| STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S “A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC IN CONCERT” WILL PREMIERE JUNE 27-29 AT DAVID GEFFEN HALL AT LINCOLN CENTER | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 10:13 am EDT 03/25/24 | |
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| STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S MASTERWORK "A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC IN CONCERT" WITH NEW ORCHESTRATIONS FOR A 53-PIECE ORCHESTRA BY JONATHAN TUNICK WILL PREMIERE JUNE 27-29, 2024 AT DAVID GEFFEN HALL AT LINCOLN CENTER 4 PERFORMANCES ONLY JONATHAN TUNICK TO CONDUCT ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S DIRECTED AND ADAPTED BY JOHN DOYLE CAST TO INCLUDE: SUSAN GRAHAM, CYNTHIA ERIVO, RON RAINES, RUTHIE ANN MILES, SHULER HENSLEY AND MARSHA MASON, AMONG OTHERS New York, NY (March 25, 2024) – Producer Jeff Berger announced today that Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music In Concert, featuring brand new orchestrations by legendary orchestrator and lifelong Sondheim collaborator Jonathan Tunick, will play David Geffen Hall at New York City's Lincoln Center (10 Lincoln Center Plaza). Performances are Thursday, June 27 and Friday June 28 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, June 29 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Mr. Tunick himself will conduct the 53-piece Orchestra of St. Lukes, playing for an all-star cast that includes Susan Graham, Cynthia Erivo, Ron Raines, Kerstin Anderson, Jonathan Christopher, Jason Gotay, Ellie Fishman, Jin Ha, Addie Harrington, Shuler Hensley, Samantha Hill, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Ross Lekites, Marsha Mason and Ruthie Ann Miles. This 53-piece version nearly doubles the size of the original, which was orchestrated for a 27-piece orchestra. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, and orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, A Little Night Music In Concert is directed and adapted by John Doyle. "A life in the theater comes with few reliable constants," commented Mr. Tunick, "but the ever-decreasing size of theater orchestras has been a discouraging trend across my five decades on Broadway. Whenever I'm asked to re-orchestrate one of my shows, the purpose is to make the orchestra smaller as well as hidden from the audience. How refreshing to have this rare opportunity to present Sondheim's score in its full symphonic glory! The orchestra has so much to contribute to the theater if only given the chance." A Little Night Music was originally produced and directed on Broadway in 1973 by Harold Prince, garnering 12 Tony Award® nominations and winning six Tony Awards including Best Musical. A Little Night Music is Sondheim's eighth musical, featuring his widely beloved ballad "Send in the Clowns," and is a musical adaptation of the 1955 film Smiles of a Summer Night. The creative team for A Little Night Music In Concert includes vocal direction by Rob Berman, lighting design by Ken Billington and sound design by Dan Moses Schreier. Associate Producer is Michael Harrington and Consulting Producer is Ted Chapin. A Little Night Music In Concert is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). Tickets for A Litte Night Music In Concert go on-sale on Tuesday, March 26 at 10 a.m. ET. For tickets, visit the David Geffen Hall box office, open Monday- Saturday 10am – 6pm, and Sunday 12pm- -6pm. Or call Center Charge 212-721-6500 Monday - Saturday 10am – 8pm and Sunday 12-6pm. For more information, visit alittlenightmusicconcert.com. # # # # CAST BIOGRAPHIES Ruthie Ann Miles (Countess Charlotte) is thrilled and honored to be in this singular company, singing this extraordinary score. She most recently closed Sweeney Todd playing the beggar woman (Tony Nomination). Favorite credits, in no particular order, include Margaret Johnson in The Light in the Piazza (Encores! NY City Center), Lady Thiang in The King and I (Tony Award, Grammy® and Olivier® Award nominations, Lincoln Center Theater and The London Palladium); Sunday in the Park with George (both Encores! NY City Center and the Broadway transfer); Sondheim on Sondheim (The Boston Pops); Sondheim on Sondheim (The Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl); concerts with The San Francisco Symphony and The Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra (Seoul, Korea). She originated the role of Imelda Marcos in Alex Timbers' Here Lies Love, written by David Byrne with DJ Fatboy Slim (Lucille Lortel and Theatre World Awards, The Public Theater). She also played Adolfo Pirelli in Sweeney Todd on tour (playing onstage accordion, flute and piano). On television, Ruthie Ann is best known as Sherri Kansky on WB's "All Rise." (CBS and OWN) and as Young Hee in "The Americans" (Emmy® nomination, FX). You can hear her voice in Over the Moon (Golden Globe® and Academy Award® nomination, Netflix), The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (Audie Award® finalist, Simon Schuster), If I Had Your Face (Penguin Audio). Ruthie Ann also has a Lilly Award (the-lillys.org) for "Representing in a Big Way," for which she is very proud and very humbled. Please support live theatre. Cynthia