The program also includes performances by several previous winners of the foundation's awards, including soprano Maureen O'Flynn, winner of the Richard Tucker Career Grant in 1991; bass-baritone John Relyea, who won the 2003 Richard Tucker Music Foundation Award; and soprano Christine Goerke, who received the Richard Tucker Foundation Award in 2001.
Also featured is the New York Choral Society, directed by John Daly Goodwin. Julius Rudel, the onetime music director of the New York City Opera and a much-sought-after guest conductor, conducts.
Among arias and scenes on the program are "Nessun dorma," from Turandot; "La donna mobile" from Rigoletto; and the finale from Act II of Carmen.
Named for the great American tenor, the Richard Tucker Foundation promotes and develops young American opera singers through grants, awards, performances, master classes, and other activities. Tonight's concert celebrates the 30th anniversary of the foundation, which was founded shortly after Tucker's sudden death in 1975.
The gala will be broadcast on New York's WQXR on January 23 at 8 p.m. and nationally over the WFMT radio network (check local listings).
