On Friday, April 16 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Kelli O'Hara and Paulo Szot, stars from Lincoln Center's award-winning revival of South Pacific join The New York Pops, under the baton of Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, for The Best of Lerner and Loewe-a tribute to one of Broadway's greatest creative teams: lyricist/librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe. In addition, the ensemble will be joined by tenor Michael Slattery and The Clurman Singers with a special performance by members of the New York Theatre Ballet. The evening will feature selections from the team's classic shows-including Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, Camelot, Gigi, and The Little Prince-that helped to earn them world-wide acclaim.
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe met in 1942 and produced their first musical together, Life of the Party, that same year. Their dynamic partnership lasted for over thirty years and produced a number of popular theater works and film adaptations, including Brigadoon (1947), Paint Your Wagon (1951); My Fair Lady (1956), and Camelot (1960) for the theater, and Brigadoon (1954), Gigi (1958), My Fair Lady (1964), Camelot (1967), Paint Your Wagon (1969), and The Little Prince (1974) for film. Despite ending their working relationship after the 1974 film musical The Little Prince, Lerner and Loewe maintained a close friendship. Their final public appearance was in December 1985, when they were honored at the Kennedy Center Honors, just six months before Lerner's death.
This is the sixth and final New York Pops performance at Carnegie Hall for the 2009-2010 season. Next season's concerts will include an opening concert dedicated to the music of ABBA as well as a program in celebration of Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday; holiday programs with Brian Stokes Mitchell; a Latin music extravaganza; and a tribute to the great Judy Garland with Ashley Brown, Heather Headley, and Karen Olivo.
About The Artists
Kelli O'Hara has unequivocally established herself as one of Broadway's great leading ladies. She recently starred in the Tony Award-winning revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center, enrapturing audiences and critics alike with her soulful and complex interpretation of Nellie Forbush, garnering a third Tony-nomination in the process. A year prior to South Pacific, Ms. O'Hara gave a critically acclaimed performance of Eliza Doolittle in the New York Philharmonic production of My Fair Lady, made her Carnegie Hall debut, and completed her first album, Wonder in the World. In 2003, Kelli committed to a production of The Light in the Piazza at Seattle's Initman Theatre. The show landed on Broadway in 2005 and earned Kelli her first Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. Her performance in the 2006 Tony Award-winning production of The Pajama Game earned her Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Award nominations. In addition to her Carnegie Hall debut with The New York Pops conducted by Rob Fisher, Ms. O'Hara's concerts include performances with Barbara Cook and Marvin Hamlisch at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Town Hall, Cooper Union, and Joe's Pub. She's performed with The Philly Pops conducted by Peter Nero and most recently made her debut at the Café Carlyle. Ms. O'Hara also performed at the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors as part of the Barbara Streisand tribute.
Paulo Szot has won wide acclaim as both a versatile opera baritone and as an actor. He won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Emile De Beque in the Broadway revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center Theater, and also won the Drama Desk and Outer Critic's Circle awards for his participation in the production. Mr. Szot made his Metropolitan Opera debut in March 2010 in a new production of Shostakovich's The Nose conducted by Valery Gergiev. Additional 2009-10 appearances include his debut at the Opéra National de Paris as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, his Dallas Opera debut in the title role of Don Giovanni and his debut at the Palau de les Artes in Valencia as Escamillo in Carmen, which is also the role of his debut at San Francisco Opera. In addition to his performances of South Pacific, recent engagements have included his New York Philharmonic debut in a concert conducted by Marvin Hamlisch appearing alongside Liza Minnelli, and his debut at the Ravinia Festival in concert with Kelli O'Hara. Other past engagements include Le portrait de Manon at the Gran Teatro del Liceu, Maria Golovin at the Spoleto Festival, Eugene Onegin and Così fan tutte for Opéra de Marseille, and Don Giovanni and La bohème for Opera de Bordeaux.
Since graduating from The Juilliard School, Michael Slattery has enjoyed an exciting international career performing with the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, the French National Orchestra in Paris, the Akademie für Alte Musik in Berlin, and the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall. Career highlights include Peter Sellars' Tristan Project at Lincoln Center, the title role in Bernstein's Candide at Royal Festival Hall in London, and Monteverdi's L'Orfeo at the Châtelet Theater in Paris, the Staatsoper in Berlin, and at Glimmerglass Opera in New York. Mr. Slattery was recently included in The Spectator's list of tenor "Heroes of the Concert Hall." His prize-winning recordings include Mozart's Bastien und Bastienne; Scarlatti's Cecilian Vespers; Handel's Atalanta, Saul, and Solomon; and Bernstein's Candide; and his solo discs-The Irish Heart and Secret and Divine Signs-have received critical acclaim from Gramophone magazine and five-star ratings from BBC Music Magazine and ClassicFM.
