Ann Ziff News

On Monday, November 11, the Metropolitan Opera Guild's 79th Annual Luncheon presents "Welcome Home, Jimmy!" to salute music directorJames Levine on his triumphant return to the Met podium. A perennial highlight of the opera season, the luncheon will bring together a host of artists who have collaborated with the preeminent conductor over the course of his long and celebrated Met tenure, as well as opera fans and an array of New York's society, business, and civic leaders. "Welcome Home, Jimmy!" will feature musical tributes by Dolora Zajick, "a mezzo in a class by herself" (New York Times); Thomas Hampson, "America's foremost baritone" (International Herald Tribune); and Grammy Award-winning bass-baritone Eric Owens, all accompanied by the Met's Director of Music Administration, Craig Rutenberg. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Guild's education programs in New York City and throughout the country.

On Monday, October 28, 2013, Sing for Hope will hold its 7th annual gala at Center548 in Manhattan. The gala's theme is 'Art for All,' in reflection of Sing for Hope's arts outreach programs that democratize the arts and ignite the spark of creative innovation in all people. Cocktails begin promptly at 6:30 p.m., with dinner and the program beginning at 7:30 p.m. The event is chaired by ANN ZIFF (Sing for Hope Board Member, Chair of the Metropolitan Opera, and Vice-Chair of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts) and will honor HAMDI ULUKAYA, Founder and CEO of Chobani, Inc., America's #1 selling yogurt brand. Scroll down for a look at this year's performers and guests!

Today, September 18, the Metropolitan Opera Guild will celebrate the life and career of Rise Stevens with an evening tribute at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College in NYC that will showcase the legendary mezzo-soprano in rare performance videos not seen since the 1950s.

Metropolitan Opera Guild to Show Rare TV Footage at "Rise: A Celebration of Rise Stevens" at Kaye Playhouse Sep 18

Single tickets go on sale to the general public today, Aug. 1, for Lyric Opera of Chicago's 59th season.

Sing for Hope Pianos returned to the vibrant New York City streets beginning June 1. For two weeks, 88 pianos were available for everyone to enjoy in public spaces throughout New York City's five boroughs in support of the NYC-based non-profit Sing for Hope and its mission to provide 'access to the arts for all.' The cast of ONCE and more joined in the festivites. Scroll down for photos!

In 1994, Bette Midler returned to New York after nearly 20 years in Los Angeles, and started the New York Restoration Project, a non-profit organization devoted to bringing abandoned and neglected parks, gardens, and open spaces in all five boroughs back to life. NYRP includes the beautiful New Leaf Cafe in Fort Tryon Park as part of its success, and is committed to helping restore parks and gardens devastated by Hurricane Sandy. The organization just held its 12th Annual Spring Picnic and you can check out full coverage below!

To celebrate the acclaimed documentary The Girls in the Band coming to Lincoln Center, Mayor Bloomberg has proclaimed Friday, May 10 “Women in Jazz Day.” The date celebrates the legacies of female jazz musicians and marks the first in a weeklong series of screenings of The Girls in the Band at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center. Written, directed and produced by Judy Chaikin and produced and executive produced by Michael Greene, the film tells the stories of female jazz and big band instrumentalists from the 1920s to the present day and chronicles their inspired journeys and struggles for recognition. Tickets for the screenings are on sale now at http://bit.ly/10tfvNn; please see below for complete screening schedule. More info on the film can be found at http://www.thegirlsintheband.com/home/.

Carnegie Hall today announced details for the inaugural July 2013 tour by the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, a remarkable new ensemble, which, beginning this summer, annually brings together some of the most talented young orchestral players from across the United States, ages 16-19. The NYO-USA's 2013 summer schedule includes five performances in the US and abroad from July 11-21.

The Girls in the Band is a documentary about female jazz and big band instrumentalists that chronicles their inspired journeys and struggles for recognition from the late 1920s to the present day. The film will be screening for one week beginning May 10 at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center. Written and directed by Judy Chaikin and executive produced by Michael Greene, who are also the film's producers, The Girls in the Band is being hailed as a "real crowd-pleaser" by Variety and "extraordinary" by The Hollywood Reporter. The film won the Audience Choice Awards at the Palm Springs Film Festival, the Victoria Film Festival and the Omaha Film Festival as well as the Best Music Documentary Award at DocUtah Film Festival. The film has also screened at many other festivals including the Atlanta Film Festival, the Dubai International Film Festival, the Cleveland International Film Festival and the Washington D.C. International Film Festival. Screen Daily International declared The Girls in the Band to be "a fascinating, moving and wonderfully tuneful documentary." More info on the film can be found at the film's website: http://www.thegirlsintheband.com/home/.

This Thursday, Sing for Hope (www.singforhope.org) will present its annual gala at 583 Park Avenue in New York City.

Dark Sisters is a suspenseful, emotional, and lyrical depiction of one woman's struggle with life and faith and the universal dilemma of whether to stay or leave. The opera opens a window into the lives of Eliza and her sister wives, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), a polygamous sect based in the southwestern United States. Creators Muhly and Karam have drawn inspiration from the crush of media attention surrounding two of the many raids on FLDS compounds (the 2008 raid at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, TX and the 1953 raid at Short Creek, AZ), as well as from the stories of the more than 80 wives of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild pays tribute to the legendary American mezzo-soprano, Marilyn Horne, on Monday, October 31

The Metropolitan Opera's 2011-12 season will feature the world's leading singers, conductors, and stage directors in seven new productions, including a world premiere, a Met premiere, and the first complete performances of a new Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle conducted by Music Director James Levine and directed by Robert Lepage.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild pays tribute to the legendary American mezzo-soprano, Marilyn Horne, on Monday, October 31

Award-winning screen and stage actress Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into the role of history's most famous woman scientist for a special reading of Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie, a new play by actor/writer Alan Alda. Gyllenhaal replaces the previously announced Meryl Streep, who had to bow out due to a sudden and unforeseen scheduling conflict. Through a spokesperson, Streep says she regrets the conflict and that she is 'very disappointed to miss this important and inspiring event.'

Award-winning screen and stage actress Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into the role of history's most famous woman scientist for a special reading of Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie, a new play by actor/writer Alan Alda. Gyllenhaal replaces the previously announced Meryl Streep, who had to bow out due to a sudden and unforeseen scheduling conflict. Through a spokesperson, Streep says she regrets the conflict and that she is 'very disappointed to miss this important and inspiring event.'

The Metropolitan Opera's 2011-12 season will feature the world's leading singers, conductors, and stage directors in seven new productions, including a world premiere, a Met premiere, and the first complete performances of a new Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle conducted by Music Director James Levine and directed by Robert Lepage.

Last night, October 14th, 2010, Sing for Hope (www.singforhope.org) presented its annual gala to raise awareness and support for Sing for Hope's programs that mobilize professional artists in volunteer service to benefit schools, hospitals and communities. The event also raised funds for the 2011 return of Sing for Hope Street Pianos, a public art installation that brought 60 upright pianos to the streets of New York this past summer, and embodies Sing for Hope's mission of making art available to all.

On October 14th, 2010, Sing for Hope (www.singforhope.org) will present its annual gala at 583 Park Avenue in New York City. The gala will raise awareness and support for Sing for Hope's programs that mobilize professional artists in volunteer service to benefit schools, hospitals and communities. The event will also raise funds for the 2011 return of Sing for Hope Street Pianos, a public art installation that brought 60 upright pianos to the streets of New York this past summer, and embodies Sing for Hope's mission of making art available to all.