J. D. McClatchy News

Impresario Peter Tiboris announced today that he has commissioned acclaimed composer Christopher Theofanidis and poet and librettist J. D. McClatchy, a 2003 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, to create an opera-oratorio based on the international bestseller 'Eleni,' about a woman's sacrifice to save her children during the Greek Civil War.

Hampstead Theatre announces the first two productions for 2018.The UK premiere of Sarah Burgess' breathtakingly witty Dry Powder will be directed by Anna Ledwich and begins performances today.

New York City Center President & CEO Arlene Shuler today announced Anne Kauffman and Jeanine Tesori as Co-Artistic Directors for the 2018 Encores! Off-Center season.

As part of celebrations for its upcoming 2017-2018 season, Palm Beach Opera held a private dinner at The Lotos Club, New York, hosted by Mrs. Florence Kaufman, Palm Beach Opera Board Member.

Hampstead Theatre announces the first two productions for 2018.

BrightSide Theatre, Naperville's only professional theatre performing in the historic downtown district, is pleased to announce its fifth production of the BrightSide Theatre Youth Project with the musical -Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr.  Directed by BrightSide Artistic Director Jeffrey Cass and playing March 11-19, 2017 at the Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall at North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth Street in Naperville, tickets are on sale now atwww.BrightSideTheatre.com or by calling 630-447-TIXS (8497). 

Stephen Karam's four-time Tony Award-winning Broadway play THE HUMANS will be the centerpiece of the Ahmanson Theatre's 2017-18 season at Center Theatre Group next June, along with David Henry Hwang's new commission SOFT POWER.

BrightSide Theatre, Naperville's only professional theatre performing in the historic downtown district, is pleased to announce its fifth production of the BrightSide Theatre Youth Project with the musical -Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr.  Directed by BrightSide Artistic Director Jeffrey Cass and playing March 11-19, 2017 at the Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall at North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth Street in Naperville, tickets are on sale now atwww.BrightSideTheatre.com or by calling 630-447-TIXS (8497). 

Everyone's favorite ogre is back and bigger than ever in Shrek The Musical (TYA), the hilarious stage spectacle based on the Oscar-winning hit film by DreamWorks Animation. The 75-minute production opens at The Rose Theater on Sept. 30 and continues through Oct. 16. Part romance and part twisted fairy tale, Shrek The Musical is an irreverently fun show the entire family will enjoy and a message audiences of all ages will appreciate.

Everyone's favorite ogre is back and bigger than ever in Shrek The Musical (TYA), the hilarious stage spectacle based on the Oscar-winning hit film by DreamWorks Animation. The 75-minute production opens at The Rose Theater on Sept. 30 and continues through Oct. 16. Part romance and part twisted fairy tale, Shrek The Musical is an irreverently fun show the entire family will enjoy and a message audiences of all ages will appreciate.

Brooklyn's American Opera Projects (AOP) and the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) will present scenes from a new opera The Leopard by composerMichael Dellaira (The Secret Agent) and librettist J. D. McClatchy (Emmeline), an adaptation of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's internationally acclaimed 1958 novel.

The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces that librettist/lyricist Michael Korie will receive the Marc Blitzstein Award for Musical Theater of $10,000. Established in 1965 by friends of the late Academician Marc Blitzstein in his memory, the award is given to a composer, lyricist, or librettist to encourage the creation of works of merit for musical theater and opera. The jurors were John Harbison (chairman), J. D. McClatchy, Shulamit Ran, Augusta Read Thomas, and Yehudi Wyner.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2016-17 season, the 50th anniversary of its home at Lincoln Center, will feature 225 opera performances of 26 operas in a varied repertory that ranges from 18th century masterpieces to one of the most acclaimed operas in recent years. Repertoire for the company's 132nd season will include the Met premiere of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's 2000 opera L'Amour de Loin, as well as new stagings of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Rossini's Guillaume Tell, Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, Dvo?ak's Rusalka, and Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. A gala concert on May 7, 2017 will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company's Lincoln Center location with performances by opera's leading stars honoring the Met's past and future. Ticket prices will not increase, remaining the same as in the current season, and audience development programs instituted by the company in recent years will continue.  

New York Festival of Song's contemporary song series NYFOS Next -- dubbed 'invaluable' by The New Yorker and The New York Times -- enters its sixth season and continues its new format: a three-concert February mini-festival in the intimate state-of-the-art recital hall at OPERA America's National Opera Center. The Thursday concerts take place today, February 4, as well as February 11, and 18, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.

New York Festival of Song's contemporary song series NYFOS Next -- dubbed 'invaluable' by The New Yorker and The New York Times -- enters its sixth season and continues its new format: a three-concert February mini-festival in the intimate state-of-the-art recital hall at OPERA America's National Opera Center. The Thursday concerts take place February 4, 11, and 18, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.

NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG -- the only New York organization devoted solely to the astonishing variety and power of song -- has announced its 2015-16 season.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) welcomes Tony Award-winner Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home) as the NYMF 2015 Honorary Chair. This year's event kicks off today, July 7.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is proud to announce Tony Award-winner Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home) as the NYMF 2015 Honorary Chair.

Opera Australia brings back Julie Taymor's modern interpretation of THE MAGIC FLUTE, for the 2015 Summer Season. Translated to English by J D McClatchy, this version, originally created for the Metropolitan Opera of New York in 2005 gives the 18th Century story of the education of mankind a modern pantomime treatment.

AOP (American Opera Projects) and Poets House present a discussion with award-winning poet and librettist J. D. McClatchy followed by a reading of his latest opera libretto The Leopard, based on the acclaimed novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and directed by James Robinson. The discussion will be joined by The Leopard's composer Michael Dellaira and will feature a performance of music from the opera-in-development and a mid-event reception with the artists. The event will take place on Saturday, November 8 at 3 pm at Kray Hall in Poets House (10 River Terrace, New York, NY 10282 in Battery Park City). Tickets are $10, $7 for students and seniors, free to Poets House members and can be purchased at operaprojects.org.