Erivo (Petra) is a Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress, singer and producer, as well as an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG® nominee. Erivo burst onto West End and Broadway stages in The Color Purple and has since taken the world by storm. Erivo is set to star as Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande's Glinda in Universal's highly anticipated film adaptation of the hit musical Wicked from director Jon M. Chu. Part 1 of Wicked will be released on November 27, 2024, with Part 2 released on November 26, 2025. Erivo can currently be seen starring in Drift, which Erivo produces with her company Edith's Daughter. Drift follows a young Liberian refugee named Jacqueline (Erivo) who has barely escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. The film had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2023, and opened to rave reviews. Erivo also wrote and recorded an original song for the film entitled "It Would Be." Erivo was nominated for an Emmy for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Aretha Franklin in National Geographic's Emmy-winning global anthology series "Genius: Aretha." This season is the first-ever, definitive, and only authorized scripted limited series on the life of the universally acclaimed Queen of Soul. The series premiered on National Geographic on March 21. In addition to her illustrious acting career, Erivo is a Grammy-nominated songwriter and performer, often headlining sold-out shows, symphonies, and music spaces including the Kennedy Center Honors, the 2020 Academy Awards, the 2017 Governor's Ball and the 2017 Grammy Awards. Erivo released her debut album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, with Verve/Universal Music Group on September 17. Erivo released her first children's book titled, Remember to Dream, Ebere on September 28. The book follows a young girl named Ebere whose mother encourages her to dream as big as possible. Erivo wrote the book as an ode to a child's imagination, a parent's love and the big dreams shared by both. Erivo recently starred opposite Idris Elba in the Netflix feature film installment of Luther: The Fallen Sun, continuing the story of the acclaimed crime series. Erivo plays a detective who is also Luther's nemesis while Serkis is the story's criminal villain. Luther: The Fallen Sun premiered on Netflix on March 10, 2023. In 2022, Cynthia was in Disney's live-action retelling of Pinocchio. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Erivo took on the iconic role of the Blue Fairy. She is also slated to star in Apple's "Roar", an anthology series of darkly comic feminist fables. It was also announced that Erivo will produce and star in a biopic about Sara Forbes Bonnetta, a 19th-century Nigerian princess who was "gifted" to Queen Victoria after being liberated from slavery. It was recently announced that Erivo will star in Prima Facie, the Broadway sensation that originated on the West End. She will executive produce the film, which tells the story of ambitious and confident defense attorney Tessa who skillfully defends her clients until something happens to her that makes her question Justice, under her Edith's Daughter production banner. She is also set to star in and produce a remake of The Rose with Searchlight. While the new production will pay homage to the classic film, Erivo's take on the story will put a contemporary lens on the high price of fame. In August 2020, Erivo launched her production company, Edith's Daughter, and announced her first-look deal with MRC Television & Civic Center Media. Edith's Daughter focuses on projects that express the beauty in the stories and people who are often overlooked and underrepresented. Erivo named Solome Williams as Vice President of the company. Erivo recently starred in the HBO series "The Outsider", which premiered on January 12, 2020. The series is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. The series follows an unorthodox investigator and a seasoned cop investigating a gruesome murder of a local boy. In 2019, Erivo starred in Kasi Lemmons' Harriet, where she brought the legacy of Harriet Tubman to the big screen. Focus Features released the film in theaters on November 1, 2019, and Erivo's performance was met with critical acclaim. Additionally, Erivo lent her voice to the movie's title song, "Stand Up," for which she co-wrote. "Stand Up" won "Best Original Song" at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Both Cynthia and "Stand Up" were nominated for two Academy Awards as well as two Golden Globe Awards in the categories of "Best Actress in a Motion Picture–Drama" and "Best Original Song" respectively. Additionally, "Stand Up" received a nomination for a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Song Written for Visual Media." The film also garnered ten NAACP nominations as well as AAFCA and Society of Composers & Lyricists Award wins. Ron Raines (Fredrik Egerman) is a Tony and Grammy Award nominee for the acclaimed 2012 production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies which he starred in opposite Bernadette Peters. Ron has also starred on Broadway as Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Joseph Pulitzer in Newsies, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Gaylord Ravenal in Show Boat, and Nick Longworth in Teddy & Alice. He has delighted audiences around the country in A Little Night Music opposite Leslie Uggams; The Unsinkable Molly Brown opposite Debbie Reynolds; Can Can opposite Chita Rivera; South Pacific; Rose-Marie; Oklahoma!; Carousel; Side by Side by Sondheim; Guys and Dolls; and Man of La Mancha which he did at the Covent Garden Festival in London and recorded at the famed Abbey Road Studios. He has been a soloist with over 60 major American and international orchestras, including the Boston Pops, the Philly Pops, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony, and the Israel Philharmonic. