Joshua Hopkins, Louis Otey, and Christopher Feigum. Jayce Ogren will conduct, with the creative team also including Kaye Voyce (costumes), Aaron Black (lighting), and Andrew Lieberman (sets).
Leon Major will direct Richard Strauss’ Intermezzo (October 31-November 20), a lighthearted opera about a renowned conductor and his wife, who suspects him of cheating on her. The cast will include Mary Dunleavy, Nicholas Pallesen, and Andrew Bidlack. George Manahan conducts, sets are by Andrew Jackness, costumes by Martha Mann, and lighting design by Mark McCullough.
Jonathan Miller’s reimagining of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love (March 22-April 9) relocates the story to the American Southwest during the 1950s. Brad Cohen will conduct, and A. Scott Parry will direct based on Miller’s production, which premiered in 2003. The cast will include Stefania Dovhan, David Lomeli, and Marco Nisticò. Sets and costume designs are by Isabella Bywater.
Mondoramas (March 25-April 8) will feature John Zorn’s “La Machine de l’être”, Arnold Schoenberg’s “Erwartung,” and Morton Feldman and Samuel Beckett’s “Neither”, with the works conducted by George Manahan and featuring Cyndia Sieden and Kara Shay Thomson. Robin Guarino directs.
Lauren Flanigan will star in the New York premiere of Stephen Schwartz’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon, based on the novel by Mark McShane and its 1964 film noir adaptation. The opera focuses on Myra Foster (Flanigan), a trance medium who involves her passive husband (to be played by Kim Josephson) in a plot to kidnap the daughter of a neighboring family. The composer’s son, Scott Schwartz, will direct, while George Mahanan conducts, sets are by Heidi Ettinger, costumes by Alejo Vietti and lighting by David Lander.
In addition, NYCO will present a concert series featuring Christine Brewer (October 28); Lucky to Be Me: The Music of Leonard Bernstein (November 6 and 7); John Zorn & Friends, featuring Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Mike Patton, Marc Ribot, Dave Douglas, and Uri Caine (March 30); Family Opera in Concert: Where the Wild Things Are (April 9); and Defying Gravity: The Music of Stephen Schwartz, featuring Kristin Chenoweth and Raúl Esparza (April 21).
For more information, visit nycOpera.com.
