Across the Arts with Patrick D. McCoy

Soprano Lisette Oropesa was recently named as the winner of the 2019 Richard Tucker Award. She stars in  major productions around the world and has garnered acclaim in several prestigious debuts including in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Real Madrid and Royal Opera House.  Past winners include such luminaries as Stephanie Blythe, Lawrence Brownlee, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Matthew Polenzani, and Deborah Voigt. Oropesa was inducted into this who’s who of American opera at the foundation’s annual gala on Sunday, October 27, at Carnegie Hall.  She chats with host Patrick D. McCoy about her career, winning the award and her upcoming appearance in DC with Washington Concert Opera in their performance of "Hamlet" by Ambroise Thomas on Sunday, November 24 at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium.

Christopher Bell will lead the Washington Chorus in a performance of Mozart's timeless Requiem at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on November 16. He chats with Across the Arts host Patrick D. McCoy about the performance and his career as a conductor both in the US and abroad.

Internationally acclaimed tenor and opera star Lawrence Brownlee returns to "Across the Arts" with Washington, D.C. based arts columnist Patrick D. McCoy about his upcoming performance with Washington Concert Opera in Rossini's "Zelmira" and his recital under the auspices of Vocal Arts DC.  Previously, Brownlee chatted McCoy on THE I TOO SING AMERICA SERIES and was previously featured in Washington Life Magazine's "Perfect Pitch."  Named 2017 “Male Singer of the Year” by both the International Opera Awards and Bachtrack, American-born tenor Lawrence Brownlee has been hailed by The Guardian as “one of the world’s leading bel canto stars.”

Stanley J. Thurston is one of Washington's beloved musical figures.  Whether he is standing in front of The Heritage Signature Chorale or on the stage of The Kennedy Center, his demand for excellence shines through.  Thurston joins The Maestro Series to discuss his role as founding conductor of The Heritage Signature Chorale and its upcoming concert.  The concert will feature Poulenc's "Gloria" and Darin Atwater's "Proclamations."  We will also delve into his extensive career as a conductor and perhaps upcoming projects.

Soprano Kristin Lewis has graced the stages of many of the world’s leading opera houses. Noted for her wellfocused, majestic sound, rich in overtones and possessing a rare blend of piano culture and flourishing emphasis, she has been directed by among the most illustrious conductors.  A native of Little Rock, Arkansas/USA, Ms. Lewis grew up in a musical family, and began singing and performing at an early age. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Central Arkansas under the guidance of Dr. Martha Antolik and a Masters of Music degree while studying with Kay Paschal and Andrew Wentzel, from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Post graduate study was endeavored under the tutelage of Dr. Jonathan Retzlaff, and currently with Carol Byers.  A recipient of many honors, Ms. Lewis was awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Divisional Achievement Award for the Visual and Performing Arts from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 2015; the Orazio Tosi Prize 2012, given by the Club Lirica Parma, at the birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi, and the Artist of the Year Award by the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 2010. She is a two-time National Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition; a finalist of the “XLVI Concours International de Chant de la Ville de Toulouse”, a winner of the “Internationalen Gesangswettbewerb Ferruccio Tagliavini” and a winner of the “Concorso Internazionale Di Musica Gian Battista Viotti”. Ms. Lewis also won the Opera Prize and the Audience Award in the “Concorso Internationale di Canto Debutto A Merano”.  The 2017-18 opera season will feature Ms. Lewis’ house debuts at the Gstaad Menuhin Opera Festival, the Royal Opera House Muscat and Opera Hong Kong in the title role character in Verdi’s Aïda, among numerous others.

After an extensive round of auditions and interviews for the revered post as artistic director of The Washington Bach Consort, Dana Marsh was named the new director, succeeding the late Dr. J. Reilly Lewis, who founded the consort in 1977.  Lewis died unexpectedly in June 2016.  His remarkable artistry will long be remembered, treasured and felt.  Art journalist Patrick D. McCoy chats with Dr. Dana Marsh about his new post, the upcoming season with The Washington Bach Consort, finding academic balance with his post at Indiana University and his vision for the consort.

As director of the Historical Performance Institute and chair of the Early Music Department at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Dana Marsh has directed a broad range of ensemble performances and NPR broadcasts at Jacobs since 2014. He coaches aspiring vocalists in historical performance and teaches early notation and performance practice. As an academic, Marsh was invited to be a panelist at the Smithsonian Institution’s conference “Historically Informed Performance in Higher Education” in 2015. In May 2016, he founded the annual international conference “Historical Performance: Theory, Practice and Interdisciplinarity,” which has attracted scholars and performers from a dozen countries. He recently founded the annual, peer-reviewed journal, “Historical Performance” (IU Press), which contributes significant research to the field.

In repertoire encompassing George Frideric Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto to Jonathan Dove’s Flight and beyond, countertenor John Holiday’s expressive and richly beautiful voice has made him an increasingly sought after artist, possessing a “vocal instrument that threatens to equal the name artists in his range.” (Herald Times) Mr. Holiday is the recipient of the Marian Anderson Award from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington National Opera.

As an advocate of new works, John Holiday will make his debut with Opera Philadelphia singing the role of John Blue in a world-premiere of Daniel Roumain's We Shall Not Be Moved, a production directed by the award-winning Bill T. Jones that will also be seen at the Apollo Theater in New York and Hackney Empire in London. Also in the 2017-2018 season, Mr. Holiday will debut at Florida Grand Opera as Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and his debut in Flight as the Refugee at Des Moines Metro Opera.

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ABOUT MICHELE:

Michele Fowlin serves as music director of the Washington Performing Arts Society’s Children of the Gospel Choir. She attended Howard University and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in vocal performance/pedagogy with a piano minor. While at Howard, she studied with renowned opera singers Regina McConnell, Carmen Balthrop, and Charlotte Holloman. Under the tutelage of Dr. James Weldon Norris, she was introduced to conducting. Fowlin eventually became assistant to the conductor for the University Choirs. Upon traveling with the choir nationally and internationally, Fowlin conducted many concerts and eventually became one of the lead soloists. These opportunities led her to performances in Russia, England, Spain, and the US Virgin Islands.  After Howard, Fowlin continued her vocal career while expanding her skills as a music teacher in the public school system. Her desire to motivate students musically has extended from the classroom into the community. Fowlin has worked with the Washington Performing Arts Society’s Children of the Gospel Summer Music Camp, for the past several years as a vocal coach and director and has conducted various church youth choirs in the area. She continues to hold clinics for vocal health and wellness, voice and piano master classes, and guest directorships for gospel music workshops. Fowlin has been recognized with various awards including the Mayor’s Award (Washington, DC) and Certificate of Recognition from the DC Commission on the Arts. Currently, Fowlin is the director of choirs at Eleanor Roosevelt High School and the co-founder of HerSanctuary™.

A listen in at the internationally acclaimed soprano's new holiday album just in time for the holiday. The recording is available at Amazon.com and CD Baby.

Across the arts takes a listen to soprano Angela Brown's new Christmas album "This Christmas."  No stranger to THE OPERA DIVA SERIES, the internationally acclaimed soprano shares her myriad of musical experiences in this fresh take on Christmas carols and holiday favorites.  Turn the speakers up and continue the holiday celebration!