FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 23, 2015 Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5718;
[email protected] ALAN GILBERT AND THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence ERIC OWENS To Perform Richard STRAUSS Songs and Final Scene from Act III of WAGNER’s Die Walküre With Soprano HEIDI MELTON in Her Philharmonic Debut Program Also To Include WAGNER’s Ride of the Valkyries and SIBELIUS’s En saga Saturday Matinee Concert To Feature Grieg’s String Quartet Performed by Philharmonic Musicians January 7–9 and 12, 2016 Bass-baritone Eric Owens will continue his tenure as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in- Residence with performances, led by Music Director Alan Gilbert, of Richard Strauss songs — “Ruhe, meine Seele,” Op. 27, No. 1; “Cäcilie,” Op. 27, No. 2; “Pilgers Morgenlied,” Op. 33, No. 4 — and the Final Scene from Act III of Die Walküre, alongside soprano Heidi Melton in her Philharmonic debut. The program also includes Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries and Sibelius’s En saga, one of several programs this season honoring the 150th anniversary of Sibelius’s birth. The performances take place Thursday, January 7, 2016, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 8 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, January 9 at 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, January 12 at 7:30 p.m. These performances mark Mr. Owens’s first time singing Wotan in New York. He has been widely acclaimed for his mastery of the German Romantic repertoire, including his celebrated performance as Alberich in The Metropolitan Opera’s 2012 production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle.