Contact: Jennifer Wada Communications 718-855-7101 [email protected]
ANTHONY ROTH COSTANZO, COUNTERTENOR, AND NADINE SIERRA,SOPRANO, CONCLUDE THE GEORGE LONDON FOUNDATION FOR SINGERS 2014-15 SEASON WITH A DUO RECITAL ON SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 2015, AT 4:30 PM
The George London Foundation’s season of events comes to a close with a duo recital by two young singers who both won George London Awards in 2010: countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, whose indelible performances in recent New York Philharmonic productions of Le Grand Macabre and A Dancer’s Dream have made him a New York favorite, and soprano Nadine Sierra, one of the youngest winners of the George London Award as well as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Joined by pianist Brian Wagorn, they will perform the last recital of the George London Foundation’s season on Sunday, March 22, 2015, at 4:30 PM at The Morgan Library & Museum.
Anthony Roth Costanzo will perform songs by Duparc and Liszt, and “Rompo I lacci” from Handel’s Flavio. Nadine Sierra will sing songs by Schubert, Turina, and Rorem, and an aria to be announced. Together, they will perform “Io t'abraccio” from Handel’s Rodelinda, and selections from Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. (Complete program follows below.)
The George London Foundation Recital Series, which is in its 19th year, presents pairs of outstanding opera singers, many of whom were winners of a George London prize early in their careers or are recent George London Award recipients. The foundation’s season of events at The Morgan includes three duo recitals and the annual George London Foundation Awards Competition.
Recent Praise for Costanzo and Sierra Anthony Roth Costanzo’s January appearance in Handel’s Saul with the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra won praise from James R. Oestreich in The New York Times, who said, “The countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo was utterly riveting as David, singing with a vocal purity and an emotional range that combined forcibly in this intimate space.” In October Costanzo made his San Francisco Opera debut in Partenope, about which Joshua Kosman said in the San Francisco Chronicle, “The young American countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo made an unforgettable company debut as Armindo...Costanzo shaped his character with an abundance of vocal allure and physical resourcefulness.” And when Nadine Sierra made her house and role debut at Valencia’s Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in February in the role of Norina in Don Pasquale, El Diario wrote, “With a bright and velvety George London Foundation Presents Anthony Roth Costanzo & Nadine Sierra, March 22, 2015 – P. 2 of 4
timbre, she captivated the audience with the agility of her flourishes and the naturalism of her top notes.”
At the 2013 Glimmerglass Festival, Costanzo and Sierra performed together in a staged version of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, about which The New York Times said, “The Pergolesi work … fluctuates between somberness and ecstasy, shadow and light: a complex mix brilliantly personified by the soprano Nadine Sierra and the countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo.”
Before the March event, the George London Foundation will present the 44th annual George London Foundation Awards Competition, three days of preliminary auditions culminating with the final round and award ceremony open to the public. The public is invited to attend the competition finals and awards announcement on Friday, February 27, 2015, at 4:00 PM. The 2014 competition winners were Norman Garrett, Cameron McPhail, Marina Harris, Tracy Cox, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Ray Chenez, and Ryan Speedo Green.
The Legacy of George London The goal of the George London Foundation, the support and nurturing of young singers, was an abiding interest of the great American bass-baritone George London, who devoted a great part of the time and energy of his later years to this purpose. “Remembering his difficult road to success, George wanted to devise a way to make the road a little easier for future generations of singers,” said George London Foundation President Nora London. Initially created under the auspices of the National Opera Institute, the George London Awards program has been administered since 1990 directly by the Foundation as a living legacy to George London’s own exceptional talent and generosity. www.georgelondon.org
Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo (2010 George London Award), a native of Durham, North Carolina, continues to build his reputation as one of the rising stars of the next generation of singers. This season, he makes his debuts at the San Francisco Opera in Partenope, Teatro Real in Death in Venice, and the English National Opera in The Indian Queen. Mr. Costanzo’s other recent opera engagements have included Rodelinda, The Enchanted Island, and Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera; his debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as Eustazio in Rinaldo, and Semele at the Canadian Opera Company. He also recently had the honor of appearing as a special guest artist in a traditional Kabuki production of The Tale Genji in Kyoto. As Opera News said in an October 2014 profile, “Fired by a vision of opera’s future — its potential to speak to new audiences and to touch hearts — Costanzo brings acute intellectual curiosity and a widely varied performing-arts pedigree to bear on the problem of ‘Where do we go from here?’” www.anthonyrothcostanzo.com
Soprano Nadine Sierra (2010 George London Award) is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Having made her professional debut as a teenager with the Palm Beach Opera, she received her first national exposure at just 15, when she sang “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi on NPR’s young artist showcase From the Top. After graduating from New York’s Mannes College of Music, she entered the Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera, where she made her company debut in 2011, creating the dual roles of Juliet and Barbara opposite Thomas George London Foundation Presents Anthony Roth Costanzo & Nadine Sierra, March 22, 2015 – P. 3 of 4
Hampson in the world premiere production of Christopher Theofanidis’s 9/11 opera, Heart of a Soldier. In the coming season, Sierra makes her Atlanta Opera debut as Gilda in a new staging of Verdi’s Rigoletto, and returns to the San Francisco Opera to sing Musetta in John Caird’s new production of La bohème and the Countess in John Copley’s iconic staging of Le nozze di Figaro. In concert, she joins the Cleveland Orchestra and Oregon Symphony for Orff’s Carmina Burana. www.nadinesierra.com
Sunday, March 22, 2015, at 4:30 PM Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library & Museum 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York City
The George London Foundation Recital Series presents ANTHONY ROTH COSTANZO, Countertenor NADINE SIERRA, Soprano Bryan Wagorn, Piano
Program subject to change
SCHUBERT “Lied des Florio” “Lied der Delphine” (Nadine Sierra & Bryan Wagorn)
DUPARC “Chanson triste” “L’invitation au voyage” “Phidylé” (Anthony Roth Costanzo & Bryan Wagorn)
TURINA “Cuando tan hermosa os miro” “Si con mis deseos” “Al val de Fuente Ovejuna” (Nadine Sierra & Bryan Wagorn)
HANDEL “Io t'abraccio” from Rodelinda (Nadine Sierra, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Bryan Wagorn)
HANDEL “Rompo i lacci” from Flavio (Anthony Roth Costanzo & Bryan Wagorn)
ROREM “Pippa's Song “ “Cradle Song” “In a Gondola” “Song for a Girl” (Nadine Sierra & Bryan Wagorn)
(Continued on next page) George London Foundation Presents Anthony Roth Costanzo & Nadine Sierra, March 22, 2015 – P. 4 of 4
LISZT “Im Rhein, im schönen Strome “ “In Liebeslust” “Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh” “Hohe Liebe” “Ihr Glocken von Marling” (Anthony Roth Costanzo & Bryan Wagorn)
Aria to be announced, performed by Nadine Sierra & Bryan Wagorn
PERGOLESI From Stabat Mater: “Fac ut ardeat” “Quando corpus morietur” (Nadine Sierra, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Bryan Wagorn)
Tickets: $45 Call (212) 956-2809, e-mail [email protected] www.georgelondon.org www.themorgan.org
Photos of Anthony Roth Costanzo: http://www.opus3artists.com/artists/anthony-roth-costanzo
Photos of Nadine Sierra: http://imgartists.com/artist/nadine_sierra
February 20, 2015