Peter Danish - Page 5

Isabel Leonard is one of, if not the, most in-demand opera singer in the world today. For the last decade her star has been on the rise all around the world both on the opera and concert stages. This season at The Met alone she's performing in three different production, singing three roles that could not be more starkly dissimilar: the title role of Nico Muhly's Marnie, Claude Debussy's Melisande and the upcoming Blanche de la Force in Poulenc's 'Dialogues of the Carmelites'. Given the rigor of her schedule, we are thrilled that she found a few minutes to chat with us about her upcoming performances in Dialogues... as well as answering some burning questions that the entire opera world is dying to find out. For example:

Something really special is happening in Nyack. Last year, the over gentrification of an East Village block resulted in relocation of long-time resident company the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble. After 15 seasons, the renowned, ground-breaking company found itself homeless. To its profound credit, it has managed to continue to produce in spite of its new 'vagabond' status in the city. However, the company's leadership was another story.

Lead singer for the world famous acapella group Klapa Cambi, Vlad Garic is about to make his American (and New York City) debut on Friday night March 15th in Queens at The Secret Theater. BWW caught up with Vlad during his rehearsal and got him to take a break from his preparations to chat with us. Vlad possesses one of the most naturally beautiful tenor voices in the world and his range is seemingly endless. One moment he is delivering stunning 10-part harmony klapa, the next moment he is tossing out a traditional Neapolitan song, next its a Verdi aria, finally cranking out some smoking hot Pearl Jam, that would make Eddy Vedder proud.

BWW Previews: VLAD GARIC: THE DALMATIAN TENOR at The Secret Theater

BWW Review: 100 YEARS OF BERNSTEIN: CZECH NATIONAL SYMPHONY, CONDUCTED BY JOHN MAUCERI, MEZZO SOPRANO, ISABEL LEONARD at Tilles Center, CW POST University

BWW Interview: Dan Foster, director of SWITZERLAND at 59E59th

BWW Previews: APRILE MILLO: A DIVA COMES HOME at Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall

NEIL BERG'S ROCK & ROLL PART 2 at Rockland Community College

Pélleas et Mélisande last night was hands down the best thing the Met has done this season. No arias, no duets, no trios, no choruses, just ravishing melodies bathed in some of the most complex web-like, ethereal harmonies.

Aida has been called the grandest of grand operas and the production that has graced the Met stage for the last (unbelievably) 30 years still looks absolutely amazing - towering columns, massive sandstone blocks, etc. Oddly, the audience did not applaud the sets (as they have in every other performance of this production I've seen - about 10 times). The big news of the night on Monday was the house debut of American soprano Kristin Lewis, who has made a name for herself across Europe in many Verdi roles. Her Radames was tenor Yonghoon Lee who seems to be the Met's go-to-tenor for the bigger roles these days. Amneris was a spunky young kid named Dolora Zajick - this kid is gonna go places!

BWW Interview: Ted Rosenthal composer of DEAR ERICH at Museum Of Jewish Heritage

BWW Interview: Erica Miner author of DEATH BY OPERA

BWW Review: THE PARK AVENUE CHAMBER SYMPHONY PERFORMS ROSENHAUS, WEBER AND DVORAK

BWW Interview: Playwright Tom Dudzick of OVER THE TAVERN at MusicalFare

Ironically, Miklos Laszlo's 1937 play 'Parfumerie' was not produced in the United States until 2009. Yet that did not stop the Hungarian hit from becoming the inspiration for a whole host of American films, plays and musicals: first the 1940 film, 'The Shop Around the Corner' with James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan, then in 1949 as 'In the Good Old Summertime' with Judy Garland and Van Johnson, then in 1998 as 'You've Got Mail,' with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. It also inspired the 1964 musical by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, (the team behind 'Fiddler on the Roof').

BWW Interview: David Bernard of THE PARK AVENUE CHAMBER SYMPHONY discusses their new season

BWW Review: TOSCA at Metropolitan Opera

CONSTELLATIONS at Hudson Stage Company

'Fun Home' the Tony-winning musical, based on Alison Bechdel's autobiographical graphic novel, is a serious show about a serious topic, showing how members of a dysfunctional family come to terms - sort of - with their sexuality, and their place in the world. Spoiler: some of them deal with it better than others.

'I dreamed I was 52 and unmarried,' so says Sonia, at the very beginning of Christopher Durang's dryly eccentric comedy about the middle-aged children of a pair of literary professors who thoughtlessly named their children after the characters in Chekov plays.