Welcome to the first week of the last month of 2025 and Best Bets: December 1st – December 7th. Singers take prime position in this week filled with world premieres, classical masterpieces and a Sondheim musical you can’t miss.
PORGY AND BESS – Metropolitan Opera – December 2nd – January 24th
Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess had its Boston tryout on September 30, 1935. It opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on October 10, 1935. For those keeping track, that was 90 years ago.
The Metropolitan Opera is bringing back their acclaimed James Robinson production to celebrate that anniversary and to say goodbye to mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves who will retire from the stage after a 35-year career at the conclusion of this production’s run. She’s singing the role of Maria.
Alfred Walker and Brittany Renee sing the title characters. Vuvu Mpofu sings the role of Clara (also performed by Jazmine Saudners). Ryan Speedo Green sings the role of Crown; Benjamin Taylor sings the role of Jake and Frederick Ballentine returns as Sportin’ Life. Latonia Moore and Leah Hawkins sing the role of Serena. Tichina Vaughan performs as Maria for two performances.
Kwamé Ryan conducts.
The Met Opera’s SiriusXM channel will air the December 2nd and January 24th performances live.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
KONSTANTIN KRIMMEL AND AMMIEL BUSHAKEVITZ – 92nd Street Y – New York, NY – December 3rd – December 7th
Three song cycles by Franz Schubert will be performed over the course of three nights by baritone Konstantin Krimmel. He will be accompanied by pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz.
On December 3rd they will perform Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795
On December 5th they will perform Winterreise,D. 911
On December 7th they will perform Schwanengesang, D. 957
All three performances will be available for streaming as well as in person attendance.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
TILL EULENSPIEGEL & BULLOCK SINGS AUCOIN – Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Chicago, IL – December 4th – December 7th
These four concerts were amongst my picks of the best concerts at CSO to see this year. This is top of that list because it offers the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s Song of the Reappeared which was commissioned by the CSO.
Soprano Julia Bullock, for whom the work was written, is the soloist for this song cycle. The poetry of Raúl Zurita serves as the text for this work.
Opening the concert is Brahms’s Symphony No. 3. The concert concludes with Richard Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks.
Petr Popelka conducts.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG – Sony Classics – Check local theaters near you – December 4th
The massively impressive 2023 revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical, Merrily We Roll Along was filmed before it closed and now those who missed this production, or those who want to revisit it, will have the opportunity to do so in theaters.
Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez and Daniel Radcliffe star in the production. Both Groff and Radcliffe won tony Awards for their performances. The production also won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Orchestrations for Jonathan Tunick.
The musical goes backwards in time and depicts the friendship of three people over the course of several decades. The musical includes such songs as Good Thing Going, Old Friend and Not a Day Goes By.
I cannot recommend this enough. I fall into the category of those who saw it, but wanted to see it again. And again.
Check local listings in your neighborhood to find showtimes.
THE DELTA KING’S BLUES – IN Series – Washington, D.C. – December 6th – December 14th / 2640 Space – Baltimore, MD – December 19th – December 21st
This is another world premiere: a “blues opera” by composer Damien Geter with a libretto by Jarrod Lee. The work was inspired by the story of Robert Johnson. He’s the blues musician who purportedly made a deal with the devil.
Geter and Lee have taken that concept and created a contemporary work that will be performed in and around the audience as if they were in a juke-joint. This is a brisk 65-minute work.
Albert R. Lee sings Robert Johnson. Christian Simmons sings the role of The Devil. Melissa Wimbish sings the role of Virginia with Marvin Wayne as Willy and Anthony Ballard as Son.
The production is directed by Alicia Washington with music direction by Matthew Lynch.
In Washington, D.C. the performances will take place at a Pop-up Theatre at 340 Maple Drive SW. In Baltimore, they will be at 2640 Space on St Paul Street.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
That’s all for Best Bets: December 1st – December 7th.
Enjoy your week and go see a show!
Main Photo: Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez in Merrily We Roll Along (Courtesy Sony Classics)