Stephen Sondheim continues his series of conversations with New York Times columnist Frank Rich at the Sanders Theatre in Boston on Saturday. Broadway World called the pair's conversation at Seattle's Benaroya Hall late last month "a rare treat," recognizing it as "a glimpse into the world of one of the most acclaimed and respected Broadway composers of all time."
 
Detroit Free Press music writer Mark Stryker recently spoke with the man who "revolutionized American musical theater" in advance of the Michigan Opera Theatre's production of Sondheim's A Little Night Music, which opens at the Detroit Opera House on Saturday. The extensive article, which looks primarily at "the slippery relationship between musical theater and opera," can be found at freep.com. A separate, Trevor Nunn-directed production of the musical, starring Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta-Jones, comes to Broadway this winter. Previews begin on November 24 and opens at the Walter Kerr Theater on December 13. For more information, visit nightmusiconbroadway.com.

The Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, recently announced that Lansbury will receive its inaugural Stephen Sondheim Award in a black-tie gala dinner in Washington, DC, on April 26, 2010.

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As reported in yesterday's Nonesuch Journal, John Adams is in Washington, DC, to receive the NEA Opera Honors Award Saturday night. The awards ceremony at the Harman Center for the Arts will be hosted by Brian Stokes Mitchell and soprano Shirley Verrett with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg calling the proceeds to order and NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman offering welcoming remarks. John Adams will be presented the award by Deborah Borda, the president and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where Adams is currently the creative chair.

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Dan Auerbach's tour with songs from his Nonesuch solo debut, Keep It Hid, continues this weekend, with continued support from openers Justin Townes Earle and Jessica Lea Mayfield. They're at Sonar in Baltimore tonight and at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina, Saturday.
 
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Christina Courtin performs close to home at New York's Housing Works Bookstore Café tonight with David Berkeley and Zee Avi in a program aptly titled Live from Home.
 
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This year's Autumn in Normandy festival in Rouen, France, dedicates a series of concerts to Philip Glass this week and next. It began with a performance of his string quartets, two through five, by the Smith Quartet Wednesday night and continued last night with a solo piano concert by the composer himself. This weekend offers two performances of Glass's work, both by the Philip Glass Ensemble, starting with a live performance of his score for Dracula to a projection of the original Béla Lugosi film at the Théâtre Charles-Dullin tonight. Tomorrow, the ensemble performs Music in Twelve Parts, Glass's evening-length piece from the early 1970s, at the Théâtre des Arts.
 
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Emmylou Harris and her Red Dirt Boys continue their tour with Buddy Miller, performing at The Egyptian Theatre in Boise, Idaho, both Saturday and Sunday nights. Harris's recent tour stop at Overture Hall in Madison, Wisconsin, led A.V. Club reviewer Joel Shanahan to just about "drop his Overture Center Souvenir Cup in amazement" when Harris began to sing. "That sippy cup almost hit the ground a second time when Harris and band followed up with a shimmering rendition of Gram Parsons’ 'Grievous Angel." Capital Times reviewer Rob Thomas exclaimed: "If a songwriter writes a song, one of the best things that can happen to it is that it finds its way to Emmylou Harris."

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The Brad Mehldau Trio concludes its European tour with a week's worth of shows in Italy. It all starts tonight at the Teatro Delle Celebrazioni in Bologna, then at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome on Saturday. Next week's performances include a night in Perugia followed by two nights at the Blue Note Milan and a final night in Padova.
 
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Natalie Merchant helps kick off the London Jazz Festival tonight, joining Guy Barker's Festival Jazz Orchestra and a number of special guests on stage at Barbican Hall for Jazz Voice: Celebrating a Century of Song, the festival's opening concert. She plays her first solo show featuring music from her forthcoming Nonesuch debut at London's Conway Hall on Monday.

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Youssou N'Dour participates in a cultural celebration presented by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Saturday and Sunday. The Foundation, which works to support African leadership that will improve the economic and social prospects of people throughout Africa, is hosting a forum on issues of climate justice, agriculture and food security, and regional economic integration. Youssou will join fellow African stars like Angelique Kidjo in a performance for participants and guests, including former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

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Allen Toussaint plays two shows in Spain this weekend. He'll be at the Luz de Gas in Barcelona on Saturday and the Teatro Circo in Cartagena for the Cartagena Jazz Festival on Sunday.

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Dawn Upshaw joins the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Gustavo Dudamel in two performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall
in Los Angeles this weekend. The program, to be given on Saturday night with an encore performance on Sunday, includes Berio's Folk Songs and Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony.

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As reported in the Nonesuch Journal earlier today, Wilco's European tour continues this weekend with two stops in Italy. First up is a performance at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, tonight, followed by a set at Milan's Conservatorio on Saturday with Grizzly Bear supporting. Monday night's show at the Paradiso in Amsterdam will be webcast live on the band's site at wilcoworld.net/roadcase beginning at 9:15 PM in Amsterdam, 3:15 PM EST and 12:15 PST in the United States.