Corinne Winters to Celebrate Release of CANCION AMOROSA: SONGS OF SPAIN, 11/17

On Monday, November 17, 2014 at 10:00 p.m., New York Festival of Song presents a special NYFOS After Hours celebrating the record release of CANCIÓN AMOROSA: SONGS OF SPAIN with Corinne Winters and Steven Blier. The album is released the same day on GPR Records, distributed by Naxos.

Winters and Blier will perform selections from the CD at HENRY's Restaurant on the Upper West Side. A complimentary Spanish-inspired amuse-bouche from Chef David Ferraro will be served for guests ordering dinner, and tabletop tapas will be served to all drinkers.

With this CD, Blier and Winters celebrate the astounding array of cultures and styles of Iberian song. The album reveals an often-neglected repertoire - the glories of Catalan, Basque, Sephardic and Castilian music.

Corinne Winters, whose Violetta in La traviata took London-and all of Europe-by storm in 2013, is quickly earning a place among the top sopranos of her generation. Blier, a "national treasure" (The New York Times) in the world of song, has accompanied the likes of Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Jessye Norman, Cecilia Bartoli, and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson.

Blier and Winters first collaborated in the NYFOS recital Spanish Gold in March 2011. "Those concerts were revelatory-the music was a perfect fit for my romantic sensibilities, but it helped me find a new palette of colors," says Winters. Following the performance, the pair immediately began talking about recording the unique repertoire.

"This CD is a tribute to Spain's astonishing-and ravishing-musical diversity," writes Blier in the accompanying program note. "Gentle impressionism, fiery dance rhythms, soaring, romantic melody, and rough peasant ballad-Spanish song embraces them all. The musical riches of this nation are among the things I hold dearest in my heart."

"My work with Steven Blier has opened my eyes to a new world of fine brush-stroke detail," says Winters. "He appreciates my Italianate operatic sound, but also encourages me to experiment with a more intimate approach based around poetry, looking for the individual voice of each composer."

THE REPERTOIRE:

(excerpts will be performed at the Nov. 17 CD Release Concert)

1. Después que te conocí (4:06)
Music by Eduardo Toldrá; poem by Francesco de Quevedo

2. Paño murciano (1:49)
Folk song arrangement by Joaquín Nin

3. Si con mis deseos (2:27)
Music by Joaquín Turina; poem by Lope de Vega

4. Aldapeko, Mariya (1:11)
Music by Felix Lavilla, Traditional Basque poem

5. Maig (3.26)
Music by Eduardo Toldrá; Poem by Trinitat Catasús

6. Cançó amorosa (4:02)
Music by Xavier Montsalvatge; poem by Tomas Garcés

7. Nik baditut (2.27)
Basque folk song, arranged by Graciano Tarragó
Oren Fader, guitar

8. La tarara (1:02)
Eighteenth century popular song arranged by Federico García Lorca
Oren Fader, guitar

9. Si la mar fuera de tinta (6:17)
Music by José Melchor Gomis/arr. S. Blier; Anonymous poet

10. Haidé (5:04)
Music by Narcís Bonet; poem by Joan Maragall

11. Tres hijas tiene el buen rey (4:03)
Music by Alberto Hemsi; Traditional folk poem

12. Cómo quieres que adivine (2:50)
Music by Jesús Guridi; folk poem

13. Paisatge del Montseny (3:43)
Music by Xavier Montsalvatge; Poem by Pere Ribot

14. Adío querida (3:46)
Sephardic melody, arranged by Manuel García Morante

15.Todas las mañanitas, from Don Gil de Alcalà (3:27)
Music and libretto by Manuel Penella Moreno
Corinne Winters, soprano; Maya Lahyani, mezzo;
Oren Fader, guitar

CORINNE WINTERS (corinnewinters.com) - Acclaimed by The New York Times as "an outstanding actress, as well as a singer of extraordinary grace and finesse," soprano Corinne Winters is a recent nominee in the International Opera Awards Young Singer category. Corinne's 2014/2015 season includes debuts with Washington National Opera as Mimì in a new production of La bohème and Vlaamse Opera Antwerpen as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Return engagements include role debuts as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin with Arizona Opera and Magda in La rondine with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. In recital, Corinne performs with Steven Blier of the New York Festival of Song at the Tucson Desert Song Festival and Vocal Arts DC, showcasing Spanish song repertoire from her debut album Canción amorosa.

