:: NewYorkQnews.com     :: FireIslandQnews.com     :: QnewsMegaMall.com     :: GayLifeInAmerica.com     :: TheBestOfFireIsland.com     :: FireIslandRealtors.com HOME SHOW LISTINGS NEW YORK CITY ART & MUSEUMS REAL ESTATE RESTAURANTS SHOPPING           SPONSORED LINKS    The Best Of Fire Island Fire Island Pines, Cherry Grove, Davis Park, Water Island Residentials Sales and Summer Rentals. www.thebestoffireisland.com Fire Island Realtors The best summer rentals properties and homes for sale in all of Fire Island, The Pines and the Grove www.fireislandrealtors.com Fire Island Q News Monthly Webzine, Fire Island Pines & Cherry Grove, LGBT Resort Communities on the Atlantic. www.fireislandqnews.com New York Q News Gay E-zine with everything hip and happening in New York City. News and events all around the city. www.newyorkqnews.com Residential Sales & Summer Rentals Fire Island Pines & Cherry Grove Homes For Sale & Summer Rentals: Season, Month & Weekly. www.cjmingolelli.com New York City Homes Looking to Sell or Buy your new home. Contact two specialist in the Manhattan market. www.pde-tworealtors.com New York's Performances & Arts Theater, Performing Arts and Entertainment Reviews in the New York City metropolitan area. www.qonstage.com Shopping Online? - Gives Us a Try! Online Mega Mall. Your community online shopping mall/Apparel, Books, Movies and more ... www.qnewsmegamall.com The Opera Is Named "Norma," But Zajick Steals Met Show in Seconda Donna Part by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Vincenzo Bellini's "Norma" (1831), revived by the Metropolitan Opera for the first time since the 2001-2002 season, is my favorite opera. The "Norma" I heard on November 30 was not, by a long stretch, my favorite performance of it. ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Big Apple Corps Proffers Festive 'Portrait of a Season' by Bruce-Michael Gelbert The Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps, our community's band, kicked off the holidays in style with a festive concert, billed as "Portrait of a Season: a Musical Tapestry," in the spacious auditorium of the Julia Richman Complex, on ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Barbara Cook Sounds 'Younger than Springtime' at 80th Birthday Philharmonic Concert by Bruce-Michael Gelbert To celebrate her 80th birthday, which was on October 25, wonderful singer Barbara Cook was to give a single non-subscription birthday concert with the New York Philharmonic, at ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Terfel's Towering Prophet Heads Top-Drawer Team for Collegiate Chorale "Elijah" by Bruce-Michael Gelbert If anyone has the voice and presence to make a convincing, towering Biblical prophet of God, protagonist of "Elijah," Felix Mendelssohn's mid-19th century, Victorian era tribute to George Frideric Handel's Baroque oratorios, it is Bryn ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Clenny & Company Shine in Bel Canto Gems to Benefit LGBT Youth by Bruce-Michael Gelbert On November 18, West Side Opera Society Artistic Director David Clenny and an octet of singers gave, as needed, robust or refined performances of favorite bel canto gems, with Clenny at the piano, in a concert billed as ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Blier & NYFOS Weave Chansons, Show Tunes & Lieder into Entertaining Pastiche by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Pastiche, in which preexisting melodies are pressed into service to tell a tale other than the one for which they were conceived, has a long history. John Gay's play with songs, "The Beggar's Opera," from the 18th century, is one ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Juilliard Fields Promising Bel Canto Singers in Sparkling "Comte Ory," by Rossin by Bruce-Michael Gelbert For its fall production, Juilliard Opera Center fielded an ensemble of promising bel canto voices in a sparkling "Le Comte Ory" (1828), of Gioachino Rossini, under conductor Asher Fisch, beginning on November 14. This ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Grattacielo Probes Verismo Takes on a Sordid Scene in San Francisco's Chinatown & Enchantment & Ecstasy, in Germanic Style, in Medieval Italy by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Teatro Grattacielo's annual verismo operatic offering in concert this season, on November 13 at Avery Fisher Hall, instead of Alice Tully Hall ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Affable Jim Speake Celebrates Cy Coleman's Songs in Chelsea Cabaret Show by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Jim Speake, whose singing, acting and energy enhanced theatrical productions in Cherry Grove ("The USO Show") and Fire Island Pines ("The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas") this past summer, took center stage at the Metropolitan ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NYCO Welcomes "Vanessa," Beloved Fifties American Romantic Melodrama by Bruce-Michael Gelbert On November 4, the New York City Opera (NYCO) welcomed hyper-romantic opera, "Vanessa," by late gay creative artists, composers Samuel Barber (music) and Gian Carlo Menotti (libretto), written for the Met ....  