OUR FABULOUS CHRISMUKKAH CAROL: A HOLIDAY REWRITE

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Photo: Michael O’Connor of Classy Camera

Tag: Performing Arts

Nightly Met Opera Streams: Nico Muhly’s Marnie

Visit the Metropolitan Opera’s homepage to view this stream for 23 hours after it premieres

Based on Winston Graham’s gripping 1961 novel of intrigue and deception, Nico Muhly’s new opera had its United States premiere at the Met during the 2018–19 season. In this performance from the Met’s series of Live in HD series of cinema transmissions, mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard stars in the elusive title role, a young con woman who employs myriad false identities until she meets her match in the imperious Mark Rutland, sung by baritone Christopher Maltman. Director Michael Mayer’s cinematic production bursts to life in vivid color and features ravishing, 60s-inspired costumes by Oscar-nominated designer and stylist Arianne Phillips. Robert Spano conducts an accomplished cast, which also features soprano Janis Kelly, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, and countertenor Iestyn Davies.

Nightly Met Opera Streams: Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux

Visit the Metropolitan Opera’s homepage to view this stream for 23 hours after it premieres

Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky completes her season-long exploration of Donizetti’s three Tudor queen operas, starring as Elizabeth I in this final installment. David McVicar’s atmospheric Met premiere production frames the dramatic and heart-rending love story of the queen and the Earl of Essex as a play within a play unfolding before the members of the royal court. Radvanovsky’s portrayal of the aging monarch is a tour de force, laying bare the conflict between her public duties as ruler of England and her private feelings as a woman. Matthew Polenzani is the Earl of Essex, Roberto Devereux, the object of her affections who is torn between two women. Elīna Garanča as Sarah and Mariusz Kwiecien as her husband, the Duke of Nottingham, complete the quartet of principals. Maurizio Benini conducts.

Nightly Met Opera Streams: Donizetti’s Anna Bolena

Visit the Metropolitan Opera’s homepage to view this stream for 23 hours after it premieres

David McVicar’s atmospheric and brooding production captures the drama of this riveting piece of British history, retold as only Donizetti could. International superstar Anna Netrebko is Queen Anne Boleyn, trapped in an unhappy marriage to King Henry VIII (Ildar Abdrazakov) whose roving eye has settled on another woman—Jane Seymour (Ekaterina Gubanova), Anna’s friend, but now her unwitting rival. Add in Anna’s early love, Percy (Stephen Costello), just returned to the court from exile, and the result is a haunting, explosive account of Queen Anna’s tragic final days, before she goes to her execution in one of the most moving and dazzling final scenes in all of opera.

Virtual KidFEST: The Amazing Max

Max Darwin (aka The Amazing Max) is based in NYC and performs his family magic show Off Broadway and on tour. Since Amazing Max is not currently performing in the theater, he has offered Guild Hall a virtual magic lesson that can be enjoyed from your sofa! In one hour Max will teach your kids 3 magic tricks using objects available right in your home. All you need is 1 pencil, 2 paper clips, a dollar bill, and a deck of cards. Magic experience not required! Following the lesson there will be time for a Q&A.

The session will be a private group on Zoom, so everyone will need to register in advance to participate.  A link will be sent to ticket holders 24 hours in advance of the performance.

Recommended for ages 6 & up.  For younger kids who would like to participate, an adult presence is recommended to help them with the tricks.  

Jeff Cohen’s The Soap Myth starring Ed Asner and Tovah Feldshuh

Did the Nazis make soap from the corpses of murdered Jews?  
Fifty years after the end of World War II, impassioned Holocaust survivor Milton Saltzman battles Holocaust historians to include the atrocity of “soap” in their Holocaust memorials and museums. THE SOAP MYTH wrestles with the conflict between survivor memory and historical proof, as well as with the scourge of anti-Semitism masquerading as Holocaust denial. The play poses such provocative questions as: Who has the right to write history? Who determines the truth? How does a survivor survive surviving?  

We invite you to watch PBS’s recording of Jeff Cohen’s gut-wrenching play, starring Ed Asner and Tovah Feldshuh, on your own and then to join us for a virtual discussion on essential questions about the shaping of history and the convenient hatred of anti-Semitism, with: 
Ed Asner & Tovah Feldshuh, The play’s stars
Jeff Cohen, Playwright
Dr. Michael Berenbaum, Holocaust scholar
Ira N. Forman, President Obama’s Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism

All who register will receive an email the night prior to the event with links both for the April 20th webinar as well as a link to watch the play. 

This program is proudly presented by the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center, the National Jewish Theater Foundation and the=Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center

Special introductions by Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson and Arnold Mittelman.  

Questions will be taken via chat room and moderated by Rick Salomon,Vice President and Member of the Executive Committee of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center 
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The New York Times calls THE SOAP MYTH – “A pointed investigation of the politics of history… Forceful… Genuinely moving… A revelation!”
 
