"The most distinctive music heard all season."
—USA Today (for Only Heaven)

"An inventive and most pleasing triple bill."
—The New York Times (for Miss Havisham's Wedding Night, Ocean Dream, and I Will Wait)

"[Nancy] Rhodes is one of the most inventive directors of the theatre."
—The (Bergen) Record (for Elizabeth and Essex)

New American Opera Previews, from Page to Stage –March 16th
With Midge Woolsey, Moderator

Encompass New Opera Theatre will present highlights from SHAW SINGS! The Dark Lady of the Sonnets and Passion, Poison and Petrifaction, two one-act comic operas by composer Philip Hagemann, based on plays by George Bernard Shaw.

Midge Woolsey of WQXR Radio will moderate a panel discussion with the creative team and performers –
Sunday, March 16th at 2:30 P.M., at Manhattan School of Music, Greenfield Hall, 122nd Street and Broadway. Tickets: $15 in advance/$20 at the door. $10 students and seniors. For reservations call: 718-398-4675.

Encompass Spring Gala! Honoring Jerry Bock – May 18th
Save the Date!!!

Each season, the Encompass Spring Gala honors a major American composer-Lyricist with star performances of the composer’s music. Composers recognized for Lifetime Achievement at Encompass past galas: Jerry Herman (2007), Charles Strouse (2006), John Kander (2005) and Lyricist, Sheldon Harnick (2004).

The 2008 Honoree will be Jerry Bock, Tony Award winning Composer for Fiddler on the Roof, The Apple Tree, She Loves Me, The Rothschilds and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner for Fiorello! Sunday, May 18th 6:00 P.M. at the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South. Call or email Encompass office for tickets: 718-398-4675, encompassopera@yahoo.com.

Encompass Mainstage Production: SHAW SINGS!
June 19 – 22
In association with Opera Index
Fully Staged Performances with Orchestra

Composer Philip Hagemann teams up with George Bernard Shaw in two of his most fascinating looks at literary inspiration and passion. The Dark Lady of the Sonnets will delight and illuminate with the likes of Shakespeare himself as a bumbling eavesdropper who snares all his famous lines from the petty conversations of the court— including in disguise—Queen Elizabeth I herself.

Then step into Shaw’s upside-down-world with a hilarious musical farce, Passion, Poison and Petrifaction, imbued with all the modern-day soap opera elements of infidelity, murder and intrigue. You will not stop laughing! Mara Waldman will conduct and Nancy Rhodes will direct.

Performance Schedule:
Thursday, June 19 at 8:00 P.M.,
Friday, June 20 at 8:00 P.M.,
Saturday, June 21 Matinee at 2:00 P.M. and evening at 8:00 P.M.
Sunday, June 22 Matinee at 3:00 P.M.

At the Leonard Nimoy Thalia, Symphony Space (95th and Broadway). For tickets call: 212-864-5400 or http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/2348.

Albanian National Opera Hosts Encompass! – October 6 - 29, 2007
Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate staged by Encompass

Artistic Director Nancy Rhodes and Conductor Thomas Carlo Bo teamed up to stage Cole Porter’s classic American musical, Kiss Me Kate, at the Albanian National Opera in the capital city of Tirana in October. The experienced cast of 45 singers and dancers were members of the Albanian opera and ballet, and the 45-piece opera orchestra gave Cole Porter’s music a brilliant shine.

The eye-catching 900-seat opera house was SRO for the 4 performances. Built by the Russians, it stands in the center of Tirana, flanked by a mosque and a statue of a national Albanian hero on horseback. Two seasons ago, Nancy, John Yaffé, and Justin Sherwood teamed up to stage West Side Story at the Albanian Opera which was the first-ever American musical staged in the history of the country. Maestro Zhani Ciko is the General Director of the company and Andis Gjoni designed the sets and costumes. The songs were sung in English, the scenes in Albanian, and the productions were filmed and aired on National Albanian Television.

The American Embassy in Tirana generously supported both productions of Kiss Me Kate and West Side Story.

Marie Kraja International Singing Competition – November 5 -10, 2007
Tirana, Albania

For the 4th year, Encompass New Opera Theatre participated in the Marie Kraja International Singing Competition named for one of Albania’s most famous opera singers. This unique competition brings young singers from around the world to compete for cash prizes while performing opera arias with full orchestra on national Albanian television. Tenor Matthew Edwardsen represented Encompass and the United States at this vibrant opportunity for singers. Under the leadership of Albanian producer Zana Cela, this popular television event captures a national audience each season. Nancy Rhodes served as a member of the international jury.

Holiday Concert – December 16, 2007

Encompass performs a delightful concert of American musical and opera selections that celebrate the Holiday Season each year at the National Arts Club. Encompass singers Douglas Jabara, baritone, Juliana Janes-Yaffé, soprano, and Jody Sheinbaum, soprano with pianist Mara Waldman performed works by Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick, Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein/Richard Rodgers, Frank Loesser, Harold Arlen/E.Y. Harburg, Joseph Mohr/Franz Gruber, Mel Tormé and Robert Wells, Giacomo Puccini, John S. Dwight/Adolphe Adam, and Meir Finkelstein. At the National Arts Club, Sunday, December 16th at 8:00 P.M.

Encompass Season Kick-Off Concert and Party – January 20, 2007

Encompass singers Lorraine Hinds, soprano, Dominic Inferrera, baritone, Yong Kyung Park, mezzo, and Justin Vickers, tenor, with pianists Tony Bellomy and Mara Waldman performed a selection of American and English opera by Gian Carlo Menotti, Douglas Moore, Richard Hundley, Benjamin Britten, Frank Bridge; and highlights from The Theory of Everything, Encompass’ newly commissioned opera by composer John David Earnest and librettist Nancy Rhodes. Encompass composers who attended were John David Earnest, Philip Hagemann (Shaw Sings!), and George Quincy (Home and the River). The afternoon was hosted by Theresa and Jim Havell-Carter in their beautiful home in Greenwich Village with delicious hors d’oeuvres and champagne. Sunday, January 20th at 4:00 P.M.

New Works Presentation – Opera America – January 25, 2007

Highlights from The Theory of Everything by composer John David Earnest and librettist Nancy Rhodes were performed by Dominic Inferrera, Yong Kyung Park and Adrienne Patino with pianists Tony Bellomy and Mara Waldman, for opera general directors and ambassadors of Opera America, Diane Wondisford, Producing Director of the Music-Theatre Group moderated a panel which included John David Earnest and Nancy Rhodes.

American Opera Projects, Center for Contemporary Opera, and the Music-Theatre Group presented scenes from new opera. At Opera America’s presentation center, 330 Seventh Avenue, 16th Floor. Friday, January 25th at 2:00 P.M.