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and London's Palladium and Royal Festival Hall. He has appeared on four PBS "Great Performances," and has recorded numerous cast albums as well as two solo CDs on the Jay Records label. Born in Texas City, Texas and raised throughout East Texas, Ron graduated from Oklahoma City University and then attended The Juilliard School on full scholarship. He was a three-time Emmy nominee for his role as the nefarious Alan Spaulding on CBS's longest running daytime drama "Guiding Light". Ron has appeared on CBS primetime in "Elementary", "Person of Interest" and "The Good Wife". In 2020/21 he appeared in "The Black List" on NBC, and in 2022 HBO's "The Gilded Age". Addie Harrington (Fredrika Armfeldt) is making her Geffen Hall debut as Fredericka Armfeldt in A Little Night Music In Concert. Select theater credits include The Little Match Girl (Rich Girl) off-Broadway, productions of Mamma Mia! (Lisa/Co-Choreographer) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Puck/Choreographer) at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, NJ. She has trained for three years at Paper Mill Playhouse's Summer Conservatory and was a competitive dancer at the national level for six years. Andrea Jones-Sojola (Mrs. Anderson) was recently seen in the Broadway hit, The Music Man, starring Hugh Jackman. She played Strawberry Woman on Broadway in The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, starring Audra McDonald. Off-Broadway, she was seen in the critically acclaimed Carmen Jones. Other NYC highlights include Once Upon a Mattress, The Light in the Piazza, Dear World, A Little Night Music, Brigadoon, Cabin in the Sky, The Most Happy Fella, Annie Get Your Gun, Parade and Candide. She recently made her MUNY debut as Sister Berthe in The Sound of Music, a role she reprised at Virginia Opera Festival, where she will also be performing in Sweeney Todd. She also won the NYMF "Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role" Award for Newton's Cradle. Film and TV credits include: For Colored Girls, Generation Lockdown, "The Sound of Music, Live!" (NBC), "Show Boat" (PBS), "Sweeney Todd" (PBS), "Monsterland" (HULU), "FBI" (CBS), "The Blacklist" (NBC), "Mozart in the Jungle" (Amazon) and "Fire Shut Up In My Bones" (The Metropolitan Opera/ PBS). Andrea, originally from Louisville, KY, currently resides in Harlem with her family. When she is not on stage, she enjoys voice acting. She can be heard on several episodes of the podcast Strange and Unexplained and also in the new radio play New Nigeria. Follow Andrea on IG:@andreajonessojola and IG:@fingerlickinalkaline_ Ellie Fishman (Mrs. Nordstrom) is honored to be performing alongside this miraculous group of performers! First National Tour: Into the Woods (u/s Cinderella, others), Miss Saigon (Ellen), Finding Neverland (Miss Jones). Off-Broadway: The Hello Girls (Grace Banker). Regional Theatre: The Music Man (Marian/Goodspeed), Les Misérables (Fantine/Witchita), Rags (Goodspeed), The Sound of Music (Maria/City Springs). B.F.A University of Michigan. ig:@ellie_fishman Jason Gotay (Henrik Egerman) is thrilled to be a part of this extraordinary company of artists. He is currently starring in the world premiere of Teeth at Playwrights Horizons, written by Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs. Prior to that, he performed his autobiographical solo show Where You'll Find Me at the Minetta Lane Theatre (available on Audible). He made his Broadway debut in the original company of Bring It On: The Musical (nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical). Other Broadway/New York credits include Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Che in New York City Center's acclaimed revival of Evita, Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam, and Transport Group's Renascence written by Carmel Dean and Dick Scanlan. He has appeared in the world premieres of Stephen Schwartz's The Prince of Egypt, Disney's Freaky Friday, and A Bronx Tale, as well as NBC's "Peter Pan Live!" Additional TV/Film credits include "Gossip Girl" (HBO Max) and Spoiler Alert (Focus Features). He has performed solo cabaret acts at NYC's Green Room 42, Le Poisson Rouge, Soho House, and Tavern on the Green. @jasongotay Jin Ha (Frid) Jin Ha's stage credits include Here We Are, Hamilton: An American Musical, M. Butterfly, and the Encores! Off-Center production of Road Show. Ha can be seen on screen in "Pachinko" (Apple