Stephanie Blythe Makes Her Carnegie Hall Recital Debut, 3/11

On Monday, March 11, at 8:00 p.m., the versatile and commanding mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, joined by frequent collaborator, pianist Warren Jones, makes her Carnegie Hall recital debut in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with a deeply personal program of American song. Ms. Blythe's program features Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, a set of songs written for her by the late composer James Legg, and Samuel Barber's Three Songs, Op. 10, powerful settings of three poems by James Joyce. Also featured are songs by Tin Pan Alley songwriters Ray Henderson, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin.

About The Artists
Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe is one of the most highly respected and critically acclaimed artists of her generation, lauded for her commanding style, sumptuous tone, and authoritative performances of both traditional mezzo roles and individual repertoire choices, from Rossini and Bizet to Handel and contemporary composers.

Ms. Blythe has sung in many of the world's great opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Opera National de Paris as well as a number of the world's finest orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Orchestra of New York, Minnesota Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, among others. She has also appeared at the Tanglewood, Cincinnati May, and Ravinia Festivals, and at the BBC Proms.

A champion of American song, Ms. Blythe has premiered several song cycles written for her, including Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson by the late James Legg; Covered Wagon Woman by Alan Smith, which was commissioned by and recorded with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; and Vignettes: Ellis Island, also by Alan Smith, which was featured in a special television program entitled Vignettes: An Evening with Stephanie Blythe and Warren Jones. Ms. Blythe was named Musical America's Vocalist of the Year for 2009. Her other awards include the 2007 Opera News Award and the 1999 Richard Tucker Award.

Pianist Warren Jones performs regularly with many of today's best-known artists, including Stephanie Blythe, Denyce Graves, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Anthony Dean Griffey, Ruth Ann Swenson, Bo Skovhus, Samuel Ramey, James Morris, John Relyea, Joseph Alessi, and Richard "Yongjae" O'Neill. He has also partnered with such great performers as Marilyn Horne, Håkan Hagegård, Kathleen Battle, Barbara Bonney, Carol Vaness, Judith Blegen, Tatiana Troyanos and Martti Talvela. His collaborations earn consistently high praise from audiences and critics alike.

Mr. Jones is a frequent guest artist at Carnegie Hall and in Lincoln Center's "Great Performers Series," as well as the festivals of Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Caramoor. On three occasions, Mr. Jones has been invited to the White House by American presidents to perform in concerts honoring foreign leaders, including the President of Russia and Prime Ministers of Italy and Canada, and he has appeared three times at the U.S. Supreme Court as a specially invited performer for the Justices and their guests. As a guest at the Library of Congress, Mr. Jones has appeared with the Juilliard Quartet in performances of the Schumann Piano Quintet. Born in Washington, D.C., Mr. Jones grew up in North Carolina and graduated with honors from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been honored with the Conservatory's Outstanding Alumni Award and currently serves on the Board of Overseers of that institution.

Program Information
Monday, March 11, 2013 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Stephanie Blythe, Mezzo-Soprano
Warren Jones, Piano

JAMES LEGG Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson
Samuel Barber Three Songs, Op. 10
Ray Henderson "Button Up Your Overcoat"
Ray Henderson "The Thrill is Gone"
Ray Henderson "You're the Cream in My Coffee"
Ray Henderson "The Best Things in Life Are Free"
Ray Henderson "Keep Your Sunny Side Up"
Cole Porter "Night and Day"
Cole Porter "The Tale of the Oyster"
Cole Porter "You Do Something to Me"
EDWARD CONFREY "Kitten on the Keys"
Irving Berlin "If You Don't Want My Peaches"
Irving Berlin "What'll I Do?"
Irving Berlin "I Love a Piano"