Williamstown Theatre Festival Artistic Director Mandy Greenfield said: “Our audience was reached, moved and transformed.  The performance felt epic, historic, important and meaningful beyond words – an evening this Festival will not soon forget.” 
 
William Shulman, President of The Association of Holocaust Organizations, wrote: “THE SOAP MYTH is a powerful confrontation between survivor memory and historical memory as well as a scathing depiction of the insidiousness of sophisticated Holocaust denial.  It is a remarkably effective teaching tool.”

National Theatre Live at Home: Treasure Island

Visit the National Theatre’s homepage to view this stream for one week after it premieres

Robert Louis Stevenson’s story of murder, money and mutiny brought to life in this thrilling new stage adaptation.

It’s a dark, stormy night. The stars are out. Jim, the inn-keeper’s granddaughter, opens the door to a terrifying stranger. At the old sailor’s feet sits a huge sea-chest, full of secrets. Jim invites him in – and her dangerous voyage begins.

Filmed live on-stage by National Theatre Live, see Olivier Award-winner Patsy Ferran (Summer and Smoke) play Jim and Arthur Darvill (Doctor Who, Broadchurch) play Long John Silver in this rip-roaring adventure for the whole family.  

This filmed performance is recommended for ages 10+. It contains some flashing lights and staged fight scenes.

National Theatre Live at Home: Jane Eyre

Visit the National Theatre’s homepage to view this stream for one week after it premieres

The classic story of the trailblazing Jane is as inspiring as ever. This bold and dynamic production uncovers one woman’s fight for freedom and fulfilment on her own terms.

Jane Eyre’s spirited heroine faces life’s obstacles head-on, surviving poverty, injustice and the discovery of bitter betrayal before taking the ultimate decision to follow her heart.

This innovative reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s masterpiece is a collaboration between the National Theatre and Bristol Old Vic and is directed by Sally Cookson.

This filmed performance was given a BBFC rating of 12A and it contains some strong language.

The Metropolitan Opera: At-Home Gala

Visit the Metropolitan Opera’s homepage to view this stream for 23 hours after it premieres

In its most ambitious effort yet to bring the joy and artistry of opera to audiences everywhere during the Met’s closure, the company will present an unprecedented virtual At-Home Gala, featuring more than 40 leading artists performing in a live stream from their homes all around the world. The event, Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m. EDT, will be hosted by General Manager Peter Gelb in New York City and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin in Montreal, and will be available for free on the Met’s website. After the live showing, the gala will continue to be accessible on demand on the Met website until 6:30pm EDT the following day. A list of featured artists is below, and the complete program will be announced soon.

Featured Artists

Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak 
    Le Raincy, France
Marco Armiliato
    Lugano, Switzerland
Jamie Barton
     Atlanta, Georgia
Piotr Beczała
    Zabnica, Poland
Angel Blue
    Alpine, New Jersey
Lawrence Brownlee
    Niceville, Florida
Joseph Calleja
    Mellieha, Malta
Javier Camarena
    Zurich, Switzerland
Nicole Car and Etienne Dupuis
    Paris, France
David Chan
    Closter, New Jersey
Anthony Roth Costanzo
    New York, New York
Stephen Costello and Yoon Kwon Costello
    New York, New York
Diana Damrau
  Orange, France
Michael Fabiano
    Bonita Springs, Florida
Renée Fleming
    Virginia
Elīna Garanča
    Riga, Latvia 
Christine Goerke
    Teaneck, New Jersey
Gunther Groissböck
    Lugano, Switzerland
Jonas Kaufmann
    Munich, Germany
Isabel Leonard
    New York, New York
Ambrogio Maestri
    Lugano, Switzerland
Peter Mattei
    Bromma, Sweden
Erin Morley
    New Haven, Connectivut
Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov
    Vienna, Austria
Lisette Oropesa
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana
René Pape
    Dresden, Germany
Ailyn Pérez and Soloman Howard
    Chicago, Illinois
Matthew Polenzani 
    Pelham, New York
Anita Rachvelishvili
     Tbilisi, Georgia
Golda Schultz
    Bavaria, Germany
Nadine Sierra
    Valencia, Spain
Bryn Terfel and Hannah Stone
   Wales
Elza van den Heever
    Montpellier, France 
Michael Volle
    Berlin, Germany
Pretty Yende
    Piet Retief, South Africa
Sonya Yoncheva
    Geneva, Switzerland

Nightly Met Opera Streams: Rossini’s La Cenerentola

Visit the Metropolitan Opera’s homepage to view this stream for 23 hours after it premieres

Rossini’s charming take on the Cinderella story features a brilliant cast, led by bel canto stars Joyce DiDonato in the title role and Juan Diego Flórez as her Prince Charming. Alessandro Corbelli delivers a comic tour de force as Don Magnifico, Cinderella’s stepfather. Pietro Spagnoli is Dandini, the Prince’s valet, who, disguised as his master, puts the prospective brides to the text, and Luca Pisaroni is the philosopher Alidoro, who takes the place of the fairy godmother. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leads Cesare Lievi’s whimsical production.