MasterVoices has revealed details for its upcoming 2019–2020 season, beginning with a presentation of the rare Gershwin gem Let ‘Em Eat Cake.
The 1933 musical, with a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind and a score by George and Ira Gershwin, will take the Carnegie Hall stage November 21. Music Director Ted Sperling will conduct a cast including Tony nominees Bryce Pinkham, Christopher Fitzgerald, and Kevin Chamberlin, Tony winner Chuck Cooper, Fred Applegate, and Solea Pfeiffer.
Andrew Palermo will choreograph the presentation, which will feature the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. The creative team also includes sound designer Scott Lehrer, costume designer Tracy Christensen, and lighting designer Maarten Cornelis.
In the new year, MasterVoices will host the New York premiere of Jeremy Schonfeld’s autobiographical rock opera Iron & Coal. Performances will run January 10 and 11, 2020, at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater as part of the Prototype Festival. Kevin Newbury directs the piece, in which Schonfeld will be joined on stage by Rinde Eckert, Lincoln Clauss, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and the contemporary music ensemble Contemporaneous. David Bloom serves as music director.
A concert staging of Bizet’s Carmen will play Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater April 2. Sperling will conduct the beloved title, though with a twist: the company will present the piece in its Opéra Comique edition, with spoken dialogue rather than sung recitative between arias. Broadway veteran Sheldon Harnick translated the libretto into English, having previously done so for Houston Grand Opera in 1981 and on Broadway three years later.
Leading the company will be Peabody Southwell in the title role, alongside Noah Stewart as Don José and Steven LaBrie as Escamilo. Sammi Cannold will direct the concert, with Gustavo Zajac choreographing.
Rounding out the season is the third community Bridges series, which returns with a double bill of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and the world premiere of an Orff-inspired piece by composer Tariq Al-Sabir. The series, running May 9 and 11, marks a collaboration between MasterVoices and the South Bronx’s East Side House Settlement. Both works will feature community members from the borough, including avocational singers and local dancers.
