<<

PROGRAM:

Friday, April 11, 2014 / 7:30 pm / Bing Concert Hall

PROGRAM Amy Beach The Year’s at the Spring, op. 44, no. 1 (1867–1944) Ah, Love, But a Day, op. 44, no. 2 I Send My Heart Up to Thee, op. 44, no. 3

Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Ya li v pole da ne travushka byla, op. 47, no. 7 (1840 –1893) Den’ li tsarit? op. 47, no. 6

Richard Strauss Ich trage meine minne, op. 32, no. 1 (1864 –1949) Schlechtes wetter Lob des leidens, op. 15, no. 3 Ach, lieb, ich muss nun scheiden, op. 21, no. 3

*INTERMISSION*

Ben Moore I Am in Need of Music (b. 1960) This Heart That Flutters To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time Bright Cap and Streamers

Leonard Bernstein piccola Serenata (1918–1990) So Pretty Greeting DEBORAH Another Love It’s Gotta Be Bad to Be Good VOIGT Somewhere William Bolcom Toothbrush Time (b. 1938) At the Last Lousy Moments of Love George

ARTISTS Deborah Voigt, Brian Zeger, Piano

A program insert will be provided at the performance.

Columbia Artists Management, Inc. Personal Direction: Tim Fox 1790 Broadway, New York, NY 10019 www.cami.com

PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Please be considerate of others and turn off all phones, pagers, and watch alarms, and unwrap all lozenges prior to the performance. Photography and recording of any kind are not permitted. Thank you.

26 Stanford Live Magazine April/May 2014 DEBORAH VOIGT vulnerability that moved and engaged Leonora (), and La Deborah Voigt is increasingly recognized the audience.” In concert, she appeared Gioconda. Ms. Voigt’s wide-ranging as one of the world’s most versatile with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande repertoire also includes starring roles singers and one of music’s most and Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchester, in in Strauss’s Egyptian Helen, Der endearing personalities. Through her addition to taking part in Christmas rosenkavalier, and ; Wagner’s performances and television appearances, concerts with the Mormon Tabernacle ; and Berlioz’s . she has distinguished herself through Choir. Throughout the season, Ms. Voigt the singular power and beauty of her serves as the first artist-in-residence Ms. Voigt’s discography includes voice as well as for her captivating in the Washington National ’s two popular solo recordings for EMI stage presence. A leading dramatic Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. Classics, both of which were critical soprano, internationally revered for successes. her performances in the of It was on television that Ms. Voigt made praised the “discerning eye” behind the Wagner and , she is also her first appearances of the 2012–13 adventurous choice of repertoire for celebrated for her portrayals of some of season, when she hosted a special All My Heart with pianist Brian Zeger the greatest heroines of Italian opera. five-night presentation of Wagner’s and noted that it was “performed by a An active recitalist and performer of complete Ring cycle on the PBS series voice outstanding not only for tone and Broadway standards and popular songs, at the Met. Robert power but for interpretive subtlety and Ms. Voigt has an extensive discography Lepage’s visionary new staging, which emotional nuance.” Voigt’s earlier disc, and has given many enthusiastically starred Ms. Voigt as Brünnhilde, was Obsessions, presents scenes and received master classes. She also also released as a Blu-ray DVD set that from operas by Wagner and Strauss. appears regularly, as both performer won the Grammy Award for Best Opera Gramophone’s review of the Billboard and host, in the ’s Recording of 2013. The production top-five best seller states, “The arias The Met: Live in HD series, which was revived at the Metropolitan Opera highlight Voigt’s extraordinary ability to is transmitted live to movie theaters in the spring, showcasing Ms. Voigt in soar effortlessly and luminously above across the and overseas. the role that she made “exciting and the orchestra with her trademark rich, expressive” (New York Times) with a lustrous, never hard or brittle voice.” Ms. Voigt launched 2013–14 as host voice that “blazed with passion” (New Her recording of Strauss’s Egyptian of a star-studded Sing with Haiti York Daily News). Also last season, Ms. Helen was also a Billboard best seller benefit concert at San Francisco’s Grace Voigt hosted multiple transmissions— and was named one of the best CDs Cathedral to aid in the rebuilding including the season-opening event—of of that year by . A live of the Holy Trinity Music School the Met’s popular Live in HD series. recording of the 2003 Vienna State in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which was Performance highlights included starring Opera , in which Voigt destroyed in the earthquake of 2010. as Cassandre in Zambello’s revival made her headlining-role debut, was In the opera house, she makes her role of Berlioz’s Les Troyens at the Met; released by . debut as Marie in Berg’s Wozzeck at reprising her hit portrayal of Minnie the Metropolitan Opera, with Thomas in Puccini’s at A devotee of Broadway and American Hampson in the title role and James Belgium’s Opéra Royal de Wallonie; song, Ms. Voigt has given acclaimed Levine conducting, while recitals take and giving concert performances performances of popular fare, including her to numerous cities nationwide, in Beijing and Shanghai, China. benefit concerts for Broadway Cares/ including Miami, Fort Worth, Kansas Equity Fights AIDS and New York City, Sonoma, Palm Desert, Stanford, Throughout her career, Ms. Voigt has Theatre Workshop. “Voigt…comes and Boston. It was also in Boston that given definitive performances of iconic to pop singing naturally…If this were the soprano performed Voigt Lessons, roles in German opera, from Strauss’s 1970, she would probably be given the one-woman show she developed Ariadne, , Kaiserin (Die frau ohne her own network variety show,” raved with award-winning playwright Terrence schatten), and () Opera News. She has sung concerts McNally and director Francesca to Wagner’s Sieglinde (Die walküre), with and Dianne Reeves Zambello, which debuted to acclaim Elizabeth (Tannhäuser), and Isolde. She at the Hollywood Bowl and given at the in 2011; is also noted for her portrayals of such performances in ’s long- as Examiner.com observed, “The popular Italian operatic roles as , running American Songbook series, piece breathed spontaneity, wit, and , Amelia (), singing Broadway and popular standards.

