Baritone Justin Austin to Perform Solo Recital At Carnegie Hall in March

On Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 7:30 pm, Drama Desk Award nominee and Marian Anderson Vocal Award winner Justin Austin gives a solo recital in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. The incomparable pianist Howard Watkins joins Austin for this special evening.

In the baritone's return to Carnegie Hall – featured as part of the festival Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Precipice – the inimitable Weill and Brecht songbook takes the spotlight. Audiences can hear the tale of “Mack the Knife” in selections from the uncategorizable Threepenny Opera, which premiered in Berlin in 1928; rousing settings of Walt Whitman poems, which Weill wrote throughout the 1940s after emigrating to the United States; and additional pieces to be announced.

"I often hear the phrase, don't be angry,” remarks Justin Austin. “We as a people are encouraged to suppress and even ignore our emotions when it comes to anger. Why? I think it's because anger can be dangerous, hurtful, harmful, and destructive. But what if we needed to be angry and deal with it in order to not put anyone or ourselves in danger? What if what we really needed was not to never get angry, but to be able to process our anger constructively? What if we needed to sit with our anger and develop a healthy relationship with it? What if it was ok to be angry? In a time in our history where there is so much to be grateful for and yet so much to be angry about, I want to use art as a vehicle to explore anger and give the audience agency to be angry without it being taboo. Many musical performances provide escapism for people who want to temporarily forget about the problems of the world. I think that's wonderful! My recital, Don't Be Angry, will not be one of those performances.”

A post-concert reception will be held in Weill Recital Hall's Jacobs Room, part of the Salon Encores, where attendees can enjoy a free drink and mingle with other concertgoers.

Possessing a “mighty lyric voice” (The New York Times) and praised in Opera News as “vocally impressive, verbally elegant,” Justin Austin has appeared on concert and operatic stages across the globe since the young age of four. His 2023-24 season kicked off with The Metropolitan Opera's premiere of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking (bringing “crackling character” according to The Washington Post) and continued with Washington National Opera's production of Romeo and Juliet at The Kennedy Center, portraying Mercutio (“a delight of the evening” according to Broadway World).

In addition to his recital at Carnegie Hall this March, Austin gives further solo recitals at Pickman Hall with the Celebrity Series of Boston, Gore Recital Hall at the University of Delaware, and Spivey Hall in Atlanta, GA. He recently gave the Marian Anderson Vocal Award Recital with Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center as the winner of the 2024 award.

On the operatic stage, Justin Austin returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago, starring as Young Emile in Terence Blanchard's Champion, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in The Barber of Seville, playing Figaro. He also joins Des Moines Metro Opera for the world premiere of Damien Geter's full-length American Apollo; stars in the New York premiere of Lyric Fest's COTTON, composed by Damien Geter, at the 92nd Street Y; and performs in two renditions of Fire Shut Up In My Bones: Opera Suite in Concert at the Kimmel Center and then with Strathmore and Washington Performing Arts.

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Concert Information

Justin Austin Recital at Carnegie Hall
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Tickets: From $49
Link: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2024/03/05/Justin-Austin-Baritone-Howard-Watkins-Piano-0730PM 

Program
WEILL/BRECHT: Selections from The Threepenny Opera
WEILL: Four Walt Whitman Songs
BIENERT: Augen in der Großstadt
EISLER: Embrace the Fascists
Ricky Ian Gordon: "Song for a Dark Girl" from Only Heaven
Ricky Ian Gordon: Marvin Gaye Songs
OWENS: Mortal Storm

Artists
Justin Austin, baritone
Howard Watkins, piano

Tickets are available for purchase at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, at 57th and Seventh, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website at carnegiehall.org.

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About Justin Austin

Drama Desk Award-nominated baritone Justin Austin has appeared on concert and operatic stages across the globe since the young age of four. Born into a family of opera singers, his early career took him to venues such as Teatro Real, Bregenzer Festspiele, Lincoln Center, and The Kennedy Center.