TV+), "Devs" (FX), "Love Life" (MAX) and "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert" (NBC). Ha is an alumnus of the NYU Graduate Acting program. Jonathan Christopher (Mr. Erlanson) Praised for his "hearty baritone" voice, Bermudian American Jonathan Christopher is swiftly establishing himself as a versatile vocalist and actor around the world. Jonathan made his Broadway debut in the hit revival of Sweeney Todd as the Bird Seller and Beadle Bamford understudy. Previously, he was featured in the national tour and Canadian premiere of Hamilton, covering Aaron Burr and George Washington. In New York, he has performed in critically acclaimed productions at Lincoln Center, Davóne Tines and Michael Schachter's The Black Clown, and Signature Theatre, Dave Malloy's Octet. Regionally, he has worked with Eugene Opera (La Fanciulla del West), Syracuse Opera (Tosca, Sweeney Todd), Michigan Opera Theatre (La Traviata), Knoxville's Clarence Brown Theatre (Candide), and Milwaukee's Skylight Music Theater (Porgy and Bess). In concert, Jonathan sang with the Cincinnati, Hilton Head, Asheville Symphony, Naples Philharmonic and Toronto's Amplified Opera Company ("extremely well sung"–Opera Canada). He toured Italy with the gospel quartet Gospel 4; Germany with the opera band The Cast; and southeast Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean while onboard the luxury liner Seabourn Encore, performing alongside Broadway lyricist Sir Tim Rice. In May 2021, Jonathan opened the 46th annual Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts with his concert Another Year Has Gone By. That same year, he was awarded the esteemed Johnny Mercer Award at the 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition and holds The Bermudian Magazine's 2020 Best of Bermuda Award alongside his brother Nicholas. With degrees in voice and opera from the University of Michigan and McGill University, Jonathan looks forward to continuing his eclectic and ever-evolving musical journey. Kerstin Anderson (Anne Egerman) is honored to be among this group of musicians. Broadway/Tour: My Fair Lady (Eliza Doolittle),The Sound of Music (Maria). Other theater appearances include: Unknown Soldier (Playwrights Horizons, Arena Stage), Cult of Love (Berkeley Rep), Afterwords (5th Avenue), Doubt (Westport Playhouse), and Row (Audible). She can be heard on Ryan Scott Oliver's albums Darling: Live in Concert and Future Demons, Ethan Carlson's Her Sound, and the Original Cast Album of Unknown Soldier. Upcoming short film: Ventriculus. @kerstanderson1 Marsha Mason (Madam Armfeldt) is thrilled to join this amazing company in A Little Night Music in Concert. She is a four-time Academy Award nominee for her starring roles in The Goodbye Girl (BAFTA nomination), Chapter Two, Only When I Laugh and Cinderella Liberty. Mason has received two Golden Globe awards for her film roles and an Emmy Award nomination for her role on "Frasier." Her other TV credits include "Grace and Frankie", "The Middle", "The Good Wife" and "Madam Secretary". Broadway roles include Impressionism with Jeremy Irons, Steel Magnolias, The Night of the Iguana, King Richard III, and Cactus Flower. She received an Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance in the off-Broadway play Little Gem at the Irish Repertory Theatre. Her regional directorial credits include Chapter Two, Act of God, Steel Magnolias, and the world-premiere of Tennessee Williams' Talisman Roses. In 2022, she starred and co-directed Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers at Hartford Stage. Marsha was also the Associate Director for Jack O'Brien for the 2019 production Broadway production of All My Sons at the Roundabout Theatre. She is set to return to Hartford Stage this Spring in All My Sons opposite Michael Gaston. Ross Lekites (Mr. Lindquist) Ross is a Broadway and Television actor as well as an established symphony singer. He can currently be seen in The Heart of Rock and Roll. Other Broadway and National tour credits include the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Parade; The Music Man, starring Hugh Jackman; Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (Original Broadway Cast); Frozen (Original Broadway Cast); Kinky Boots; West Side Story (Tony). He played Charlie Dalrymple in City Center Encores production of Brigadoon, directed by Christopher Wheeldon. His Regional Theatre work include the world premiere of Triangle (TheatreWorks, Best Actor in a Musical), Good News! (Goodspeed Opera House), South Pacific (Riverside Theatre), Ogunquit Playhouse, The Muny, and many more. Ross's cast recordings include The Heart of Rock and Roll, Brigadoon, Frozen, and the Off-Broadway hit musical Yank!. He has been seen nationally and internationally starring in concerts with The Boston Pops, Philly Pops, San Diego Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, and Bulgaria Symphony. He has worked with famed conductors such as Keith Lockhart, Rob Fisher, Patrick Vaccariello, Todd Ellison, and John Wilson. Ross starred as Tony in West Side Story with London's John Wilson Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, presented live on BBC Radio. Ross can also be seen and heard in TV shows and movies