Library of Congress is to receive the memorabilia of Broadway actor John Raitt

 musical theatre  No Responses »
Sep 082011
 

The Lib­rary of Con­gress announced Wed­nes­day it will receive a col­lec­tion of Broad­way and per­sonal mem­or­ab­ilia from the estate of Broad­way actor John Raitt, who ori­gin­ated the role of Billy Bigelow in the clas­sic “Carou­sel” in 1945.

Raitt, a nat­ive of South­ern Cali­for­nia, also starred in “The Pajama Game” and a few other pro­duc­tions on Broad­way. Prior to hit­ting it big in New York, Raitt played Curly in the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” in 1944.

The Lib­rary of Con­gress said the John Raitt Col­lec­tion includes six dec­ades’ worth of per­sonal scrap­books as well as pho­to­graphs from his private col­lec­tion, annot­ated scripts, orches­tra­tions and per­sonal let­ters. It will become part of the library’s music divi­sion, which houses the col­lec­tions of George and , , Oscar Ham­mer­stein II, Bob Fosse and other stage notables.

via latimes

Share
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Library of Congress is to receive the memorabilia of Broadway actor John Raitt
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Library of Congress is to receive the memorabilia of Broadway actor John Raitt
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Library of Congress is to receive the memorabilia of Broadway actor John Raitt
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Library of Congress is to receive the memorabilia of Broadway actor John Raitt
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Library of Congress is to receive the memorabilia of Broadway actor John Raitt
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Library of Congress is to receive the memorabilia of Broadway actor John Raitt
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Library of Congress is to receive the memorabilia of Broadway actor John Raitt
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Library of Congress is to receive the memorabilia of Broadway actor John Raitt

Giorgio Tozzi dies at 88

 obituary, opera  No Responses »
Jun 162011
 

Giorgio Tozzi Giorgio Tozzi dies at 88Gior­gio Tozzi, the Met­ro­pol­itan Opera star whose career also encom­passed work in film, TV and legit theatre, died of a heart attack May 30 in Bloom­ing­ton, Ind. He was 88.

Born George John Tozzi in Chicago (and later rechristened by his record com­pany), he was edu­cated at his hometown’s DePaul U. and later stud­ied on the G.I. Bill in with Giulio Lorandi. Ori­gin­ally a bari­tone, he moved into bass roles, mak­ing his Met debut in 1955.

Praised for both his vocal and act­ing prowess, Tozzi took lead­ing roles in operas by Moz­art, Mus­sorgsky, , Puccini and Rossini. He ended his Met career in 1975.

Tozzi also essayed pop­u­lar roles. He starred as planter Emile de Becque oppos­ite Mary Mar­tin in a tour­ing pro­duc­tion of ’s “South Pacific” and dubbed Ezio Pinza’s singing voice in Joshua Logan’s 1958 film ver­sion.… [con­tinue reading]

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Delicious
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Email
  • RSS

Mormon musical’s humour more English than American

 musical theatre  No Responses »
May 102011
 

trey parker matt stone Mormon musicals humour more English than AmericanBroadway’s hot­test musical, which was gar­landed last week with a pack-leading 14 Tony nom­in­a­tions, is to visit the West End. The Book of Mor­mon, writ­ten by and , the cre­at­ors of South Park, and acclaimed by crit­ics and rap­tur­ous audi­ences alike, will open “some­time next year”, in Lon­don, accord­ing to Sonia Fried­man, its Brit­ish producer.

The musical, a scab­rously funny but also warm decon­struc­tion of reli­gion that fol­lows two mis­matched Mor­mon mis­sion­ar­ies as they attempt to con­vert a group of African vil­la­gers, has been hailed by The New York Times as a “new­born, old-fashioned, pleasure-giving musical”. Ben Brant­ley, the paper’s chief theatre critic, noted that while its lan­guage was “more foul-mouthed than David Mamet on a blue streak … its heart is as pure as that of a show”.… [con­tinue reading]

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Delicious
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Email
  • RSS

Queen Mother LP collection included The King and I and Paul Simon

 music  No Responses »
Mar 142011
 

queen mother 300x225 Queen Mother LP collection included The King and I and Paul SimonAs the nation’s favour­ite grand­mother, it might be expec­ted that Queen Eliza­beth, the Queen Mother’s musical tastes would have been rather old-fashioned. But her private music lib­rary — details of which were made pub­lic for the first time — show that the royal’s pref­er­ences were remark­ably eclectic.

Her col­lec­tion included Carib­bean steel bands, Cana­dian yodel­ling, show tunes, folk music, ska and even a top-selling pop album by Paul Simon.

Among her 100 records were the war­time speeches of Win­ston Churchill, per­form­ances by Noël Cow­ard, com­edy LPs by The Goons and Tony Han­cock and, appro­pri­ately enough, the soundtrack to The King and I.

via Queen Mother ‘enjoyed listen­ing to Carib­bean steel bands and Paul Simon’ — Tele­graph… [con­tinue reading]

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Delicious
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Email
  • RSS

Let’s hear it for Hammerstein — Fleming, Chicago and the musical theatre

 musical theatre, opera  No Responses »
Dec 292010
 

Was it a shrewd pub­li­city stunt, or a wise artistic move? Whatever, the  Lyric Opera of Chicago have appoin­ted   to the newly cre­ated pos­i­tion of cre­at­ive consultant.

In her new capa­city Flem­ing will join the Lyric board as a vice pres­id­ent and take an act­ive lead­er­ship pos­i­tion within the artistic admin­is­tra­tion. Along with per­form­ing opera and con­certs at the Lyric, she will work with senior offi­cials to cre­ate new pro­jects, expand edu­ca­tion and mar­ket­ing efforts and col­lab­or­ate with other Chicago arts organizations.

Flem­ing will be involved in the selec­tion of a com­poser and the prop­erty itself, for a new opera sched­uled to have its world première dur­ing Lyric’s 2015–16 sea­son. The singer also will be at the fore­front of an annual series of clas­sic Amer­ican musical theatre, begin­ning with a new pro­duc­tion of ’s “Oklahoma”.… [con­tinue reading]

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Delicious
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Email
  • RSS

Renée Fleming named creative consulant at Chicago Lyric Opera

 opera  No Responses »
Dec 102010
 

In a coup cer­tain to add luster to the company’s national and inter­na­tional repu­ta­tion, Lyric Opera of Chicago appoin­ted the cel­eb­rated Amer­ican sop­rano to the newly cre­ated pos­i­tion of cre­at­ive con­sult­ant. Her five-year term is to begin imme­di­ately. The announce­ment came Thursday at a press con­fer­ence in the Civic Opera House.

In her new capa­city, believed to be a first for a major Amer­ican opera com­pany, Flem­ing, 51, will join the Lyric board as a vice pres­id­ent and take an act­ive lead­er­ship pos­i­tion within the artistic admin­is­tra­tion. Along with per­form­ing opera and con­certs at the Lyric, she will work with senior offi­cials to cre­ate new pro­jects, expand edu­ca­tion and mar­ket­ing efforts and col­lab­or­ate with other Chicago arts organ­iz­a­tions, includ­ing the Chicago Sym­phony, Art Insti­tute of Chicago, Good­man Theatre and Har­ris Theater.… [con­tinue reading]

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Delicious
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Email
  • RSS