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - An Amazing Gay Musical Grows in Brooklyn-Gallery Players' "Yank!" Declares, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, But We're in the Army Now and We Always Were by Bruce-Michael Gelbert "Yank!" (2005), a musical by Zellnik brothers composer Joseph and book writer and lyricist David, which is being presented by Park ....  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hey, Cindy! Welcome to the Fifties-City Opera Introduces a New "Cendrillon" with a Mid-Century Look by Bruce-Michael Gelbert On October 27, the New York City Opera (NYCO) unveiled a new, updated production of Jules Massenet's charming opera "Cendrillon" (1899), an opera the company also examined in the ....  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Fluid Voices & Genders Mark Arts Florissants' Rare, All-Male Early Baroque Gem by Bruce-Michael Gelbert On October 29 and 30, at the Rose Theater, on Lincoln Center's Great Performers series, William Christie and his Caen, France-based Les Arts Florissants offered a magnificent, semi-staged North American premiere presentation ....  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In NYCO "Agrippina," Groag & Company Wittily Probe the Intrigue that Was Rome by Bruce-Michael Gelbert This fall, the New York City Opera revived George Frideric Handel's dramma giocoso, or seriocomic opera, "Agrippina" (1710), a tale of lust and lust for power in the snake pit of deceit that was ancient Rome. Updated to the 1940s....  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Philharmonic Probes Zemlinsky & Wilde's Vengeful Merchant of Florence in Strauss-style "Tragedy" by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Hearing Alexander Zemlinsky's opera "Eine florentinische Tragödie," as explored by the New York Philharmonic, under Zemlinsky champion James Conlon, on October 18, 19 and 20 ....  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NYFOS, Celebrating 20 Years, Offers Pleasing Potpourri of Song by Bruce-Michael Gelbert It was the kind of evening that made the listener realize and appreciate what a marvelous musical gift Artistic Director Steven Blier and Associate Artistic Director Michael Barrett and their New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) ....  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hourglass Group's "Beebo Brinker" Offers Vivid Slice of LGBT Life, Pre-Stonewall by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Anyone who remembers the dearth of positive lesbian and gay literature, in the days before Stonewall, will recall the exception offered by the novels written under the name Ann Bannon-"Odd Girl Out" (1957), "I Am a Woman" and ....  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In Intriguing Met "Aida," Brown, Zajick & Unexpected Alagna Vie for Attention by Bruce-Michael Gelbert This season's Metropolitan Opera revival of Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida," once the most popular opera in the company's repertory, but considered increasingly difficult to cast with the requisite dramatic voices, featured newcomer....  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ARTICLES FROM PREVIOUS SEASON Whyte Hall: a Look at the New Fire Island Pines Community Center by Harold Seeley, Archivist, Cherry Grove It was Opening Night of the Fire Island Pines Arts Project's (FIPAP) first theatrical production at the new Whyte Hall, the Fire Island Pines Community Center. I was more than pleased that I had tickets to the opening show of ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Looking at Six Singers that Opera Lost This Summer by Bruce-Michael Gelbert This summer, opera lost six of the stars in its galaxy: four sopranos-Beverly Sills (July 2), Régine Crespin (July 4), Teresa Stitch-Randall (July 17) and Rose Bampton (August 21)-and two tenors-Jerry Hadley (July 18) and Luciano ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pines Arts Project's "Whorehouse," a Hootin' and Hollerin' Hit, Inaugurates Theater at New Whyte Hall by Bruce-Michael Gelbert The Fire