such as Frozen 2, "Schmigadoon!", "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", and ABC's "Time After Time". Samantha Hill (Mrs. Segstrom) is honored to be performing Sondheim with this formidable cast of artists. Originally from Canada, Samantha has performed on stages all across North America. Broadway credits include Les Misérables (Cosette) and Phantom of the Opera (Christine). Most recently, she was nominated for best leading actor for her role in the critically acclaimed Canadian tour of Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald. Other selected theatre credits include: Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (BAM); The Secret Garden (VMT); The Mousetrap (Cape Playhouse); South Pacific (Drury Lane); August: Osage County and Christmas at Pemberley (RMTC); The Light in the Piazza (Dry Cold Productions). Samantha is a proud graduate of the University of Alberta BFA Acting. She is also an acting coach and theatre educator in NYC. For more of her work please check out samanthahillactor.com and @samjeannehill on instagram. Thank you, Jeff Berger, for believing in me for all these years. Shuler Hensley (Count Carl Magnus) is a multi-award winning star of film, television and the Broadway stage. Shuler's film credits include the hit musical The Greatest Showman, with his long-time friend Hugh Jackman; Universal studio's Van Helsing in which he played Frankenstein's Monster; The Legend of Zorro, alongside Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, directed by Martin Campbell and produced by Steven Spielberg; Monday Night Mayhem, playing the role of sport's commentator Keith Jackson in the docu-drama about the early days of Monday Night Football; Odd Thomas, alongside the late Anton Yelchin and Willem Dafoe; the romantic comedy Someone Like You; Opa! with Matthew Modine; and "Murder of a President", in which he played President James Garfield for PBS. Shuler's TV credits include recurring roles in the hit series "The OA" for Netflix, Cartoon Network's "Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter" and the NBC comedy series "Ed"; numerous guest star roles on shows including "Shades of Blue" with Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta, "Banshee", "The Americans" with Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, "Elementary", "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and Barry Levinson's "The Jury". Beginning his career in the Theatre, Shuler was cast by Susan Stroman and Trevor Nunn as Jud Fry in London in the National Theatre's revival of Oklahoma!. Shuler wowed critics and theatregoers alike for his haunting interpretation of Jud, and he received the coveted Olivier Award –London theatre's equivalent of the Tony–for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical. Shuler subsequently made his Broadway debut in November 2000 portraying the relentless Inspector Javert in Les Misérables. In February 2002, the Trevor Nunn version of Oklahoma! was transferred to Broadway, and with it the opportunity for Shuler to reprise his critically acclaimed performance of Jud Fry. Shuler again became a proud award winner, this time of Broadway's "Triple Crown" –the Tony, the Drama Desk, and the Outer Critics' Circle. Shuler has also starred on Broadway in Disney's Tarzan and Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, in which he originated the role of The Monster. Equally comfortable in dramatic plays, Shuler was most recently seen on Broadway in Jez Butterworth's Tony Award-winning play The Ferryman directed by Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes; alongside Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Billy Crudup in Waiting for Godot; and No Man's Land. Other notable theatrical performances include the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic The Phantom of the Opera (Hamburg, Germany); Julian Marsh in 42nd Street (MUNY, St Louis); Judge Pitkin in Bernstein's On the Town (Boston, San Francisco); the lead in the horror rock musical, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, written by Stephen King, with music by John Mellencamp and musical direction by blues legend T Bone Burnett (Atlanta's Alliance Theatre). Off-Broadway, Shuler has starred in The Whale, for which he received the Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards, as well as OCC, Drama League, and Drama Desk nominations (his role was named "Stage Performance of the Year" by New York Magazine); Sweet and Sad (Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble); That Hopey Changey Thing; The Great American Trailer Park Musical; and Sweet Charity (with Sutton Foster). Shuler has performed in operas and with symphony orchestras throughout the United States, including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony and the New World Symphony. He has played leading roles in operas such as Don Giovanni, La Bohème, Wozzeck and The Magic Flute. He graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a degree in vocal performance, then earned a Master's Degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music. Shuler is also the annual host of the Georgia High School Musical Theater Awards, known as the Shuler Awards. He is currently