The Opera Orchestra Of New York Presents Verdi`s I due Foscari

The OperaOrchestra
of New York
For Immediate Release
Contact:Cohn Dutcher Associates
Dan Dutcher,977.339.7157, [email protected]
Lois Cohn, 9 17.339.7187,[email protected]
GeorgeBerry, 9 17.339.7189, gberry@cohndutcher.
com
The Opera
JuliannaDi Giacomo
Photo: Devon Cass
Verdi's
I Due Foscuri
CarnegieHall
Thursday,December13, 2007,7:30 p.m.
Who:
The OperaOrchestraof New York with Music Director Eve Queler
When:
Thursday,December13, 2007,7:30p.m.
Where:
CarnegieHall
Program:
Verdi's I Due Foscari
Tickets:
Call The OperaOrchestraof New York PatronServices,212.799.1982;E-mail
[email protected];Call CarnegieCharge,212.247.7800;or visit CamegieHall box office (MSa.11a.m.-6p.m.,
Su. 12-6p.m.)
PressTickets : GeorgeBerry, 9 17.339.7189, sberry@cohndutcher.
com
New York, NY- The OperaOrchestraof New York, led by Music Director Eve Queler,opensits 37th
seasonon Thursda)'.December13. 2007 at CarnegieHall at 7:30 p.m. with Verdi's rarely-performed1
Due Foscari, staring sopranoJulianna Di Giacomo, tenors Aquiles Machado and Luke Grooms, baritone
Paolo Gavanelli,and bassRicardoLugo. The performancewill be presentedwith supertitles.
Ms. Queler revisits early Verdi with the I Due Foscari (1844), a classic strugglebetween family loyalty
and political reality, set in l5th centuryVenice under FrancescoFoscari,the city's longestreigning Doge.
The cast will include baritone Paolo Gavanelli as the Doge, with The Metropolitan Opera's rising
Venezuelantenor Aquiles Machado as his son. SopranoJulianna Di Giacomo will sing Lucrezia, and
tenor Luke Grooms will assumethe role of Fante.The performancewill include projections of great
Venetian Renaissanceartwork depicting the city and the actual historic charactersfeaturedin the opera.
Music Director Eve Queler says,"With a gteatorchestra,exceptionalsoloists,and repertoire from world
class composerssuch as Verdi, Bellini, Puccini, and many others, I am excited about the 2007-2008
Seasonwith The Opera Orchestraqf Ndw York. I am also honoredthat the orchestrais celebratingmy
100thperfonnance,and I look forward to continuing to sharemy love of opera with New York
audiences."
Eve Oueler. Music Director
As Music Director of The OperaOrchestraof New York, Eve Quelerhas conductedover 90 operasin
concert at CarnegieHall. Standingout ar4ongher many successesare Wagner's Rienzi and Tristan und
Isolde, Berlioz's BenvenutoCellini, Smetana'sD'alibor, and RichardStrauss'sDie Liebe der Danae. She
received one of the highest awardspresentedby the French governmentwhen shewas named a Chevalier
de I'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture for her commitment to French
operas.MaestroQueleralso receivedthe prestigiousTouchstoneAward from Women In Music, Inc., in
recognition of her visionary spirit as one of the "Women Who Make a Difference."
Eve Queler has championedmany neglectedRussianand Czech operasthat are sdples in central Europe
but virtually unknown in America. She was the first conductor in America to perform Mussorgsky's
unfinishedKhovanshchina,withorchestrationby Shostakovich,as well as the first Czech-language
performanceof Janacek'sKatya Kabanova(1979),Jenfifa(1988),and Dvoiak's Rusalka(1987).
Artists
Julianna Di Giacomo.soprano
Julianna Di Giacomo makesher CarnegieHall debut as Lucrezia in I Due Foscari in 2007. At the 2007
CaramoorInternational Music Festival, she sangthe role of Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore. She began
the 2006 seasonwith a highly acclaimeddebut as Fiordiligi in Cosifan tutte with New York City Opera
under the baton of Julius Rudel, for which shewas named City Opera's debut artist of the year. Shejoined
the roster of The Metropolitan Opera for Suor Angelica, Idomeneo, and The Magic Flute, and made her
debut as Clotilde in Norma. Ms. Di Giacomo returnedto New York City Opera to sing Donna Elvira in
Don Giovanni, and also sangthe Countessin Ze nozzedi Figaro for Opera Grand Rapids.