Island Pines Arts Project's (FIPAP) Labor Day weekend show, the first theatrical production in the spanking new gem of a theater, the Brandon Fradd, at Whyte Hall ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Evil Conceals Pain and the Good Justify Wrong in Knotty "Dying Gaul" by Island Rep by Bruce-Michael Gelbert "The Dying Gaul," a play by Craig Lucas, being given by artistic director Richard LaFrance's Island Repertory Theatre Company at the Tides Playhouse through September 15, is, thanks to the conspiracy of author, director and actors ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Legends II: Stars Strewn Among the Cherries in the Grove by Sherri Rase FIRE ISLAND - For one night only, the glitterati of Cherry Grove royalty will perform for you. The wildly successful "Legends in Their Own Minds," produced in 2005 by Matt Baney, was the fruition of a dream of glorious glamorous queens in ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 'Don't Tell Walt' that Bill McKinley Is Singing his Songs in the Heart of NYC! by Andrew Altenburg This week, singer Bill McKinley performs the second two of four tribute concerts to Walt Disney in his show, "Don't Tell Walt," at the Metropolitan Room in Chelsea on Wednesday, August 8th and Thursday, August 9th ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Versatile Jade Esteban Estrada Celebrates Our History in "ICONS" by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Versatile and talented playwright, singer, choreographer, dancer and raconteur Jade Esteban Estrada brought his celebratory and political solo musical comedy "ICONS: the Lesbian and Gay History of the World, ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Brandon & Ray Serve up Back to Back Helpings of "Broadway at the Beach" by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Singer Brandon Cutrell and pianist Ray Fellman have been offering their show "Broadway at the Beach," the successor to last season's "Mostly Sondheim," on Monday nights at the Ice Palace at the Grove Hotel, in Cherry Grove, Fire Island ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Go Xanadu! by Andrew Altenburg When the ad campaign began for Broadway's "Xanadu", with music and lyrics by John Farrar and Jeff Lynne, the producers added the word "Seriously," because they knew that the Broadway-going public would think that a stage musical based on a dreadful 1980s movie ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ICON-ic Go-Go Boy, Jade Esteban Estrada Brings Our-story to Life by Sherri Rase FIRE ISLAND - NBC News calls him "America's Prince of Pride." Outlook Weekly boldly calls him "one of the finest solo theatre artists of the 21st century." He's been seen on "The Graham Norton Effect" on Comedy Central and PBS's ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jason Reiff Sings at the Duplex by Andrew Altenburg There are some singers that one seeks out, like Patti LuPone, for example. And then there are singers that one just happens upon by accident and that's exactly what happened to me on July 15, when I went with friends to the Duplex to hear "Once Around the Sun, A Musical ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Remembering Beverly Sills (May 29, 1929-July 2, 2007) by Bruce-Michael Gelbert In the 1960s and 1970s, Beverly Sills was my favorite singer. In my circles were friends identified as greatest fans of the likes of Joan Sutherland, Dorothy Kirsten and others-I was the one particularly known for my devotion ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NYC Gay Men's Chorus Brings Its Strayhorn Salute to the Pines by Bruce-Michael Gelbert FIRE ISLAND - The New York City Gay Men's Chorus (NYCGMC) was to bring highlights of "Take the A Train," its Pride salute to openly gay jazz great Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967), Duke Ellington's collaborator and Aaron Bridges' ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Grove Stars Take the Stage in Star-Spangled, Action Packed "USO Show" by Bruce-Michael Gelbert FIRE ISLAND - On June 30 at the Cherry Grove Community House, under the aegis of the Arts Project of Cherry Grove, John DeMarco presented an evening full of Grove stars making memorable music and inspiring laughter and stirring emotion in "The USO Show," with ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Island Rep Probes Devotion, Deceit & Dysfunction in Intense English Play by Bruce-Michael Gelbert FIRE ISLAND - To begin its season at the Tides Playhouse in Cherry Grove, Richard LaFrance's Island Repertory Theatre Company is giving the American premiere production of an English play, "Blowing