New York’s Classic Stage Company has announced complete casting for its upcoming two-month run of The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Tony-Award winner and CSC Artistic Director John Doyle. Tony Yazbeck leads the cast as Larry Foreman, alongside Lara Pulver as The Moll, David Garrison as Mr. Mister, Sally Ann Triplet as Mrs. Mister, Ken Barnett as Editor Daily, and more.

Previews begin 21 March, followed by opening night on 3 April, with performances through 19 May. Tickets are available for purchase here.

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Watch Tony Yazbeck perform the title song.

Kurt Weill Directing Fellow James Blaszko to Serve as Assistant Director for The Cradle Will Rock

Blitzstein gets a belated world premiere when the MDR Sinfonieorchester performs his ballet score Cain (1930) at the Brucknerhaus Linz 28 February. Eugene Tzigane conducts and baritone Adrian Eröd sings the role of Jehovah. The work was all but forgotten before the discovery of a second holograph piano score in 2016 spurred fresh interest, and a newly engraved orchestral score and parts, prepared by Arno Lücker from Blitzstein’s manuscript, will be unveiled for the premiere and available for future performances.

Cain was conceived as a thirty-minute “tragic ballet” based on the biblical story of Cain and Abel. In a letter to his sister, Blitzstein described it as “the best thing I have written in my career.” Yet his own high expectations—and praise from the likes of Copland, Nadia Boulanger, and Alfredo Casella—were not enough to bring about a performance; to this day, only excerpts have been given, and only with piano accompaniment. Nearly ninety years later, the work will be heard in full for the first time.

A new album of Blitzstein’s music for solo piano, performed by Leonard Lehrman, is due out from Toccata Classics (TOCC0438) 1 February 2019. The disc comprises twenty-seven tracks, many of them world premiere recordings, including Children’s Dances, The Guests, and selections from Cain.

The range of compositions showcases Blitzstein’s versatility and agility as a composer for the piano, from the larger show pieces such as the Piano Sonata, Scherzo: Bourgeois at Play, and Piano-Percussion Music, to smaller intimate works composed for family celebrations (Innocent Psalm – for the Bernstein Baby, Slow March – for Kit’s Wedding, Wedding Piece for Stephen & Joyce).

A CD release concert will be held at the Schott Music House in London, February 1 6:30 PM, with Lehrman at the piano performing selections from the album.

MARC BLITZSTEIN: PIANO MUSIC, 1918–63

• Waterfall: Barcarolle, Op. 4, No. 1 (1918)
• Prelude in C minor (1922)
• Valse (1923)
• Children’s Dances (1924)
• Svarga (1924–25): No. 4, Belly-Ache (‘Blues’)
• Percussion Music for the Piano (1928–29)
• Scherzo (1930)
• Piano Solo/Suite: extract (1933)
• Cain: ballet (three movements only)
• The Guests: ballet (1946–49)
• Innocent Psalm – for the Bernstein baby (1952)
• Slow March – for Kit’s Wedding (1953)
• Wedding Piece for Stephen & Joyce (1955)
• Lied (1963)
• Sonata for Piano (1927)

Leonard Lehrman, piano
TOCC0438
Available from Toccata Classics and all retailers 1 February 2019.

Susan Graham takes on the role of a lifetime. Joshua Barone writes in The New York Times:

“‘Regina’ may be a piece whose time has come, especially as presented here in James Robinson’s production, suggestive of the Southern locale and early-20th-century period, and performed by an exceptional cast led by the mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in the title role.” The New York Times

“…a gripping music drama in the hands of a superb cast and production team.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“[Blitzstein’s] score is rich and diverse….[Graham] absolutely nails it.” Broadway World

“Under the masterful baton of Opera Theatre’s long-time Music Director Stephen Lord, Blitzstein’s score proves to be an endlessly inventive collage of styles, masterfully tailored to fit each character and situation…. ‘Regina’ is an American classic, and the Opera Theater production is a triumph in every respect.” KDHX.org

“There are no real love songs here. There is, however, beautiful music that’s immediately approachable, including a gorgeous song about the rain that begins the third act — a reminder that there can be moments of beauty even in a pit of vipers, and that salvation lies in seeking out kind people and running from cruelty.” River Front Times

“Where ‘Regina’ ranks among American operas is up for debate but this OTSL production makes a case for inclusion near the top.” OperaWire.com

One year after the highly acclaimed production of The Cradle Will Rock at Opera Saratoga in upstate New York, the resulting original cast album will soon be available. The 2-disc album, due out July 6 on Bridge Records, includes liner notes by music director John Mauceri, and a handful of images from the production. The extensive cast includes Christopher Burchett as Larry Foreman, Matt Boehler as Mr. Mister, Audrey Babcock as Mrs. Mister, and former Lenya Competition prizewinners Ginger Costa-Jackson as Moll, Justin Hopkins as Reverend Salvation, and 2018 LLC finalist John Tibbetts as Yasha. This landmark recording gives listeners a unique opportunity to hear the work in Blitzstein’s original orchestrations, a quite different experience from the handful of piano-only recordings currently available.

The album also includes, as a bonus track, a rare interview with Blitzstein in which he describes the spectacle of the opening night of the original Broadway production of Cradle. Though now the stuff of Broadway legend, Blitzstein’s first-hand account of the events of that night adds new immediacy to the infamous tale.

Purchase from Bridge Records.

Purchase on Amazon or iTunes.

Listen on Spotify.

See also New Production of “The Cradle Will Rock” Makes Its Own Headlines

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Blitzstein’s Regina in a new production directed by OTSL Artistic Director James Robinson and conducted by Music Director Stephen Lord. American mezzo-soprano Susan Graham makes her role debut as the opera’s anti-heroine Regina Giddens, alongside James Morris as Ben Hubbard, Ron Raines as Oscar Hubbard, and Susanna Phillips as Birdie. The cast also includes Melody Wilson as Addie, Monica Dewey as Alexandra, Kristopher Irmiter as Horace, and Michael Day as Leo.

In a recent interview with Opera (“Vivat Regina!” by John Allison, April 2018), Graham described her attraction to the title role, “[S]he’s so bad! I’m always playing the boy next door and don’t usually get to do juicy parts like this…. She’s great operatic fodder….”

Graham went on to say, “It’s a fascinating piece, and certainly not something I’d ever envisioned myself doing. It wasn’t exactly on my wish list, so I’m grateful for the way things have turned out…. I feel Regina will open new horizons for me. I’ve never sung any Blitzstein songs, but I’m sure that after this adventure in Regina-land I will want to explore them further.”

Fans of Blitzstein hope that she does!

This marks the opera’s first major revival since Utah Opera’s 2009 production. Regina opens 26 May and runs in repertory through 24 June.

View the event in the performance calendar.