The Opera Orchestra of New York, Announces 2007

THE OPERA
ORCHESTRA
OF NEWYORK
For Immediate Release
u
Contact:Cohn DutcherAssociates
DanDutcher,917.339.7| 57, ddutcher@cohndutcher.
com
Lois Cohn,917.339.7187,[email protected]
[email protected]
GeorgeBerry,917.339.7189,
The Opera Orchestraof New York,
Eve QueleroMusic Director,
Announces2007-2008Season
at CarnegieHall
SeasonOpenswith VerdiosI Due Foscuri
on December13,StarringJuliannaDi Giacomo
SeasonContinuesFebruary27r2008with Bellini's
La Sonnambula
March 6 Gala Evening:
Eve Queleros100thPerformancewith
The OperaOrchestraof New York;
All-Star CastIncludes
Ren6eFlemingoAprile MillooKrassimiraStoyanova,
EgliseGutierrez,Dolora Zajick,
MarcelloGiordanioand GiuseppeFilianoti;
RenataScottoto ServeasMasterof Ceremonies
SeasonCloseson April 13with Puccini'sEdgar
with Marcello Giordani
New York, MI-The Opera OrchestraofNew York, led by Music Director Eve Queler,
opensits 37thseasonon Thursday,December13, 2007 atCarnegieHall at 7:30 p.m. with
Verdi's rarely-performedoperaI Due Foscari, starring sopranoJuliannaDi Giacomo, tenors
Aquiles Machado and Luke Grooms, baritone Paolo Gavanelli, and bassRicardo Lugo. The
seasoncontinueson February27,2008 at 7:30 p.m. with a performanceof Bellini's
La Sonnambula,featuing sopranosElizabeth Caballeroand Eglise Gutierrez, mezzosopranoLatra Vlasak Nolen, tenor Dmitry Korchak, bass-baritoneBrian Kontes, bass
Femrccio Furlanetto,and the New York Choral Society with Music Director John Daly
Goodwin. A gala concert on Thursday,March 6'nat 8:00 p.m. will celebrateMaestro
Queler's 100'nperfonnancewith the ensembleat Camegie Hall. The all-star cast includes
sopranosRen6eFleming, Aprile Millo, Krassimira Stoyanova,Eglise Gutierrez, andmezzosopranoDolora Zajick; tenors Marcello Giordani and GiuseppeFilianoti; and Master of
CeremoniesRenataScotto. The orchestrawill conclude its2007-2008 seasonon Sunday,
April 13that 8:00 p.m. with Puccini'sEdgar,againfeaturing Mr. Giordani,as well as
sopranoLatonia Moore, and baritonesStephenGaertnerand Giovanni Guagliardo. For this
performance,the orchestrawill again collaboratewith the New York Choral Society.
Music Director Eve Queler siys, "With a greatorchestra,exceptional soloists,and repertoire
from world class composerssuch as Verdi, Bellini, Puccini, and many others, I am excited
about the 2007-2008Seasonwith The Opera Orehestraof New York. I am also honored that
the orchestrais celebratingmy l00th perfonnance,and I look forward to continuing to share
my love of operawith New York audiences."
,
For the first time, in the 2007-2008Season,The Opera Orchestraof New York will present
two of its performances,IDue Foscariand La Sonnambula,with supertitles.
December 13.2007.7230p.m..Yerdi's I Due Foscari
Eve Quelerrevisits early Verdi with the rarely performedI Due Foscari (1844),a classic
strugglebetween family loyalty and political reality, set in intrigue-filled l5th century
Venice under FrancescoFoscari,the city's longestreigning Doge. Baribne Paolo Gavanelli
assumesthis great role, with The Met's rising Venezuelantenor Aquiles Machado as his son.
SopranoJulianna Di Giacomo will sing Lucrezia. Tenor Luke Grooms will perform the role
of Fante,and bassRicardo Lugo will portray Loredano.The performancewill include
projections of great Venetian Renaissanceartwork depicting the city and the actualhistoric
charactersfeaturedin the opera.
F ebruarv 27. 2008. 7 :30 p.m.. Bellini' s La Son nambu la
The haunting melodies of Bellini's La Sonnambula(1831) have made it a popular vehicle
for sopranos, including Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, and Renata Scotto. Ruth Ann
Swenson's memorable 1999 perforrnancewith The Opera Orchestra of New York brought
down the house. Cuban sopranoEglise Gutierrez, whom The Opera Orchestraof New York
has presentedin Mignon and,Lalcrn6,will sing Amina, the innocent country girl. She stars
opposite Dmitry Korchak, whose outstanding tenor won ovations in this past year's Dom
Sebastien. Metropolitan Opera bass Femrccio Furlanetto and bass-baritone Brian
Kontes,.alongwith mezzo-sopranoLaura Vlasak Nolen, completesthe cast for Bellini's
beloved opera. Ira Siff will serveas director of the semi-stagedperformance.
March 6.2008. 8:00 p.m.. Eve Queleros100thPerformance with The Opera Orchestra
of New York
In celebrationof Eve Queler's 100thperforrnancewith The Opera Orchestraof New York at
CarnegieHall, the orchestrawill presenta galaevening featuring world renowned singers,
including three beloved starswhose careersMaestro Queler has done much to foster:
Marcello Giordani, Aprile Millo, and Ren6eFleming. RenataScotto will serveas Master of
Ceremonies,in a program of Rossini, Donizetti, Meyerbeer,Ponchielli, Cilda, and other
favorite composers,as audienceswill relive gteat musical moments from the history of The
Opera Orchestraof New York.