During the 2005-2006Season,Ms. Di Giacomo coveredthe roles of Jenny inThe Mines of Sulphur and
the title role in Mark Adamo's new operaLysistrata with New York City Opera. Other New York
engagementshave included soloist with Eve Queler's The Opera Orchestraof New York on its fall gala
concert and as Fiora in Montemezzi's L'qmore dei tre re, YOX Showcaseof American composerswith
the New York City Opera Orchestra,and performancesof Puccini songsand arias with the Nilas Martins
Dance Company.
Other roles Ms. Di Giacomo has performed include Violetta in La Traviata,both at the RedlandsBowl
and in concert with the Marina del Rey Summer Symphony series,sponsoredby the Los Angeles Opera,
Mimi in La Bohime, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Alice Ford in
Falstffi Suor Genevieffain SuorAngelica, andthe High PriestessinAida.
Aquiles Machado. tenor
Aquiles Machado has made guest appearancesworldwide. His repertoire comprises,among other roles,
Verdi's Rigoletto andLa Traviata, Puccini'sLa Bohdme and Gianni Schicchi, and Donizettl's Luci(t di
Lammermoor.Mr. Machadobeganhis tlaining at the Sim6n Bolivar Conservatoryin Caracas,and
continued his studiesat the national'operaensemblein his native country. He attendedmasterclasseswith
Katia Ricciarelli and JuneAnderson, in addition to receiviqg grants in 1994 andl995 from the Spanish
Bank and the Mozarteum Venezuela.He has received a number of first prizes in competitions, such as the
Operalia competition in Tokyo and the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, in Wales.
Luke Grooms. tenor
Luke Grooms is quickly earning a name for himsblf around the country as an up-and-comingleading
tenor. In the 2007-2008seasonMr. Grooms will be heard with Ensembledu Monde as Belmonte at the
HeckscherTheater,as well as Jaquino in Fidelio for Empire Opera, and will join The Metropolitan Opera
as a cover in The Gambler by Prokofiev. Mr. Grooms'swork focusesmainly on the Bel Canto and Mozart
repertoire.
Mr. Groomswas recentlyheardas Don Ottavio in Don Giovanniwith ChelseaOptera.Other roles have
inluded Riccardo Percy in Anna Bolena, Nemorino, Albert Herring, and The Duke in Rigoletto, Ruggero
in La Rondine,Rinuccio, Elvino, Pinkerton, and Leon in Pasatieri'sSignor Deluso, Rodolfo in Les Contes
D'Hoffmann (cover),Tonio in La Fille du Regiment,andSamin CarlisleFloyd's Susannah.
Paolo Gavanelli" baritone
Paolo Gavanelli, bom in Padua,Italy, first studied law before turning to singing. He made his debut as
Leporello in Don Giovanni, and soon after performed in the great operahousesof the world, such as those
of Milan, Rome, Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Tokyo, and London. Mr. Gavanelli regularly appearsin all the
important baritone roles of the Italian repertoire,at The Metropolitan Opera, San FranciscoOpera, Royal
Opera House, Covent Garden,and the Bavarian StateOpera in Munich. At the latter, since 1989,he has
appearedfrequently in new productions of Belcanto and Verdi operas.Mr. Gavanelli's repertoire extends
to over 50 roles, and in recent yearshe has made a specialname for himself as an interpreterof Verdi:
Nabucco, Rigoletto, Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra,Falstaff, Jago,Renato,Germont, Conte di Luna, and
Amonasro are roles he has performed on stagearound the world with leading conductorsand directors
such as Solti, Whun Chung, Muti, Mehta, Haitink, Barenboim, Ozawa, Zeffirelli, Savary,Kupfer, and
Pizzi.In July 2005, Paolo Gavanelli was awardedthe Bavarian title of Kammersdnger.Paolo Gavanelli
may be heard and seenin various operarecordings,among them Nabucco, Le Bohdme,Beatrice di Tenda,
P oliuto, andRigoletto.
