Seventh Evelyn Lear and
Thomas Stewart Emerging Singers Concert
To Conclude a
Three-Day Ring Seminar at the
Smithsonian Institution
WASHINGTON, D.C., AUGUST 1, 2003 –––––––– The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. and the Smithsonian Institution’s Resident Associate Program will present the Seventh Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart Emerging Singers Concert, with orchestra, in the Baird Auditorium of the National Museum of Natural History on the National Mall on Constitution Avenue, Northwest at Tenth Street at 2:45 pm, Sunday, September 21, 2003.
The concert will consist of a program of solos and scenes, all from the four operas of Wagner’s Ring. They will be performed by three American professional singers with the potential for distinguished careers singing Wagner’s music. For the first time in these concerts, the emerging Wagner singers will be accompanied by an orchestra, the Friday Morning Music Group Orchestra, Sylvia Alimena, Music Director and Conductor. The singers have been selected and coached by the world-famous opera stars and teachers, Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart, assisted by John Edward Niles, a member of the Board of Directors of the Wagner Society and Director of the Opera Theater of Northern Virginia.
The concert will be the concluding event of a three-day seminar on Richard Wagner’s monumental tetralogy, The Ring of the Nibelung, that will be jointly presented by the Resident Associate Program and the Wagner Society of Washington, D.C., Friday, September 19 through Sunday, September 21. For information about the seminar, see the Society’s web page at www.wagner-dc.org or the Resident Associates web page at http://residentassociates.org/com/ring.asp.
Featured singers will be Charles Robert Austin, who will be returning for his second appearance in these concerts and who sang the part of Hunding in last year’s Virginia Opera production of Die Walküre; soprano Caroline Whisnant; and tenor Roy Stevens.
The Emerging Singers Program is a partnership of the Wagner Society and Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart. Its concerts are intended to provide enjoyment of Wagner’s music to the public and to provide the singers with experience singing the Wagner repertoire. Although this is not a contest, participating singers may receive support from the Program to help advance their careers. Several performers in recent Emerging Singers concerts have gone on to promising engagements, both in the United States and in Europe.
Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart are two of the greatest singers in American operatic history. Their distinguished careers have taken them to all of the major opera houses and music festivals of the world. Both have won prestigious awards, including a number of Grammy Awards for their recordings. Now settled in the Washington area, they are in constant demand for master classes and coaching. They are devoted to helping develop American singers. In this way, they pass on to the next generation of world class opera singers the high artistic standards they set in their own brilliant careers.
Admission to the concert is included in the fee of the three-day seminar which must be paid directly to the Smithsonian Institution. Separate admission to the concert only costs $25 for Wagner Society members and $35 for others and must be paid directly to the Wagner Society. Society membership information and reservations for the concert are available by calling the Society at 301.907.2600 and on the Society’s web page at www.wagner-dc.org.
The complete concert program has been posted at the Wagner Society’s web site. Biographies of the performers and publicity photographs are available for electronic transmission by calling John Edward Niles at 301.587.3580.
The
Wagner Society of Washington, D.C.
P.O. Box 33051 ■ Washington, D.C. 20033 ■
Telephone 301.907.2600 ■ Facsimile 301.907.8671
www.wagner-dc.org