the Artistic Director at City Springs Theatre Company, and on the founding advisory board for the new Musical Theatre Program at The Manhattan School of Music. Susan Graham (Desiree Armfeldt) hailed as "an artist to treasure" by The New York Times – rose to the highest echelon of international performers within just a few years of her professional debut, mastering an astonishing range of repertoire and genres along the way. Her operatic roles span four centuries, from Monteverdi's Poppea to Sister Helen Prejean in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, which was written especially for her. A familiar face at New York's Metropolitan Opera, she also maintains a strong international presence at such key venues as Paris' Théâtre Châtelet, Santa Fe Opera and the Hollywood Bowl. She won a Grammy Award for her collection of Ives songs, and has also been recognized throughout her career as one of the foremost exponents of French vocal music. Although a native of Texas, she was awarded the French government's prestigious "Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur," both for her popularity as a performer in France and in honor of her commitment to French music. This season, Susan Graham performs her celebrated portrayal of Mrs. Patrick De Rocher, mother of the convicted murderer, in the Metropolitan Opera's seasoning-opening company premiere of Dead Man Walking, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She also debuts with Detroit Opera for Europeras 4. Graham began the 2022-2023 season with music from Copland House premiering A Standing Witness, a new work written for her by Richard Danielpour with text by Rita Dove. She then sang the role of Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow in Dallas Symphony's 2022 gala with Fabio Luisi alongside Thomas Hampson. She performed the role of Geneviève in Sir David McVicar's production Debussy's of Pelléas et Mélisande at Los Angeles Opera with James Conlon and this summer she reprised the role with Santa Fe Opera. Before the pandemic, Graham sang Mrs. Patrick De Rocher in Lyric Opera of Chicago's company premiere of Dead Man Walking. In concert, she sang Berlioz's La mort de Cléopâtre, excerpts from Les Troyens with Sir Donald Runnicles and the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin at the Berlin Musikfest, partnered with pianist Malcolm Martineau for recitals of Mahler's Rückert-Lieder in Berkeley's Cal Performances series, and her Schumann-inspired Frauenliebe und-leben: Variations program in Fort Worth's Cliburn Concert Series and at New York's Lincoln Center. Graham joined Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony for Mahler's Symphony No. 3 at London's BBC Proms, and in Berlin, Leipzig, Vienna, Lucerne, and Paris. She made her role debut as Humperdinck's Witch in Hansel and Gretel at LA Opera, hosted "An Evening with Susan Graham" at Dallas's Meyerson Symphony Center, sang Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne with David Robertson and the Sydney Symphony, headlined the Mayshad Foundation's season-closing gala concert in Marrakesh, and returned to Carnegie Hall, first with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and then with Alec Baldwin and Leonard Slatkin for the Manhattan School of Music's Centennial Gala Concert. To mark the 150th anniversary of Berlioz's death, she performed Les nuits d'été with the Houston Symphony and made her New Zealand debut in La mort de Cléopâtre with the New Zealand Symphony under Edo de Waart. Other highlights of recent seasons include starring in Trouble in Tahiti at Lyric Opera of Chicago to honor the Bernstein Centennial, making her title role debut opposite James Morris in Marc Blitzstein's 1948 opera Regina at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and appearing alongside Anna Netrebko, Renée Fleming and a host of other luminaries to celebrate the Metropolitan Opera's five decades at its Lincoln Center home. Graham's earliest operatic successes were in such trouser roles as Cherubino in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. Her technical expertise soon brought mastery of Mozart's more virtuosic roles, like Sesto in La clemenza di Tito, Idamante in Idomeneo and Cecilio in Lucio Silla, as well as the title roles of Handel's Ariodante and Xerxes. She went on to triumph in two iconic Richard Strauss mezzo roles, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier and the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos. These brought her to prominence on all the world's major opera stages, including the Met, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, La Scala, Bavarian State Opera, Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival, among many others. In addition to creating the role of Sister Helen Prejean at San Francisco Opera, she starred in Washington National Opera's recent revival of Dead Man Walking, making her triumphant role debut as the convict's mother. She also sang the leading ladies in the Met's world premieres of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby and Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy and made her Dallas Opera debut as Tina in a new production of The Aspern Papers by