New York Festival of Song, whose recent A Bernstein/Bolcom Celebration was performed with "Comic and dramatic flair," (The New York Times) presents Fugitives on November 18 and 20 at the newly restored Merkin Concert Hall. The program will feature songs from Broadway and the concert stage as well as Berlin cabaret standards by such composers as Kurt Weill, Erich Korngold, Alexander Zemlinsky, Arnold Schoenberg and many others.
Fugitives is sung by two of the Metropolitan Opera's rising young stars. Tenor Joseph Kaiser recently appeared as Narraboth in Salome and was last season's Rom_o opposite Anna Netrebko. Mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey will be featured in upcoming Met productions of The Magic Flute, Rusalka and The Ring Cycle, and makes her guest artist debut with the New York Philharmonic in a concert performance of L'enfant et les sortilges, conducted by Lorin Maazel. New York Festival Of Song artistic director Steven Blier serves as the pianist/host for the evening.
The Fugitives Program (subject to change):
Altdeutsches Minnelied (Old German Love Song)- Alexander von Zemlinsky
Meeraugen (Eyes of the Sea)- Zemlinsky
Gefasster Abschied (Calm Departure)- Erich Korngold
Sommer (Summer)- Korngold
Unendliche Liebe (Eternal Love)- Franz Schreker
Rosentod (The Death of Roses)- Schreker
The Lottery Agent's Tango (from Silbersee)- Kurt Weill
Waldsonne (Sun in the Forest)- Arnold Schoenberg
Erwartung (Expectation)- Schoenberg
Wenn der alte Motor wieder takt- Friedrich Hollaender
Die Ballade von Wasserad (The Song of the Water Wheel)- Hanns Eisler
êÊndere die Welt, sie braucht es- Eisler
F‹nf Lieder (Five Songs)- Hans Kršsa
The Sleepless Lady- Kurt Tucholsky
How Can You Tell an American- Weill
O mistress mine- Korngold
Elend (Misery)- Zemlinsky
Black Market- Frederick Hollaender
Love Song- Weill (book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner)
Wie lange noch?- Weill
Arizona Marsch- Emmerich Kšlmšn
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Canadian-born tenor Joseph Kaiser starred as Tamino in the Kenneth Branagh film adaptation of The Magic Flute. This season he will make two highly anticipated debuts: at the Los Angeles Opera as Tamino under the baton of James Conlon, and at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Jen fa. He returns to the Salzburg Festival as Septimius in a new Christoph Loy production of Handel's Theodora. His concert schedule includes performances of the Berlioz Requiem under Marek Janowski, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Christoph von Dohnšnyi and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Mendelssohn's Elijah with Yannick N_zet-S_guin and the Orchestre M_tropolitain du Grand Montr_al. Mr. Kaiser has appeared at the Caramoor Festival in a joint program with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, which was presented under the auspices of the New York Festival of Song (available on Bridge Records), in Chicago at the Chicago Humanities Festival, in Montreal with the Andr_ Turp Society, and on the Debut Series of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
Kate Lindsey made her debut this summer at the Tanglewood Festival in a concert version of Les Troyens conducted by James Levine, and appeared in two other chamber music concerts at the festival. Other recent engagements have included appearances at the Metropolitan Opera as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (opposite Bryn Terfel) and St_phano in Rom_o et Juliette (with Mr. Kaiser and Anna Netrebko); debuts with the Boston Lyric Opera as Cherubino, the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a new commission by John Harbison conducted by James Levine, the Cleveland Orchestra in performances of Haydn's Harmoniemesse conducted by Franz Welser-M‹st, and the Met Chamber Ensemble in Zankel Hall. She also appeared as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia and St_phano at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Angelina in La Cenerentola at the Wolf Trap Opera.
NYFOS Artistic Director Steven Blier also enjoys an eminent career as an accompanist and vocal coach. Among the many artists he has partnered in recital are Ren_e Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Susan Graham, Frederica von Stade, Jessye Norman and Samuel Ramey. He has performed throughout North America and Europe, including recitals at Carnegie Hall, La Scala, Milan, and a Live From Lincoln Center telecast. Mr. Blier co-founded the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) in 1988 with Michael Barrett. Since the Festival's inception he has programmed, performed, translated and annotated over one hundred vocal recitals with repertoire spanning the entire range of song. His discography includes the premiere recording of Leonard Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles (Koch International), which won a Grammy Award; the NYFOS discs of Blitzstein, Gershwin, and German Lieder (Unquiet Peace); Gershwin's Lady Be Good! (Nonesuch Records); four albums of songs by Charles Ives in partnership with baritone William Sharp (Albany Records); first recordings of music by Busoni and Borodin with cellist Dorothy Lawson (Koch International); and Spanish Love Songs with Joseph Kaiser and the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (Bridge Records). In December, Bridge will release the original cast recording of Bastianello / Lucrezia, the acclaimed John Musto and William Bolcom operas with libretti by Mark Campbell, commissioned and premiered by NYFOS.
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Curtain time is 8 PM. Tickets, priced $40 - $55, may be purchased by calling (212) 501-3330 or visiting www.kaufman-center.org.
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center is at 129 West 67th Street, New York, NY 10023. There are also a limited number of $15 student tickets available by calling (646) 230-8380. For more information about New York Festival Of Song (NYFOS), please visit their website at www.nyfos.org.
