I’ve been going to the “ SummerStage PresentsThe Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series” longer than I’ve been doing rock nyc and I’ve had a thoroughly great time every single time. What the recital does is cure the problem of short attention span which can inflict the average Opera gooer in 2014. It is, of course, more like a rock show, with Arias, pas de deuxs and greatest moments from the history of Opera performed by great up and coming Opera star, and they tend to throw in a coupla pop hits as well). It is a glorious thing for a hot summer night, a real pleasure and and incredible buzz and it is, of course, free. Here is the press release which even tells you who is performing this year on Monday June 23 rd and has every chance of filling up entirely so get there early:
“Event Details This is a FREE show. Tickets are not required. Patrons will be admitted first come, first in, until the venue reaches capacity. Website: metopera.org/summer
An enchanting evening of favorite opera arias and duets featuring Metropolitan Opera stars.
Amber Wagner (soprano) is a winner of the Met’s 2007 National Council Auditions and was featured in the documentary about that competition, The Audition, which opened in movie theaters nationwide in 2009. She made her Met debut in the 2011-12 season as Anna in Nabucco and returned the following season as Amelia in a new production of Un Ballo in Maschera. She is a recent winner the Liederkranz Foundation Competition, Richard Tucker Career Grant Award, and Kirsten Flagstad Award with the George London Foundation as well as being the recipient of a Sullivan Foundation Career Grant.
Jamie Barton (mezzo-soprano) was the winner of both the Main and the Song Prizes at the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and a winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She made her Met debut in the 2009-10 season as the Second Lady in Die Zauberflte and this past fall triumphed as Adalgisa in Norma. An avid recitalist, Barton has appeared with the Marilyn Horne Foundation at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall with tenor Russell Thomas as well as in a solo recital with the “On Wings of Song” series. She made her debut at Clayton State Uiniversity’s Spivey Hall singing Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody, which was also broadcast on NPR.
Russell Thomas (tenor) is a graduate of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. He is establishing himself as one of the most exciting talents on the international opera and concert scene, most recently as winner of the Vi’as Competition in Barcelona (First Prize, Audience Favorite, and Best Tenor) and at the Competizione dell’Opera in Dresden. He made his Met debut in the 2004-05 season as the Herald in Don Carlo and has since sung principal roles in Fidelio, a new production of Macbeth, Die Zauberflte, the Met premiere of Attila, Der Fliegende Hollnder, Wozzeck, and La Clemenza di Tito. Dan Saunders is increasingly well known to audiences around the world as an accomplished conductor and pianist. An assistant conductor to James Levine and Seiji Ozawa and a recitalist with many of the world’s finest soloists, he served as the associate conductor of the Virginia Opera from 2000 until 2006 and is currently an assistant conductor with the Met. This past season, he served on the music staff for Met productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Der Rosenkavalier, Die Fledermaus, and Arabella.
