STARS OF THE ITALIAN OPERA
City Hall, Cork, Wednesday 25th September 2002 @ 8.00 pm
in association with
Glaxo SmithKline & Port of Cork Company
National Concert Hall, Dublin, Saturday 28th September @ 8.00 pm
Following the tremendous success of ‘A Tribute to Verdi’ which celebrated the centenary of Giuseppe Verdi last year, Barra Ó Tuama Promotions are bringing back a magnificent trio of top Italian artists to open the new 2002/2003 Opera Gala season.‘Stars of the Italian Opera’ will feature a dazzling all-Italian cast who will perform a specially selected programme of popular arias, duets and trios from the well-known operas, together with contributions of lively marches and overtures from the award-winning Barrack Street Band in Cork and the DIT Wind Ensemble in Dublin. ‘Stars of the Italian Opera’ comes to the City Hall, Cork on Wednesday 25th September, sponsored by Glaxo SmithKline and the Port of Cork Company, and to the National Concert Hall, Dublin on Saturday 28th September.
Leading this heady cocktail of the finest Italian voices is tenor Francesco Grollo who will be making his first appearance in the Opera Gala series, and comes with the highest recommendation.He possesses a superb voice and has sung in some of the best opera houses in the world including the celebrated Opera Theatre of Rome as well as Venice, Treviso, Pisa, Ravenna, Padova, Torino,the famous San Carlo Theatre in Naples and Zurich, Frankfurt, Boston and Detroit.His international career has brought him to Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, the United States and Japan.His roles include the Duke in Rigoletto, Rodolfo in La Bohème, Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly and he also sings leading roles in Nabucco, La Traviata and Tosca. This year he has already performed in Puccini’s La Rondine in Verona and the Tales of Hoffmannand The Merry Widow at the Opera Theatre in Rome.After his Irish tour he travels to Amsterdam for Macbeth with the Netherlands Opera conducted by Carlo Rizzi, to Oslo for La Traviata and to Moscow and St. Petersburg for La Bohème.
Francesca Rinaldi earned the highest praise when she made her Irish debut in “A Tribute to Verdi”last year.“Francesca Rinaldi is a fine Verdi soprano with a strong command of rhythm and phrasing.She traversed the high and wide note spans of her angst-ridden arias...with aplomb” wrote John Allen in the Irish Times and“The audience listened in rapt appreciation as soprano Francesca Rinaldi, who is and award winning Verdi singer, delivered in molten gold richness...memorable gems.”(The Limerick Post).She received the highest marks possible on graduating from her Conservatory in Italy.Although a young performer she is an experienced Verdi exponent and has won the “Voce Verdiane” International Competition which is held at Verdi’s birthplace at Busseto, Italy.She made her debut in 1993 in the role of Mimi in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly.Her repertoire also includes principal roles in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Rossini’s L’inganno felice,Bizet’s Carmen,Verdi’s Otello, Massenet’s Manon, Puccini’s Suor Angelica (a role which brought her great public and critical acclaim) and she sings roles in many contemporary operas as well.
Joining them on stage is baritone Giuseppe Altomare who also makes his second appearance in the Opera Gala series following his magnificent Irish debut in ‘A Tribute to Verdi’ last year.He received excellent reviews in the Irish Times:“His phrasing was exemplary and his confident top notes enhanced the climax of arias and ensembles alike”and in the Limerick Post: “Giuseppe Altomare was the voice that held out that special captivating excitement ... the seductive quality of his rich voice was particularly effective”. He was awardeda degree in political science before beginning his musical studies at the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg and becoming a much sought-after professional baritone.He has also studied with maestros Franco Correlli and Carlo Bergonzi.He sings all the major baritone roles including the principal roles in The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart, Faust by Gounod, L’Elisir d’Amore and Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti, Aida, Don Carlo, Il Trovatore, La Traviata and Un Ballo in Maschera by Verdi, Puccini’s La Bohème, Madame Butterfly, Gianni Schicchi, Manon Lescaut and many others.He now works with some of the best conductors in the world and is also developing a recording career.
Special guests in Cork are the award-winning Barrack Street Band with their conductor Kevin Meldrum.They received the prestigious Boosey & Hawkes/BASBWE Silver Award in Manchester last year, and they were all-Ireland Brass Band Champions in 1998 and again in 1999.In Dublin, special guests are the DIT Wind Ensemble with conductor William Halpin.Concert narrator is the amiable David McInerney who will introduce each number in his own informative style.
A star in his own right, Phillip Thomas is in constant demand as one of the world’s most respected accompanists and vocal coaches.He has given recitals world wide with a long list of distinguished colleagues including Dame Josephine Barstow, Dame Anne Evans, Sally Burgess, Robert Lloyd, Jane Eaglen, Susan Bullock, Sergei Leiferkus, Leslie Garrett, Felicity Palmer and John Tomlinson.He performed the opening recital of the Waterfront Hall, Belfast.
The ‘Stars of the Italian Opera’ will be directed by Deirdre O’Tuama and is sure to be an outstanding evening, especially for all enthusiasts of the vocal art.Tickets will be on sale from 26th August at the Central Box Office in Cork, Tel.021 4543210 and from 1st August at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Tel. 01 4170000.
The Sunday Independent, The Irish Examiner, RTÉ and Clarion Hotels, Ireland also support this event.