Dominick Argento. As Houston Grand Opera's Lynn Wyatt Great Artist, she starred as Prince Orlofsky in the company's first staging of Die Fledermaus in 30 years, before heading an all-star cast as Sycorax in The Met's Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island and making her rapturously received musical theater debut in a new production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. It was in an early Lyon production of Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict that Graham scored particular raves from the international press, and a triumph in the title role of Massenet's Chérubin at Covent Garden sealed her operatic stardom. Further invitations to collaborate on French music were forthcoming from many of its preeminent conductors, including Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, James Levine and Seiji Ozawa. New productions of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, Berlioz's La damnation de Faust and Massenet's Werther were mounted for the mezzo in New York, London, Paris, Chicago, San Francisco and beyond. More recently, she made title role debuts in Offenbach's comic masterpieces La belle Hélène and The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein at Santa Fe Opera, as well as proving herself the standout star of the Met's star-studded revival of Les Troyens, which was broadcast live to cinema audiences worldwide in the company's celebrated "Live in HD" series. Graham's affinity for French repertoire has not been limited to the opera stage, also serving as the foundation for her extensive concert and recital career. Such great cantatas and symphonic song cycles as Berlioz's La mort de Cléopâtre and Les Nuits d'été, Ravel's Shéhérazade and Chausson's Poème de l'amour et de la mer provide opportunities for collaborations with the world's leading orchestras, and she makes regular appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Orchestre de Paris and London Symphony Orchestra. Graham recently expanded her distinguished discography with Nonesuch Records' DVD/Blu-ray release of William Kentridge's new treatment of Berg's Lulu, which captures her celebrated role debut as Countess Geschwitz at the Met. She has also recorded all the works described above, as well as appearing on a series of lauded solo albums, including Virgins, Vixens & Viragos on the Onyx label, featuring songs and arias by composers from Purcell to Sondheim; Un frisson français, a program of French song recorded with pianist Malcolm Martineau, also for Onyx; C'est La Vie, C'est L'Amour!, an album of 20th-century operetta rarities on Erato; and La Belle Époque, an award-winning collection of songs by Reynaldo Hahn with pianist Roger Vignoles, from Sony Classical. Among the mezzo's numerous honors are Musical America's Vocalist of the Year and an Opera News Award, while Gramophone magazine has dubbed her "America's favorite mezzo." www.susangraham.com CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES Jonathan Tunick (Orchestrations) was Stephen Sondheim's orchestrator of choice, scoring nearly all of his works for theater and film in a collaboration of more than fifty years. A native New Yorker, Jonathan Tunick grew up on Manhattan's Upper West Side and attended the High School of Music and Art, Bard College (AB 1958) and Juilliard (MS 1960). He studied clarinet with Joseph Allard and composition with Paul Nordoff, Vittorio Giannini and later, Leonard Bernstein. He also studied under Jorge Mester and Harold Farberman and is a Fellow of the Conductors' Institute. He has been awarded honorary Doctorates by Bard College and Oklahoma City University. Beginning his musical career as a clarinetist, he played professionally in New York for ten years, while composing and arranging for various theater and dance projects, singers and jazz groups, meanwhile continuing his studies in theory and composition. His first opportunity as a theater orchestrator came in 1959 with a summer position at the Tamiment Playhouse as arranger for their weekly original musicals. This led to several years as a journeyman orchestrator, assisting such masters as Robert Russell Bennett and Robert "Red" Ginzler. His first major orchestration credit was Burt Bacharach's Promises, Promises (1969), which led to a series of subsequent Broadway musicals. These include Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Titanic, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, and A Chorus Line. For the current season, Tunick's work is featured in three shows, including Here We Are, his final collaboration with Stephen Sondheim. He is married to Tony-nominated singer-actress Leigh Beery. They divide their time between their apartment near Lincoln Center and their farmhouse in the Connecticut Berkshires. Hugh Wheeler (Book) was a novelist, playwright and screen writer. He wrote more than thirty mystery novels under the pseudonyms Q. Patrick and Patrick Quentin, and four of his novels were transformed into films: Black Widow, The Man in the Net, The Green-Eyed Monster and The Man with Two Wives. For films, he wrote the screenplays for Travels with My Aunt, Something for Everyone, A Little Night Music, and Nijinsky. His plays include Big Fish, Little