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Gotham Chamber Opera Presents 'The Tempest Songbook' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Co-Production with Martha Graham Dance Company, Directed by Luca Veggetti

Gotham Chamber Opera’s final production of the 2014-15 season will be "The Tempest Songbook.""The Tempest Songbook" is comprised of incidental music for "The Tempest" composed in 1695 and attributed to Henry Purcell and Kaija Saariaho's 2004 "Tempest Songbook" for soprano, baritone and period instrument ensemble. This is the show's U.S. and world-stage premiere.The performance will be a co-production with the Martha Graham Dance Co. The Martha Graham Dance Co. has received international acclaim from audiences in more than 50 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The Gotham Chamber Opera has also received many accolades and has been recognized as a pioneer in creating opera productions in alternative venues."The Tempest Songbook" will explore the themes of William Shakespeare’s "The Tempest" using dance, movement and song. The singers and dancers will express the words and actions of various characters, which will result in a lyrical vision of Shakespeare's iconic play."I am thrilled to be invited to share my vision for 'The Tempest Songbook' with Gotham Chamber Opera," said director and choreographer Luca Veggetti. "Through my association with Kaija Saariaho, I became acquainted with her 'Tempest Songbook' and her suggested pairings with Purcell, which serves as the starting point for the production."
By Jaime Prisco

  • Lee Joon and Thunder of K-Pop Boy Band MBLAQ Leave Group

    After months of speculation, Lee Joon and Thunder of the popular South Korean boy band MBLAQ have announced that they are officially leaving the group to focus on their individual careers.Lee Joon and Thunder’s legal team released an official statement regarding their departure from the five-member group following the expiration of their contracts with label J. Tune Camp, which was in late November. According to the statement, Lee Joon will be focusing on filming his latest drama "Mr. Baek," while Thunder will focus on his music studies.J. Tune Camp has released a statement regarding the status of MBLAQ. The company is uncertain whether it will continue promoting the group as a trio or if it will add new members to its line-up, but it assured that MBLAQ will continue on. It is not immediately known whether the two will sign a contract with J. Tune Camp and continue to be managed by the agency.Rumors first surfaced of the group's break-up in October, with J. Tune Camp saying that the two will still be negotiating contacts and that nothing had been officially decided. But the two performers's last concert “Curtain Call" Nov. 31 gave way to their departure, with Lee and Thunder hinting that they would end their five-year careers as members of MBLAQ.
    By Jaime Prisco

  • Bassist AKi of Japanese Rock Band SID Will Be Making His Solo Debut

    AKi, bassist for the Japanese visual kei rock band SID, has announced that he will be making his solo debut at the beginning of the year with an album release.The upcoming album, titled "ARISE," will be released Jan. 28 through Tower Records. AKi will hold his first solo concert Feb. 3 in Tokyo at the Tsutaya O-East.On Dec. 5, Danger Crue Records released a free digital single titled “Freak Show" from an unidentified rookie artist, which has now been revealed to have been AKi. "ARISE" will come with 11 tracks, one of which will be the already-released track “Freak Show." AKi wrote all of the album's lyrics, including the English ones. Glay's Toshi Nagai, The Mad Capsule Markets’s Motokatsu Miyagami, usagi's Takayuki Kato and MUCC's Miya will be featured as guest performers on the album.
    By Jaime Prisco