Whistles," by Matthew Todd, which presents an intriguing love triangle ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gay Nathan & Lois Viscoli Limn Endearing Stein & Toklas in Win Wells Play by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Gay Nathan, of Santa Fe and Cherry Grove, and colleague Lois Viscoli limned warm, endearing portraits of 'mothers of us all,' writer Gertrude Stein and her life partner Alice B. Toklas, in Win Wells' witty and moving play, "Gertrude Stein ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Vaughan & Company Dazzle in 9th "Ocean Aires" in 9 Striking 'Acts' by Bruce-Michael Gelbert "Ocean Aires," the annual classical recital, spearheaded by Isaac Steven Vaughan and given at the Cherry Grove, Fire Island, Community House under the auspices of the Arts Project of Cherry Grove, observed its ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - New York City Gay Men's Chorus Will Help Inaugurate Fire Island Pines' New Whyte Hall by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Following the appearance by New York City Gay Men's Chorus (NYCGMC) in "Take the A Train: the Music of Billy Strayhorn," at the Nokia Theater on Times Square on June 18 at 8 p.m., members of the chorus will bring a pair of ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - French Operetta Meets Francophile American Musical in Delightful NYFOS Finale by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Canny musical genius Steven Blier's New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) ended its season at Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall, on May 9 (and 10), with a delightful survey of French operetta and the Francophile Cole Porter musical ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Stevenson Gallery Celebrates Work of Beard and Busby by Bruce-Michael Gelbert On May 7, in Chelsea, the John Stevenson Gallery, on West 23rd Street, celebrated, in a "Soirée with Bruce Sargeant & Friends," the art of Mark Beard--who has created "chimerical alter egos," to whom he attributes his ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Clenny & Company Collaborate on a Spirited "Anna Bolena" by Bruce-Michael Gelbert On May 6, the West Side Opera Society offered a spirited concert hearing of Gaetano Donizetti's "Anna Bolena," under David Clenny, who elicited a whole orchestra's worth of sound from an upright piano and a stirring bel canto ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gluck's "Orfeo" as 3-Ring Circus: Mizrahi's Historic Costume Pageant, Morris' Interpretive Dances, and, oh, yes, Opera with Daniels and Levine by Bruce-Michael Gelbert The Metropolitan Opera's new production of Christoph Willibald Gluck's "Orfeo ed Euridice" (1762), which opened on May 2 and which ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Fleming, Salonen & LA Philharmonic Probe Rare Strauss & Korngold by Bruce-Michael Gelbert The Los Angeles Philharmonic and its Helsinki-born conductor, Esa-Pekka Salonen, in town to play "Tristan und Isolde" on Lincoln Center's Great Performers series, took a break from Wagner to present Renée Fleming, at Avery ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madame Vera Returns After All! by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Last spring, La Gran Scena Opera diva, "traumatic soprano" Mme Vera Galupe-Borszkh (close personal alter ego of Ira Siff) threatened that her farewell recitals really were, but for the odd guest appearance, to be her final farewells. Happily she reneged on that threat and ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Manhattan School Fields Fresh Voices in Cimarosa "Italiana" by Bruce-Michael Gelbert For its spring offering, the Manhattan School of Music Opera Theatre investigates comic rarity "L'Italiana in Londra" (1778) by Domenico Cimarosa. The April 25 performance, the first of three, is the one discussed here. ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Met Presents Puccini "Trittico" as Lavish Spectacle by Bruce-Michael Gelbert This month, the Metropolitan Opera unveiled a fresh and lavish new look for Giacomo Puccini's "Il Trittico," the triptych of short operas consisting of the gritty Grand Guignol of "Il Tabarro" ("The Cloak"), with libretto by Giuseppe Adami...