BOSTON, MA, March 29, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ -- On Sunday, May 31, 2009 at 3:00 p.m., Chorus pro Musica, led by guest conductor Jeffrey Rink, celebrates Giacomo PucciniÕs 150th anniversary with a concert performance of his grand opera Turandot at NEC's Jordan Hall, starring soprano Othalie Graham as Turandot, tenor Kip Wilborn as Calaf, and soprano Eleni Calenos as Liu. The performance also features Boston audience favorites David Kravitz, Frank Kelly, and Charles Blandy as Ping, Pang, and Pong. as well as the Boston City Singers, Jane Money, Artistic Director. At 2 p.m. in the hall, opera expert Michael Sims will discuss the history and development of Puccini's opera. The lecture and performance are sponsored by Concert Opera Boston.
Considered Puccini's masterpiece, Turandot remains as popular today as at its premiere in 1926. Set in China in "legendary times," it tells the story of Prince Calaf's courtship of the icy princess Turandot, whose suitors must successfully answer three riddles or face certain death. The prince succeeds and then poses his own riddle to Turandot: she must discover his name. The opera is full of fiery, exotic music and soaring melodies, including the sublime tenor aria ÒNessun dorma.Ó
Othalie Graham has become one of the leading young interpreters of the role of Turandot since her auspicious debut in the role with Opera Delaware in 2004, in which she was hailed for her Òimperious presence and powerful voice.Ó The Salt Lake Tribune subsequently called her "a young dramatic soprano who is destined for international stardom." Kip Wilborn is a leading operatic tenor who has received acclaim for roles including Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Don Jose in Carmen. His debut solo CD with the Moravian Philharmonic, Be My Love, received a Surround Music Awards nomination for the best new artist of 2005; it includes a recording of "Nessun Dorma."
Turandot continues Chorus pro Musica's long tradition of concert opera performances under Jeffrey Rink, which began in 1992 with performances of Carmen at Symphony Hall and at WorcesterÕs Mechanics Hall. That tradition includes a standing-room-only performance of Turandot at Jordan Hall on May 31, 1998. In 2008, Jordan Hall was sold out when chorus again presented Carmen, with mezzo-soprano Victoria Livengood in the title role. In 2007, the chorus performed Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, and in 2006 they gave the premiere Boston performance of Verdi's Attila. Earlier successes with Othello, Macbeth, Nabucco, and La traviata led to RinkÕs being hailed as ÒBostonÕs pre-eminent Verdi conductorÓ by the Boston Phoenix.
Music Director of Chorus pro Musica from 1990Ð2008, Jeffrey Rink is the 2005 recipient of the New England Opera Club's Jacopo Peri Award for outstanding contributions in the art of opera. In 2007, he was named Music Director of the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra in Niceville, Florida, where he also holds the Mattie Kelly Distinguished Chair in Music at Okaloosa-Walton College.
Concert tickets are $37, $57 and $77 (which includes a $2 fee for the preservation and maintenance of Jordan Hall), with discounts available on selected seats for groups, students, seniors and WGBH members. Reserved seats may be selected and tickets purchased at http://www.choruspromusica.org, or by phone (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) at 800-658-4CPM (800-658-4276). Tickets will also be available at the Jordan Hall Box Office [30 Gainsborough Street, Boston] beginning May 11. For group ticket sales or wheelchair-accessible seats, call 617-267-7442.
Chorus pro Musica is a distinguished, independent Boston-based chorus recognized for versatility and excellence in performing traditional, adventurous and seldom-heard works. The chorus was founded in 1949 by the late Alfred Nash Patterson and quickly built a superb reputation for its professional-level musical standards and innovative programming. These strengths have led to collaborations with such organizations as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra as well as with opera companies including the Opera Company of Boston and Commonwealth Opera.
See the Chorus pro Musica online press kit at: http://www.choruspromusica.org/press.shtml
About Sue Auclair Promotions
Sue Auclair Promotions is a public relations and marketing firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, contact us at 617-522-1394 or go to: http://www.sueauclair.com
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- classical, concert, concerts, graham, jeffrey, kip, music, opera, othalie, rink, turandot, wilborn
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