encoremediagroup.com 27 PROGRAM: DEBORAH VOIGT

In the summer of 2011, Voigt won praise BRIAN ZEGER performances included collaborations as at the Glimmerglass Pianist Brian Zeger has built an with the Borromeo String Quartet Festival in Cooperstown, New York, important career not only as a and Brentano Quartet as well as with headlining in Irving Berlin’s beloved Annie pianist, appearing in distinguished Bernard Greenhouse, Glenn Dicterow, Get Your Gun as well as in Voigt Lessons. concert venues throughout the Eugene Drucker, and Paula Robison. A Variety reported, “Deborah Voigt, United States and Europe, but regular guest at many summer festivals, perhaps the foremost dramatic operatic also as an ensemble performer par including Aspen, Ravinia, Caramoor, soprano of the day…[is] profoundly excellence, radio broadcaster, artistic Aldeburgh, and Santa Fe, he has also aware that each song has a story to tell; administrator, and educator. collaborated regularly with An die her delivery is expressively honest and Musik and the her voice lustrous and creamy…Voigt During his extensive concert career, Ensembles and made concerto crosses the opera-Broadway boundary Mr. Zeger has collaborated with many appearances with the Boston Pops. with grace and elegance, harboring a of the world’s top singers, including strength reserved for special moments. , Deborah Voigt, Some of his critical essays and other She is also in the possession of a devilish Anna Netrebko, , René writings have appeared in Opera sense of humor, which was delightfully Pape, Dame , Piotr News, the Yale Review, and Chamber used to frame a lyric with a naughty Beczala, , Joyce DiDonato, Music magazine. He has appeared smile.” Millions of viewers heard Ms. Denyce Graves, and Adrianne frequently on the Metropolitan Opera Voigt sing “America the Beautiful” on Pieczonka. Recent and upcoming radio broadcasts both on the opera NBC’s nationwide broadcast of Macy’s engagements include recitals with Ms. quiz and as an intermission host and Independence Day fireworks show in Voigt, Ms. Netrebko, Ms. Graham, a performer. He has the distinction of 2004, and later that year, they witnessed Ms. Pieczonka, and Mr. Beczala. creating, narrating, and performing her majestic ride down Broadway in in five intermission features devoted to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She has In addition to his distinguished art song, a first in the long history of been profiled by many important national concert career, he also serves as artistic the Met broadcasts. He has adjudicated media outlets, such as CBS’s 60 Minutes, director of vocal arts at the Juilliard the Metropolitan Opera National Good Morning America, and Vanity Fair. School and the executive director of Council Auditions, the Concert Artists the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Guild auditions, and the Walter W. Ms. Voigt studied at California State Young Artist Development Program, Naumburg Vocal Competition. His University at Fullerton. She was a and until recently he served as the recordings may be heard on the EMI member of the ’s director of the vocal program at the Classics, New World, Naxos, and and won both Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Koch Entertainment record labels, the gold medal in Moscow’s International Festival. He has been on the faculties his most recent being a recital disc Tchaikovsky Competition and first of the Music Academy of the West with Paul Appleby as part of prize at Philadelphia’s in Santa Barbara, the Chautauqua the Juilliard Sessions debut series. International Vocal Competition. Ms. Institute, the Mannes College of Music, Voigt is a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts and the Peabody Conservatory and Born in upstate New York, Mr. Zeger is et des Lettres and was ’s has given master classes for numerous now a resident of Manhattan. He holds Vocalist of the Year in 2003. In 2007, institutions, including the Guildhall a bachelor’s degree in English literature she won an Opera News Award for School of Music and Drama in London, from Harvard College, a master’s distinguished achievement, and in 2009, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of degree from the , and a she received an honorary doctorate Music, Tanglewood Music Center, doctorate from the Manhattan School from the University of South Carolina. and the Marilyn Horne Foundation. of Music. His important teachers have Known to Twitter fans as a “dramatic included Morris Borenstein, Sascha soprano and down-to-earth diva,” Ms. Mr. Zeger also enjoys an active Gorodnitzki, and Nina Svetlanova. Voigt was named by the Los Angeles career as a chamber musician. From Times as one of the top 25 cultural 1993–2000, he was artistic director of For more information about Mr. tweeters to follow. She is currently writing the Cape and Islands Chamber Music Zeger’s activities, please visit his a memoir scheduled for publication Festival, headquartered on Cape Cod website, www.brianzeger.com. by HarperCollins later this year. and now in its 34th season, where his

28 Stanford Live Magazine April/May 2014