April 13. 2008. 8:00 p.m.. Puccini's Edgsr
The Opera Orchestra of New York's legendary 1977 perfonnance and Sony BMG
Masterworks' recording of Puccini's early Edgar (1889), with Carlo Bergonzi and Renata
Scotto, put this exciting work on the intemational map. Music Director Eve Queler returns
to the medieval tale of the knight, Edgar (Marcello Giordani), caught between sacred and
profane loves. The fast-rising and radiant-voiced young Texan sopranoLatonia Moore sings
Fidelia. Baritones Stephor Gaertner and Giovanni Guagliardo, in the roles of Frank and
Gualtiero,respectively,completethe cast.
Eve Oueler. Music Director
As Music Director of The Opera Orchestraof New York, Eve Queler has conductedover 90
operasin concert at CarnegieHall. Standingout among her many successesare Wagner's
Rienzi and Tristan und Isolde, Berlioz'p BenvenutoCellini, Smetana'sDalibor, and Richard
Strauss'sDie Liebe der Danae. She received one of the highest awardspresentedby the
French govemment when she was named a Chevalier de I'Ordre des Arts et des Lcttres by
the French Minister of Culture for her commitment to French operas.Maestro Queler also
receivedthe prestigiousTouchstoneAward from Women In Music, Inc., in recognitionof
her visionary spirit as one of the "Women Who Make a Difference."
Eve Queler has championedmany neglectedRussianand Czech op..uJrru, are staplesin
central Europe but virtually unknown in America. She was the first conductor in America to
perform Mussorgsky's unfinished Khovanshchina,with orchestrationby Shostakovich,as
well as the first Czech-languageperformanceof Janacek'sKatya Kabanova (1979), Jenfifa
(1988),and Dvorak'sRusalka(1987).
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,eachperformanceat Camegie Hall
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 OperaOrchestraof New York has madea
profound impact on the musical and cultural vitality of NYC, a service recognizedin writing
by PresidentClinton, Governor Pataki, and Mayor Giuliani on The Opera Orchestraof New
York's 25th Anniversary. In May 2006, the Metropolitan Chapterof the Victorian Society in
America awardedThe Opera Orchestraof New York a Special Citation for 35 years of
performing lesser-known l9th 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 featuring castsof singerscarefully matchedto
the repertory, from artists of international 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 RenataScotto; Boito's Nerone with JamesMorris and Pablo
Elvira; and Smetana'sLibuse with Gabriela Benackov6and Paul Plishka. An important
performanceby The Opera Orchestraof New York was 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 presented
works long neglectedin New York, suchas Wagner'sRienzi,Verdi's I lombardi, Bizet's
Lesp€cheurs deperles, and Catalani's La Wally. Other operasthat The Opera Orchestraof
New York has brought to New York include Meyerbeer'sZ'Africaine, Les Huguenots, and
Robert le Diable; Verdi's Nabucco,I mqsnadieri,Aroldo, andLa battaglia di Legnano;
Berlioz's L,llio andBenvenutqCellini; and Smetana'sDalibor. Most importantly, The Opera
Orchestraof New York'spioneering efforts have led national opera companiesto add to
their permanentrepertoiresworks that receivedtheir first major modern hearing at The
Opera Orchestraof New York. Theseinclude The Metropolitan, Chicago Lyric, San
Francisco,and Houston Grand operas;repertoire includes Verdi's I lombardi,Donizetti's La
Favorita,Zandonal'sFrancescada Rimini, Dvoi6k's Rusalkn,and Mussorgsky's
\
Khovanshchina.
New York Choral Societv
r
New York Choral Society(NYCS), foundedin 1958and led for the past 20 seasonsby
Music Director John Daly Goodwin, has becomeknown for the quality of its perforrnances
and the diversity of its repertoire.The NYCS has presentedl0 world premieres,including
works commissionedfrom Paul Alan Levi. Morton Gould. and Robert DeCormier.
In December 2006,New York Choral Society presentedits popular Clrf,frt*o, at Carnegie
Hall concert.In March2007, the ensembleperformedVaughanWilliams's Mass in G Minor
and Britten's St.Nicolas, at St. Bartholomew'sChurch.To closethe season,NYCS returned
to CarnegieHall to perform Philip Glass'sltaipu and GeorgeGershwin's Porgt and Bess.
Guestperformancesin the 2006-2007Seasonincluded the Society's l3th appearanceat the
Richard Tucker Music Gala, a performancewith Andrea Bocelli in Madison SquareGarden,
a return engagementwith The Opera Orchestraof New York, featuring Cilea's L'Arlesiana,
and a perfonnance of Bruckner's Te Deum with the New JerseyYouth Symphony.
SUBSCRIPTION AND SINGLE TICKET INFORMATION:
Call The OperaOrchestraof New York at 2l2.7gg.lg82; visit www.oony.org;Call Carnegie
Charge,212.247.7800;
visit CarnegieHall box office (M-Sa. 11 a.m.-6p.m.,Su. 12-6p.m.)
For PressTickets. Contact:
GeorgeBerry
917.339.1189
[email protected]
###