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10th Anniversary Gala Concert
There's No Place Like Home" |
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Saturday, March 26, 2011, 6:00 PM
Century II Performing Arts Center, Concert Hall |
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Kansas' Big Three of the Metropolitan Opera
Come home for this first ever historic concert by world-renowned Maestro Steven Mercurio |
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| Wichita Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus |
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Samuel Ramey
Bass
"Ramey's singing is the stuff of which operatic legends are made."
- New York Post
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Joyce DiDonato
Mezzo-soprano
"The triumphant American mezzo-sporano brought the house down with a brilliant display of vocal fireworks."
- La Croix
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Alan Held
Baritone
"Held's voice is perfect, with clarity of diction and sustained power for Wagner's demanding lines and massive orchestration."
- The Washington Post
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Steven Mercurio
Conductor
"It was extremely clear that Mercurio "got it" - his conducting was animated, dramatic and just plain fun."
- On Portland
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This production is sponsored in part by:
Mrs. Velma Wallace, Dr. & Mrs. George Farha,
and Hal & Mary Lou Ross |
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Stars Bios:
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Steven Mercurio:
Conductor
Maestro Steven Mercurio returns to Wichita Grand Opera following his phenomenal Carmen last season. He arrives directly following the conclusion of an 80-city tour of Europe and North America with Sting and the Royal Philharmonic. He is an internationally acclaimed conductor and composer whose musical versatility encompasses the symphonic, operatic, pop, and film worlds. His engagements have taken him to many of the world’s best loved opera houses including the Teatro dell’Opera in Roma, the Teatro Bellini in Catania, and English National Opera. He has conducted several telecasts including the “Christmas in Vienna” series with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra for Sony Classical highlighted by the 1999 concert featuring “The Three Tenors.” His film conducting credits include the scores of Pet Sematary, Batman and Robin, Frida (2003 Academy Award Winner – Best Original Score), and SWAT. He also conducted the now-classic PBS broadcast special “American Dream – Andrea Bocelli’s Statue of Liberty concert” with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. |
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Samuel Ramey:
Bass
Samuel Ramey, declared “a national treasure” by the Los Angeles Times, returns to Wichita Grand Opera for the third time in five seasons, following his appearances in Tosca and Faust. Mr. Ramey is a living legend, with a career spanning more than three decades in the world’s premiere opera houses and concert halls. He is best known for his performances as Méphistophélès from Gounod’s Faust, the title role of Boito’s Mefistofele, Berlioz’ devil in La damnation de Faust, the tour de force of all four villains in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and more than fifty other roles. His biography, “Samuel Ramey, American Bass” by internationally-bestselling author Jane Scovell, has recently been published by Baskerville Publishers. A native of Colby, Kansas, Samuel Ramey was named “Kansan of the Year” in 1995, and in 1998 the French Ministry of Culture awarded him the rank of Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters. |
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Joyce DiDonato:
Mezzo-soprano
Joyce DiDonato returns to Wichita Grand Opera following her phenomenal performances in WGO’s 2009 Barber of Seville. Among the world’s most charismatic performers, Ms. DiDonato consistently earns ecstatic reviews wherever she sings. Born and educated in Kansas, her signature parts are in Rossini’s La cenerentola and Il barbiere di Siviglia, and she is equally in demand as an interpreter of many roles by Mozart and Handel. She has become a superstar in just the few short years following her operatic debut at the Paris Opera, and she is currently the leading mezzo-soprano on the stages of The Met, Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, and Paris Opera. Among the numerous awards bestowed upon Ms. DiDonato are The Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Award and The Royal Philharmonic Society’s Singer of the Year Award. Following her appearance in Wichita, she can be seen in Le Comte Ory and Ariadne auf Naxos at the Metropolitan Opera, and Cendrillon at Royal Opera Covent Garden. |
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Alan Held:
Bass-baritone
Making his debut on the Wichita Grand Opera stage, American bass-baritone Alan Held is one of the world’s leading singing actors. He has taken starring roles in all the world’s finest opera houses, including the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, Paris Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and nearly 200 performances at the Metropolitan Opera. His many roles include Wotan in Wagner’s Der Ring Des Nibelungen, Leporello in Don Giovanni, and the Four Villains in The Tales of Hoffmann. Mr. Held has worked with internationally renowned conductors including James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Valery Gergiev, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Following his appearance with Wichita Grand Opera, he can be seen in Salome at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and in Rusalka at Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Birgit Nilsson Award. |
