How About a Shave? Bryn Terfel to Star in Sweeney Todd With New York Philharmonic

Bleeders rejoice! The New York Philharmonic is set to present a staged production of Stephen Sondheim’s Tony-winning musical Sweeney Todd next spring at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Starring Grammy winner Bryn Terfel as the titular demon barber, Sweeney Todd will run March 5 through 8, 2014, at Avery Fisher Hall. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

With music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, Sweeney Todd follows a wronged barber who takes to slitting throats while seeking revenge on the corrupt judge who destroyed his life and family. The concert production will be conducted by Alan Gilbert and directed by Lonny Price, who also directed the Philharmonic’s 2000 staging of Sweeney Todd, starring Tony winners George Hearn and Patti LuPone.

“I am always excited to return to the New York Philharmonic, and particularly with Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece Sweeney Todd,” Price said in a statement. “There is no orchestra in the world better suited to play this music, and I know under Alan Gilbert’s baton, Sweeney will scare, delight, and thrill Philharmonic audiences.”

Terfel has performed in opera houses around the world, including engagements at The Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House. A bass-baritone, he is well known for his performance in New York’s Central Park with tenor Andrea Bocelli and the New York Philharmonic.

Sweeney Todd first opened on Broadway in 1979, directed by Harold Prince and starring Tony winners Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury. The show received eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. The show was most recently revived on Broadway in 2005. The production, directed by John Doyle, starred Tony winner Michael Cerveris as the title character and LuPone as his pie-making accomplice, Mrs. Lovett. Tim Burton's 2007 film adaptation of the popular musical starred Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.