Fish (1961), Look, We've Come Through (1961); We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1966), adapted from the Shirley Jackson novel; and he co-authored with Joseph Stein the book for a new production of the 1919 musical Irene (1973), wrote the books for A Little Night Music (1973), a new production of Candide (1973), Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979, based on a version of the play by Christopher Bond), and Meet Me in St. Louis (adapted from the 1949 M-G-M musical), contributed additional material for the musical Pacific Overtures (1976), and wrote a new adaptation of the Kurt Weill opera The Silver Lake, which was directed by Harold Prince at the New York Opera. He received Tony and Drama Desk Awards for A Little Night Music, Candide and Sweeney Todd. Prior to his death in 1987, Mr. Wheeler was working on two new musicals, Bodo and Fu Manchu, and a new adaptation of The Merry Widow. Ken Billington (Lighting Designer) creates lighting for the theatre, television, interior spaces, and architecture. Among his over 100 Broadway shows are the original production of Sweeney Todd; the current Chicago, the longest-running American musical in history and a hit in over twenty countries; New York, New York; Waitress; Act One; Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway; The Scottsboro Boys; White Christmas; [Title of Show]; Footloose; as well as revivals of My Fair Lady; Hello Dolly!; Sunday in the Park with George (twice); Annie (twice); and Fiddler on the Roof (three times). As well as 45 Encores productions at the NY City Center. Ken's craft has illuminated many spectacular events and venues; including the Christmas Show at The Radio City Music Hall for 27 years. He has devised the lighting for over 100 opera productions, including the New York City, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and San Francisco Opera, as well as Porgy and Bess for Milan's La Scala, Madrid's Theatro Real, and Paris Opera Bastille. His architectural lighting has enhanced such landmarks as New York's Tavern on the Green and 54 Below, as well as many other important architectural and interior design projects around the world. Ken's awards include the Tony, the Lumen (architecture), and the Ace (television). In 2015, Ken Billington was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Dan Moses Schreier (Sound Design) began his association with Stephen Sondheim on the Broadway revival of Into the Woods directed by James Lapine. Subsequently, Mr. Schreier designed the Broadway productions of Sweeney Todd directed by John Doyle, Assassins, Pacific Overtures, Gypsy (Patti LuPone), the fiftieth anniversary production of West Side Story, A Little Night Music (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury) and Sondheim On Sondheim. In 2012, he designed three productions of Merrily We Roll Along in a row (directed by James Lapine, John Doyle and Michael Arden). At CSC, he designed Passion at the Public Theater, the world premiere of Roadshow. Jeff Berger (Producer) is an artist manager with 40 years of experience whose clients have included such legends as Christopher Plummer, John Cullum, Dan Lauria, Priscilla Lopez, Barbara Cook, Nancy Opel and EGOT Jonathan Tunick. He was invited by Hal Prince to produce Paradise Found, a musical Prince co-directed with Susan Stroman in London. Despite 13 negative reviews, the experience made Jeff want to explore more projects as a producer. He produced John Cullum's one man show The Accidental Star for streaming which was seen by more than 300,000 people. He produced Leonard Bernstein's one act opera Trouble in Tahiti for Tanglewood's centennial celebration of the composer/conductor's 100th anniversary. His first Broadway production was a memorial for his friend and neighbor Jerry Orbach which received a positive review in The New York Times. He lives and works in New York and Connecticut with Judy, his wife of 40 years, and 2 cats. Music Theatre International (www.mtishows.com), with offices in New York, London and Melbourne, Australia, is one of the world's leading dramatic licensing agencies, protecting the rights and legacies of composers, lyricists and book writers. MTI's core business is issuing licenses, scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to schools as well as amateur and professional theatres across the globe. With over 500 classic and contemporary show titles from Broadway, Off-Broadway, and London's West End, MTI shows have been performed by 60,000 theatrical organizations in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide. MTI is dedicated to the idea of theatre as education and has created special collections for younger audiences. The Broadway Junior Collection• features 70-minute adaptations of major musicals designed for middle school children to perform; the KIDS Collection, provides 30-minute musicals for performance by elementary school children; School Editions are musicals that have been annotated for performance by high school students; and the Theatre For Young Audiences Collection, 70- minute musicals designed for adults to perform for children. # # # # alittlenightmusicconcert.com |
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