Saturday, December 5 at noon on Classical 88.7 HD1 – For nearly five decades, the great American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne won the hearts of opera audiences around the world for breathtaking achievements in bel canto singing, whose composers and masterworks she helped restore to the repertory. But her own deepest passion was for recital singing an art form she could bring to fans both within and beyond the orbit of the great opera houses. Spartan relative to those venues' grand productions, the recital afforded Horne and her contemporaries the richest possible expressive possibilities over a wide geographical area. And to this day through the Marilyn Horne Foundation, she champions the unique artistry and reach of recital singing.
Earlier this year at Carnegie Hall, Horne celebrated her 75th birthday on the same star-studded evening that marked the 15th anniversary of the foundation that bears her name.
Co-hosted by Performance Today host Fred Child and host of the Metropolitan Opera's Saturday matinee broadcasts, Margaret Juntwait and emceed on stage by beloved Met stars Frederica von Stade and Samuel Ramey the broadcast knits together performances by some of the world's greatest singers: Susan Graham, Joyce Didonato, Karita Mattila, Dolora Zajick, Thomas Hampson, David Daniels, Thomas Quasthoff, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and James Morris.
Numerous recorded tributes from Horne's own family; from film television stars Carol Burnett, Harry Belafonte, and Florence Henderson; and from vocal luminaries such as Ren e Fleming and Dame Joan Sutherland glitter through the evening as well. And at the heart of the celebration are several performances by the young singers whom the Marilyn Horne Foundation has nurtured and championed.
Program selections:
Robert Schumann: Die beiden Grenadiere, Op. 49 No. 1
Lester Lynch, baritone
Carrie-Ann Matheson, piano
Georges Bizet: Adieux de l'hotesse arabe
Nicole Cabell, soprano
Carrie-Ann Matheson, piano
Vincenzo Bellini: La ricordanza
Bruce Sledge, tenor
Carrie-Ann Matheson, piano
Sir Edward Elgar: Where Corals Lie, from Sea Pictures, Op. 37
Meredith Arwady, contralto
Carrie-Ann Matheson, piano
Gioacchino Antonio Rossini: Canzonetta spagnuola
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano
Carrie-Ann Matheson, piano
William Bolcom, text Sheldon Harnick: A Song of Praise (world premiere)
Meredith Arwady, contralto
Nicole Cabell, soprano
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano
Lester Lynch, baritone
Bruce Sledge, tenor
William Bolcom, piano
Martin Katz, piano
Camille Saint-Saens: Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix, from Samson et Dalila
Dolora Zajick, mezzo-soprano
Warren Jones, piano
Gaetano Donizetti: Una furtiva lagrima from L'elisir d'amore
Piotr Beczala, tenor
Brian Zeger, piano
Ambroise Thomas: Connais-tu le pays, from Mignon
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Brian Zeger, piano
Igor Stravinsky: I was never saner Come Master, from The Rake's Progress
James Morris, bass-baritone
Brian Zeger, piano
George Frideric Handel: Cara sposa, from Rinaldo
David Daniels, countertenor
Martin Katz, piano
Giuseppe Verdi: O Carlo, ascolta, from Don Carlo
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone
Warren Jones, piano
Johannes Brahms: Wie bist du, meine Konigin
Thomas Quasthoff, baritone
Martin Katz, piano
Antonin Dvorak: Kdyz mne stara maatka zpivat, from Cigansk melodie, Op. 55 B. 104
Karita Mattila, soprano
Martin Katz, piano
Gustav Mahler: Wo die schonen Trompeten blasen, from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Warren Jones, piano
Aaron Copland: I Bought Me a Cat
Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano
Samuel Ramey, bass
Martin Katz, piano
Gioacchino Rossini: Tanti affetti, from La donna del lago
Joyce Didonato, mezzo-soprano
Brian Zeger, piano
Happy Birthday song