Ricardo Lugo. bass
During the 2006-2007Season,Puerto Rican BassRicardo Lugo debutedwith both The Metropolitan
Opera and Washington National Opera.He also performed the role of Sparafucllein Rigoletto with Opera
Southwestin Albuquerque,New Mexico.
In Summer 2006, Ricardo Lugo was an apprenticeartist during The SantaFe Opera's 2006 Festival
Season,and was featuredas the King in a new production of Cendrillon, andas the First Soldier in
Richard Straussns
Salome.
r
Mr. Lugo madehis American debuiwith the Aspen Music Festivalin 2001,performing Don Basillo in
Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Ludovico in Verdi's Qtello-the latter a role he reprisedwith Opera
Tampa.
The Opera Orchestra of New York
\
The Opera Orchestraof New York is one,of New York City's cultural phenomena.Long noted for
important discoveriesof repertoire and singers,e'achperformanceat CarnegieHall is judged a "must
attend"event for seriousopera-goersfrom around the globe. Year after year, the starswhom Queler has
discoveredand brought up through the ranks come back to collaboratein new ventures.Since 1972,The
The Opera Orchestraof New York has made a profound impact on the musical and cultural vitality of
NYC, a servicerecognizedin writing by PresidentClinton, Governor Pataki, and Mayor Giuliani on
Opera Orchestraof New York's 25th Anniversary. In May 2006, the Metropolitag Chapterof the
Victorian Society in America awardedThe Opera Orchestraof New York a Special Citation for 35 years
of performing lesser-known 19th and early 20th century operas.
The Opera Orchestraof New York has been a powerful and influential presencein the opera world,
selling out CarnegieHall since 1971. The Opera Orchestraof New York has featuredcastsof singers
carefully matchedto the repertory, from artists of intemational stature(such as Placido Domingo, Nicolai
Gedda,Montserrat Caball6 and Alfredo Kraus) to superlativeyoung singersjust launching their careers.
Since its inception, The Opera Orchestraof New York has been a daring musical organization.Among the
numerousAmerican premieresit has performed are Puccini's Edgar with Carlo Bergonzi and Renata
Scotto; Boito's Nerone with JamesMorris and Pablo Elvira; and Smetana'sLibuse with Gabriela
Benackov6and Paul Plishka. An important The Opera Orchestraof New York perforrnancewas the New
York premiere of Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans, featuring Dolora Zajick and Jorma Hynninen,
marking the American premiere of the Russianlanguageversion. The ensemblehas also presentedworks
long neglectedin New York, suchas Wagner'sRienzi,Verdi's I lombardi, Bizet's Lesp€cheursde
perles, and Catalanl's La Wally. Other operasthat The Opera Orchestraof New York has brought to New
'Africaine, Les Huguenots, andRobert le Diable; Verdi's Nabucco, I
York include Meyerbeer's I
masnadieri,Aroldo, andLa battaglia di Legnano; Berlioz's Ldlio andBenvenutoCellini; and Smetana's
Dalibor. Most importantly, Opera Orchestraof New York's pioneering efforts have led national opera
companiesto add to their permanentrepertoiresworks that received their first major modern hearing at
The Opera Orchestraof New York. Theseinclude The Metropolitan, Chicago Lyric, San Francisco,and
HoustonGrandoperas;repertoireincludesVerdi's I lombardi, Donizetti's La Favorita,Zandonal's
Francesca da Rimini, Dvoi6k's Rusalkn, and Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina.
SUBSCRIPTION AITTDSINGLE TICKET IITIFORIVIATION:
Call The OperaOrchestraofNew York at 212.799.1982;
visit www.oony.org;Call CarnegieCharge,
212.247.7800;
visit CarnegieHall box office(M-SaI la.m.-6p.m.,Su 12-6p.m.).
For PressTiclrets.Contactl
GeorgeBerry
9r7.339.7189
[email protected]
,
I
Thursday.December13.2007.7:3.0p.m.
CARNEGIEHALL
VERDI
I Due Foscari
Julianna Di Giacomo, soprano
Aquiles Machado, tenor
Luke Grooms, tenor
Paolo Gavwtelli, baritone
Ricardo Lugo, bass
Eve Queler, conductor
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