As this year's Marian Anderson Vocal Award winner, Justin is featured in recital at The Kennedy Center, presented by Washington National Opera. He also gives solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Pickman Hall with the Celebrity Series of Boston, and Spivey Hall in Atlanta this season. On the operatic stage, he makes a return to Lyric Opera of Chicago, starring as Young Emile in Terence Blanchard's Champion; Washington National Opera's production of Romeo and Juliet, portraying Mercutio, at The Kennedy Center; Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in The Barber of Seville, playing Figaro; and the Metropolitan Opera in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. Justin also joins Des Moines Metro Opera for the world premiere of Damien Geter's full-length American Apollo; stars in the New York premiere of Lyric Fest's COTTON, composed by Damien Geter, at the 92nd Street Y; and performs in two renditions of Fire Shut Up In My Bones: Opera Suite in Concert at the Kimmel Center and then with Strathmore and Washington Performing Arts.

Last season, the “standout” (Operawire) baritone appeared as Ned Keene in Peter Grimes at the Metropolitan Opera; sang Carl Nielsen's third symphony with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Alan Gilbert; premiered Damien Geter's song cycle COTTON alongside Denyce Graves with Lyric Fest in Philadelphia and Washington Performing Arts at The Kennedy Center; and premiered a new edition by Damien Sneed of Scott Joplin's Treemonisha at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in the roles of Scott Joplin/Remus. Justin also sang on a concert tour of Our Song, Our Story, a tribute recital to African American operatic pioneers Jessye Norman and Marian Anderson, with music director Damien Sneed, giving performances in Tucson, St. Louis, Washington D.C., Akron, and Aspen.

Favorite highlights of recent seasons include his house debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Marcellus in the company premiere of Brett Dean's Hamlet; his house and role debut as Charles in Fire Shut Up In My Bones at Lyric Opera of Chicago; starring as George Armstrong in Lynn Nottage and Ricky Ian Gordon's Intimate Apparel at Lincoln Center Theater; joining Washington National Opera in his company debut and Des Moines Metro Opera as Thomas McKeller in the chamber version premiere of Damien Geter and Lila Palmer's American Apollo; starring as Captain Macheath in a film adaptation of Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera produced by City Lyric Opera; and debuting at the Bard Summerscape Festival as Mordred in Chausson's Le roi Arthus. Justin created the role of Pyarelel Kaul in the critically acclaimed world premiere of Jack Perla and Rajiv Joseph's Shalimar the Clown at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and was featured on the commercial recording of the work.

In concert, Justin recently presented a solo recital at the Park Avenue Armory with pianist Howard Watkins. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall in the title role in Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Oratorio Society of New York and as the baritone soloist in Margaret Bonds' Ballad of the Brown King with the Cecilia Chorus; and with New York Festival of Song for their debut concert at Little Island in addition to their mainstage series at Kaufman Music Center. He has been featured with the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Maine, Opera Saratoga, Mistral Music, Voices of Ascension, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Copland House, and Strathmore Music Center, plus the Hamburg International, Penn Square, Lakes Area, and Moab Music Festivals. Justin has previously joined IDAGIO for online concerts at the Global Concert Hall.

As a multifaceted musician, Justin enjoys performing a wide range of repertoire, from jazz, R&B, and musical theater, to opera and oratorio. He has collaborated, performed, and recorded with multiple groups and artists such as Aretha Franklin, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Mary J. Blige, Elton John, Lauryn Hill, The Roots, 30 Seconds to Mars, John Cale, Ricky Ian Gordon, Kanye West, Avner Finberg, M. Roger Holland, Jack Perla, Peter Andreacchi, and Odeline de la Martinez, plus jazz legends Reggie Workman, Hugh Masekela, and Wynton Marsalis.

Justin strongly believes in utilizing his artistry to benefit music programs, new music projects, and community services worldwide. He works with organizations such as MEND (Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity), QSAC (Quality Services for the Autism Community), Holt International, and St. Mary's Children's Hospital to construct and perform benefit concerts. The proceeds of these projects supply emergent living essentials to those in need.

Justin has received accolades and awards from The Recording Academy, NAACP, George London Foundation, Washington National Opera, Opera Ebony, Gerda Lissner Foundation, Manhattan School of Music, NANM, Choir Academy of Harlem, and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. He is the recipient of a 2023 Mabel Dorn Reeder Award from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, which goes to “the single artist in each season with the greatest potential to make a significant contribution to the art form of opera.” Justin is under the tutelage and mentorship of Catherine Malfitano.

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Justin Austin is an alumnus of the Choir Academy of Harlem, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Heidelberg Lied Akademie, and Manhattan School of Music (M.M. and B.M.). To learn more, visit www.justin-austin.com.

Photo credit: Dario Acosta