THE NATIONAL OPERA CENTER AMERICA EMERGING ARTIST RECITAL SERIES OPERA COLUMBUS COOPER-BING VOCAL COMPETITION WINNER OPERA AMERICA S PRESENTS

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1 OPERA AMERICA S EMERGING ARTIST RECITAL SERIES PRESENTS OPERA COLUMBUS COOPER-BING VOCAL COMPETITION WINNER The National Opera Center Sunday, September 13, :00 p.m. Antonina Chehovska, soprano Kathleen Kelly, pianist THE NATIONAL OPERA CENTER AMERICA

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3 PROGRAM Cigánské melodie (Gypsy Songs), op. 55 ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Má písen zas mi láskou zní (My Song of Love Rings Through the Dusk) Aj! Kterak trojhranec můj přerozkošně zvoní (Hey, Ring Out, My Triangle) A les je tichy kolem kol (All Round About the Woods Are Still) Široké rukávy a široké gatě (The Gypsy Songman) Když mne stará matka zpívat, zpívat učívala (Songs My Mother Taught Me) Dejte klec jestřábu ze zlata ryzého (Give a Hawk a Fine Cage) Six Romances, op.38 Ночью въ саду у меня (In My Garden at Night) Къ ней (To Her) Маргаритки (Daisies) Крысоловъ (The Rat-Catcher) Сон (Dream) Ay! (A-oo!) SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Intermission Tatiana s letter scene from Eugene Onegin PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Late Summer Crickets Summer into Autumn Slips Touch Me TOM CIPULLO Не співайте мені сеї пісні (Do Not Sing This Song to Me) MELODY BY DENIS SYCHYNSKYY PIANO REALIZATION BY SEVERYN SAPRUN Місяць (Moon) Люблю, люблю... (I love, I love...) SEVERYN SAPRUN

4 ABOUT THE ARTISTS Ukrainian-born soprano Antonina Chehovska was recently named the winner of several prestigious awards: the Cooper-Bing Vocal Competition, The Schuyler Foundation Career Bridges Grant and a Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship. Twice she was winner of the Michigan District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, which advanced her to the Great Lakes regional finals in 2014 and During the season, Chehovska makes her New York City recital debut at OPERA America s National Opera Center. In concert, she will perform Barber s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Ravel s Shéhérazade with the Dexter Symphony Orchestra, as well as Mahler s Symphony No. 2 ( Resurrection ) with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. In 2013, Chehovska made her professional debut on the concert stage singing Mozart s Requiem with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra. She sang Dvořak s Stabat Mater with the Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra and also presented a recital at the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava by special invitation. In the season, Chehovska appeared as a soprano soloist in Handel s Messiah with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, Verdi s Manzoni Requiem with the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra in historic Hill Auditorium, and Beethoven s Ninth Symphony with Kent Philharmonic Orchestra. In recital, she performed on the stage of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as part of their pre-concert recital series during the Tchaikovsky Festival, and was a featured soloist in Shostakovich s Seven Verses for Soprano, Violin, Cello and Piano with members of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra at the Toledo Museum of Art. Chehovska was the Grand Prize winner of the Czech and Slovak International Voice Competition (2013) in Montréal, the University of Michigan Friends of Opera Competition (2013) and the University of Michigan Concerto Competition (2014), which granted her a performance of Strauss Vier letzte Lieder with the University Symphony Orchestra. As a student at the University of Michigan s School of Music, Theatre and Dance, Chehovska appeared as Sister Rose in Jake Heggie s Dead Man Walking, the title role of Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos, Donna Elvira in Mozart s Don Giovanni and the Contessa in Mozart s Le nozze di Figaro. She holds two master s degrees in performance (voice) and conducting from the University of Michigan. She is an alumna of summer programs such as the International Vocal Arts Institute in New York City; Songfest in Los Angeles, where she was the Marc & Eva Stern Fellow; Oberlin in Italy, where she starred in the title role of Puccini s Suor Angelica; the Moravian Master Class in the Czech Republic; and Si parla, Si canta in Italy.

