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Peter Klein (impresario)

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Peter Klein
Born (1945-07-22) July 22, 1945 (age 79)[citation needed]
Transylvania, Romania[1]
NationalityIsraeli
CitizenshipUnited States
Occupation(s)Impresario, president of Living Arts, Inc.[2]
Years active1970 - present
Notable workTouring of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess worldwide (since 1992)
Websitewww.peterkleinyc.com

Peter Klein is an American impresario who brought several American theatrical productions to Europe and arranged the first US tour of La Scala Ballet in 1986. He is most known for producing the touring version of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

Early life

Peter Klein was born on July 22, 1945[citation needed] in Romania, his parents were Hungarian Jews, who survived the Holocaust.[1] Living in Soviet Romania he learned Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, German, French and English. In 1963 the family moved to Israel,[1] where Klein learned Hebrew. In 1967 Klein went to Europe and finally to New York, where he met legendary impresario Sol Hurok and started working for him as North American tour manager in 1969.[3][4] He was the tour manager of Andrés Segovia and Arthur Rubinstein.[1] Klein established his own production company, Living Arts, Inc., in 1972.[5]

Career

In 1986 Klein arranged the first La Scala Ballet US tour with Franco Zeffirelli.[6] In 1990 he brought John Krizanc’s Tamara play to Italy.[7]

Klein also took several American musicals (including West Side Story and A Chorus Line) to Europe.[1]

Porgy and Bess

Peter Klein started to think about making his own production of Porgy and Bess in 1991 when his Argentinian colleague asked him to bring the opera to Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.[8] In 1992 he took the existing production of Virginia Opera company[3][9] to an 18-performance tour of Latin America in April and May, with 9 performances at Teatro Colon.[10] Klein’s own production started touring US and Canada in 1993.[9] In the 90s it was also known as the Charleston production because it debuted in Charleston and performed with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (David Stahl as a conductor).[9][11]

Klein got the concept of the touring show approved by Gershwin’s heirs.[9] Leopold Godowsky III, the nephew of George Gershwin, helped Klein to develop the concept of the touring version[3] with shorter performance time[12][13] and reduced number of musicians.[9][12] The original cast had three pairs of lead actors: Brian Gibson and Elizabeth Graham, Andre Solomon-Glover and Vanessa Stewart, William Marshall and Claudette McCargo.[14]

Peter Klein’s Living Arts production of Porgy and Bess[15][16] was shown in 23 countries[17] including Uruguay (1992),[15] the UK (1997, 1999),[18][19] Australia and New Zealand (1997, 2006),[20][15][21] Egypt (2000),[15] China (2001),[15] Portugal (2003)[22] and Estonia (2008).[17] It has toured the US multiple times.[23][24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Posner, Michael (March 12, 2005). "The essential Porgy and Bess". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  2. ^ Taylor, Markland (April 18, 1994). "Porgy and Bess". Variety (magazine). Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Webster, Daniel (November 1, 1994). "A producer sings the praises of 'Porgy and Bess,' in 2d year of tour". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E6. Retrieved April 7, 2018 – via newspapers.com. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  4. ^ Gill, Raymond (May 3, 1997). "Still loves you, Porgy". The Age. p. 11. Retrieved March 20, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Geraldine (February 14, 2002). "The Egg staging classic American opera, 'Porgy'". The Post-Star. p. 4. Retrieved March 20, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Lohmann, Bill (July 6, 1986). "Zeffirelli`s `Swan Lake` A Hollywood Version". United Press International. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  7. ^ Lastella, Aldo (March 15, 1990). "Cena al Vittoriale fra donne e intrighi". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved April 1, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  8. ^ Vranish, Jane (April 12, 2001). "Stage Preview: Operatic appeal of 'Porgy' endures". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Producer takes 'Porgy and Bess' from cities to uncommon venues". The Daily Collegian. March 23, 1993. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  10. ^ McLellan, Joseph (March 23, 1992). "Virginia Opera Heads North". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  11. ^ Stowe, Dorothy (November 7, 1993). "On Tour: Porgy and Bess". Deseret News. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Brown, Steven (January 2, 1994). "'Porgy' Blurs The Line Between Opera, Musical". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  13. ^ Walton, Kenneth (March 15, 2004). "Plenty o' something". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; March 8, 2018 suggested (help)
  14. ^ "Porgy and Bess". Opera. 49 (1–6). Rolls House Publishing Company: 111. 1998.
  15. ^ a b c d e Pollack, Howard (2006). "Porgy and Bess in Revival". George Gershwin: His Life and Work. University of California Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-520-24864-9. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  16. ^ Larkin, Colin (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 600. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  17. ^ a b Mihkelson, Immo (February 21, 2008). "Saaremaa ooperipäevadele tulevad Porgy ja Bess". Postimees (in Estonian). Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  18. ^ Milnes, Rodney (October 28, 1997). "Tourists with attitude; Arts". The Times. p. 36.
  19. ^ Milnes, Rodney (September 16, 1999). "Porgy and Bess; Arts". The Times. p. 43.
  20. ^ McMarthy, Phillip (August 6, 2006). "Bess in show". The Age. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  21. ^ Dart, William (August 23, 2006). "Summertime, and touring ain't easy". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved April 4, 2018. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  22. ^ "Ópera "Porgy and Bess" estreia no CCB". Público (in Portuguese). December 10, 2003. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  23. ^ Delatiner, Barbara (October 24, 1999). "Porgy and Bess". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  24. ^ Kazimir, Gina (January 17, 2002). "Tour de force: `Porgy and Bess'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
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