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Met "Barbiere" Boasts a Capital Cast, Complete with Winning New Tenor Brownlee by Bruce-Michael Gelbert The Metropolitan Opera's sunny new production of Gioachino Rossini's popular "Il Barbiere di Siviglia," which opened this past November in Bartlett Sher's conception, with designs by Michael Yeargan (sets), Catherine Zuber ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Fletcher, Hanan and Goldstone Evoke Vanished World of Warsaw's Yiddish Cabarets by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Last Wednesday (April 11), I wrote about Jeremy Lawrence's stirring look, in "Lavender Songs," under the aegis of TOSOS II, at the Duplex in the Village, at music of gay/lesbian composers, lyricists and performers , who thrived in Berlin ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NYCO Showcases New American Opera in VOX 2007 Festival at NYU by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Begun essentially as the people's opera company when it opened at City Center in 1944, when Fiorello LaGuardia was Mayor of New York, the New York City Opera (NYCO) has always provided home and haven for new ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dicapo Closes Season with Stirring "Manon Lescaut" by Bruce-Michael Gelbert The Metropolitan Opera, which first presented Giacomo Puccini's third opera and first major success, "Manon Lescaut" (1893), in 1907, has not given the opera since 1990, when Mirella Freni last limned its alluring protagonist, but ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jeremy Lawrence & TOSOS II Probe Proud & Political Gay Cabaret in the Weimar Era by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Historians have come to recognize that, along with the annihilation of six million Jews during the Holocaust, the Nazis also censored music and art, which they labeled "decadent," by Jews and others, which is now being examined ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Glorious Daniels & Swenson Make Met "Giulio Cesare" a Joy by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Composer George Frideric Handel and librettist Nicola Haym's "Giulio Cesare" ("Julius Caesar," 1724), first investigated by the Metropolitan Opera in 1988, returned to the repertory this month with a new cast, headed by David ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Netrebko & Villazón Offer Threefold Romance for Met's Glittery Gala by Bruce-Michael Gelbert On April 3, the Metropolitan Opera celebrated the 40th anniversary of its 1966-67 season move to Lincoln Center, from Broadway between 39th and 40th Streets, and added dollars to its Pension Fund by presenting two of its glittering ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - New Stars in Met's "Andrea Chénier," Some Cast Against Type, Impress Nonetheless by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Composer Umberto Giordano and librettist Luigi Illica's "Andrea Chénier" (1896), a fictionalized version of the life of poet and French Revolutionary figure André Chénier (1762-1794), is one of many otherwise sophisticated ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Boys," with Gusto, Go Back to the '80s: the Dances, the Drag, the Drugs & the Drama by Bruce-Michael Gelbert, with Joseph R. Saporito Anthony J. Wilkinson has, in plays performed on the islands of Manhattan and Fire, given us his gay version of "Grease" in "Rainbow Phi;" his answer to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" in "My ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - City Opera Takes on Rossini & Scott's Tale of the Lady of the Lake & Her Three Loves by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Andrea Leone Tottola's "La Donna del Lago," after Sir Walter Scott's narrative poem "The Lady of the Lake," with additions from the poetry of James Macpherson, writing as the fictitious ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Voigt, Luisi, and Company Shed New Light on Obscure "Helena," Who Went to Egypt, not to Troy by Bruce-Michael Gelbert When Q on Stage last looked in at the Metropolitan Opera, the focus was on composer Giuseppe Verdi and librettists Francesco Maria Piave and Arrigo Boito's "Simon Boccanegra," ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NYFOS Takes Us Lyrically to Eire and Other Isles by Bruce-Michael Gelbert In “Island Journeys,” on March 14 (and 15) at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Artistic Director Steven Blier and Associate Artistic Director Michael Barrett and their New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) melodically took us from ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For March Concert, Gay Men's Chorus Probes the Classics by Bruce-Michael Gelbert "Classically NYCGMC" was the title of the New York City Gay Men's Chorus' (NYCGMC) varied pair of concerts at Merkin Concert Hall, on March 12 and 13, which ran the gamut from traditional operetta, opera and choral works to art songs ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NY Philharmonic Takes Up "My Fair Lady" & Result is Loverly by Bruce-Michael Gelbert The week before the 51st anniversary of the March 15, 1956 opening of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's "My Fair Lady" on Broadway, at what used to be the Mark Hellinger Theatre, starring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Q on Stage Revels in the Spectacular Philadelphia Flower Show by Bruce-Michael Gelbert The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's huge annual Philadelphia Flower Show, the world's largest indoor flower show, occupying 33 acres at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, and oldest flower show in the nation, begun in ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pirates & Police, Gentle Maidens & Victorian Queens Join for Zesty City Opera Opening by Bruce-Michael Gelbert The New York City Opera (NYCO) has started its spring season, at Lincoln Center's New York State Theater, with a zesty revival of Sir Arthur S. Gilbert and Sir William S. Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance," with a cast brightly headed ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Former Figaro Hampson, Maturing, Brings Gravitas to Verdi's Doge by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Time-a quarter of a century or so, to be a bit more specific-is of utmost importance when it comes to Giuseppe Verdi and Francesco Piave's "Simon Boccanegra," an ominously complex, even confusing tale of intrigue ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mauceri, Freedman & NC School of the Arts Celebrate "West Side Story" at 50 by Bruce-Michael Gelbert "West Side Story," the work of gay creative artists Leonard Bernstein (music), Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), Arthur Laurents (book), and Jerome Robbins (direction and choreography), opened at the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Met's Gelb, Levine Announce Dessay in 2 Donizetti, Voigt's Isolde, Mattila's Manon Lescaut, & New "Peter Grimes" for Next Season by Bruce-Michael Gelbert On February 27, Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine gathered members of the press ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - One Sings, the Other Doesn't & It's Déja Vu All Over Again, and More, in "Lost Highway" Opera at Miller Theatre by Bruce-Michael Gelbert American filmmaker David Lynch's "Lost Highway," with screenplay written with Barry Gifford, is a deliberately disorienting film about life, death, sex-and film. Austrian composer ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Zajick Shines in, Alas, Heavily Cut Collegiate Chorale "Maid of Orleans" by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Gay ancestor Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Orleanskaya Dyeva" ("The Maid of Orleans") (1881), based on Friedrich von Schiller's play "Die Jungfrau von Orleans," about St. Joan of Arc, claimed as a lesbian ancestor and patron ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Successful "L'Arlesiana," Featuring Tenor Filianoti, Ends OONY's Opera Season by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Composer Francesco Cilèa is best known for "Adriana Lecouvreur" (1902), a vehicle favored by sopranos in their declining years for its undemanding tessitura and the glory of portraying a great actress, an actual early ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Q on Stage Does Chinese New Year by Bruce-Michael Gelbert We didn't go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year. But on February 18, two days before Fat Tuesday, and the day before same-sex civil unions would first be recognized in New Jersey, we celebrated the start of the Chinese lunar new just-once-every-six-decades Year of the Fire...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A French Tragedy: Operatic Dreiser's Picker & Scheer's Take on Zola Proves True Verismo Venture for Dicapo by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Composer Tobias Picker and librettist Gene Scheer, whose operatic version of Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy" debuted at the Metropolitan Opera last season, had ...  VIEW MORE ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Onegin" Returns to the Met in Style, with Hvorostovsky & Fleming, Paced by Gergiev by Bruce-Michael Gelbert Gay ancestor Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's hyper-romantic "Eugene Onegin," after Alexander Pushkin's poem, returned to the Metropolitan Opera repertory this month, expertly led by Valery Gergiev, with a cast headed by luminaries..