5 Kathleen Kelly enjoys a wide-ranging and dynamic musical life as a pianist, opera coach, conductor and master teacher. The first woman and first American named as director of musical studies at the Vienna State Opera, Kelly recently joined the faculty of the University of Michigan as that school s first coach/conductor of opera. She conducted Handel s Giulio Cesare in Egitto there in March 2015, and in the summer she was at the helm of Wolf Trap Opera s Le nozze di Figaro. This fall, Kelly conducts the premiere of Emmerich Kálmán s Arizona Lady at Arizona Opera, for which she is also creating a new adaptation of text. Recently, Kelly conducted Francesca Zambello s critically acclaimed Ariadne in Naxos at the 2014 Glimmerglass Festival, a finalist for the 2015 International Opera Awards. In 2014, she conducted the West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon s A Coffin in Egypt, starring Frederica von Stade, and she accompanied song recitals at Tucson s Desert Song Festival (with soprano Christine Goerke), the Kennedy Center (with Amber Wagner, Jamie Barton and Michael Kelly), and at the University of Texas at Austin. Upcoming master classes and recitals are planned at Arizona Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, the Castleton Festival, Arizona State University, Western Ontario University, Vanderbilt University and the Neue Galerie in Manhattan. Kelly is a regular guest coach for Washington National Opera s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, and she works regularly with young artist programs nationally, notably at Los Angeles Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera and Houston Grand Opera. Kelly was trained in the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, after which she joined the house music staff as pianist, rehearsal conductor and prompter. She was an assistant to James Levine at the Metropolitan Opera from 1997 to 2006, specializing in the works of Wagner, Strauss and Berg. Kelly moved on at the invitation of Maestro Patrick Summers to become the music director of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, as well as that company s head of music staff from 2006 to At the Vienna State Opera from 2010 to 2013, Kelly oversaw the daily musical life of more the 50 ensemble singers in more than 50 operas the world s biggest and busiest season. At the Staatsoper, she also curated a recital series in the house s famous Mahler Saal and served as the series principal pianist.

6 About Opera Columbus Cooper-Bing Vocal Competition The purpose of the Opera Columbus Cooper-Bing Vocal Competition is to discover, recognize and encourage young operatic talent. Under the leadership of Irma M. Cooper, Opera Columbus launched the vocal competition in 1983, two years after the company was founded. Cooper believed a vocal competition would help fill young singers need for exposure to, and constructive feedback from, wellrespected professionals from the opera industry. The competition has helped to launch the careers of many singers, including world-renowned mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves and Metropolitan Opera artists Dina Kuznetsova, Richard Paul Fink, Lucas Meachem, Nicole Heaston, Richard Zeller, Susan Foster and Alyson Cambridge. In addition to being a co-founder of Opera Columbus, Cooper was director of the Opera Columbus Vocal Competition and served on the Opera Columbus Board of Trustees, where she was honored as a Life Trustee. In 2014, thanks to a generous donation from Arthur and Hetty Bing that will help to ensure the future sustainability of the competition, the name of the event has been changed to the Cooper-Bing Vocal Competition. Emerging Artist Recital Series These recitals reflect the joint efforts of OPERA America and its member companies to identify and nurture the careers of the most promising young artists. Each recital will host emerging singers and pianists at the National Opera Center s Marc A. Scorca Hall. The concerts are streamed live to opera companies around the world, introducing these artists to a broad community of producers and other casting professionals who can help advance their careers, as well as to a worldwide public interested in tracking the accomplishments of aspiring artists who have achieved success through competitions and young artist programs. The recitals reach a growing audience through live streams from the National Opera Center. OPERA America s recent live streams have each attracted between 10,000 and 20,000 viewers worldwide. For more information about OPERA America s Emerging Artist Recital Series, please contact Laura Lee Everett, director of artistic services, at LEverett@operaamerica.org.

7 JOIN US FOR THESE FUTURE EVENTS AT THE NATIONAL OPERA CENTER: MASTERS AT WORK: CRAFTING AN OPERA WITH CARLISLE FLOYD Friday, September 25, 1:00 p.m. Composer Carlisle Floyd will explore the genesis of his opera-in-progress, Prince of Players, in this discussion series leading up to and following the work s premiere at Houston Grand Opera. The September 25 discussion, the first of five, will focus on the opera s libretto and piano/vocal score. Future sessions will take place on November 12, January 15, March 18 and April 15, and they will each explore a different aspect of the creative process. CREATORS IN CONCERT JENNIFER HIGDON, COMPOSER Tuesday, October 13, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon is one of America s most frequently performed living composers. Higdon s first opera, Cold Mountain, based on the novel by Charles Frazier, premiered at The Santa Fe Opera in summer 2015, and will be followed by performances at Opera Philadelphia (cocommissioner) and Minnesota Opera. CONVERSATIONS STEPHEN LORD, CONDUCTOR Tuesday, November 10, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Maestro Stephen Lord was chosen by Opera News as one of the 25 Most Powerful Names in U.S. Opera, and he is frequently praised for conducting both traditional and contemporary operatic works. Hear him share insights from his illustrious career with OPERA America President/CEO Marc A. Scorca. EMERGING ARTIST RECITAL SERIES OPERA PHILADELPHIA EMERGING ARTISTS: RACHEL STERRENBERG, SOPRANO, AND JARRETT OTT, BARITONE Thursday, December 3, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Founded in 2014, Opera Philadelphia s Emerging Artist program seeks to support Opera Philadelphia s ongoing commitment to emerging talent. Participants in the program appear onstage in at least one program, while also singing in community recitals and special events throughout the season. Register for future events at operaamerica.org/onstage. All events will also be streamed live at operaamerica.org/live. Speak to an OPERA America staff member if you have questions about any of our events or if you are interested in becoming a member.

8 The Emerging Artist Recital Series is generously supported by The Howard Gilman Foundation and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.