In the 2013/14 season, Corinne debuted with the Santa Fe Opera as Soon Ching-ling in the American premiere of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Kentucky Opera as Mimi?, Michigan Opera Theatre as Violetta in La traviata, and Virginia Opera as Micae?la in Carmen. She joined tenor Matthew Polenzani in recital for the George London Foundation and was praised by Opera News as "a striking brunette who manages to be simultaneously gamine and seductress, reveal[ing] an arresting, uniquely plum-colored soprano that could pass for mezzo in the middle but explodes with vibrant color on top."

Corinne also recently debuted as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with Arizona Opera and Violetta with Opera Hong Kong, Opera Lyra Ottawa, and English National Opera, which BBC Music Magazine deemed "a performance of white-hot intensity and consummate control." Immediate reengagements included Teresa in Benvenuto Cellini with English National Opera and Mimì with Arizona Opera, along with returns to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Vendulka in Smetana's The Kiss, the National Symphony Orchestra as Violetta, and the Metropolitan Opera to cover Blanche de la Force in Les Dialogues des Carme?lites. Future seasons include debuts with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opernhaus Zürich, and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Corinne has won prizes from Wolf Trap Opera's Shouse Career Grant, the Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation, Marcello Giordani Foundation (1st prize, Critics Choice Award, Vero Beach Prize), George London Foundation (George London/Leonie Rysanek Award), Sullivan Foundation (Career Grant), Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation (1st Prize), Palm Beach Opera Competition (1st Prize), Gerda Lissner Foundation (2nd Prize), and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (National Semifinalist, 1st place New England Region).

Originally from Frederick, MD, Corinne earned a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the Peabody Conservatory and Bachelor of Science degree magna cum laude from Towson University before appearing as a resident artist at the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Currently, she studies with world-renowned soprano Diana Soviero.

STEVEN BLIER - Steven Blier is the Artistic Director of the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS), which he co-founded in 1988 with Michael Barrett. Since the Festival's inception, he has programmed, performed, translated and annotated more than 140 vocal recitals with repertoire spanning the entire range of American song, art song from Schubert to Szymanowski, and popular song from early vaudeville to Lennon-McCartney. NYFOS has also made in-depth explorations of music from Spain, Latin America, Scandinavia and Russia. New York Magazine gave NYFOS its award for Best Classical Programming, while Opera News proclaimed Blier "the coolest dude in town."

Mr. Blier enjoys an eminent career as an accompanist and vocal coach. His recital partners have included Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Samuel Ramey, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Susan Graham, Jessye Norman, and José van Dam, in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to La Scala. He is also on the faculty of The Juilliard School and has been active in encouraging young recitalists at summer programs, including the Wolf Trap Opera Company, Santa Fe Opera, and the San Francisco Opera Center. Many of his former students, including Stephanie Blythe, Joseph Kaiser, Sasha Cooke, Paul Appleby, Dina Kuznetsova, Corinne Winters, and Kate Lindsey, have gone on to be valued recital colleagues and sought-after stars on the opera and concert stage.

In keeping the traditions of American music alive, he has brought back to the stage many of the rarely heard songs of George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Kurt Weill and Cole Porter. He has also played ragtime, blues and stride piano evenings with John Musto. A champion of American art song, he has premiered works of John Corigliano, Paul Moravec, Ned Rorem, William Bolcom, Mark Adamo, John Musto, Richard Danielpour, Tobias Picker, Robert Beaser, Lowell Liebermann, Harold Meltzer, and Lee Hoiby, many of which were commissioned by NYFOS.

Mr. Blier's extensive discography includes the premiere recording of Leonard Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles (Koch International), which won a Grammy Award. His most recent releases are Spanish Love Songs (Bridge Records), recorded live at the Caramoor International Music Festival with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Joseph Kaiser, and Michael Barrett; the world premiere recording of Bastianello(John Musto) and Lucrezia (William Bolcom), a double bill of one-act comic operas set to librettos by Mark Campbell; and his latest recording, Quiet Please, an album of jazz standards with vocalist Darius de Haas.

His writings on opera have been featured in Opera News and the Yale Review. A native New Yorker, he received a Bachelor's Degree with Honors in English Literature at Yale University, where he studied piano with Alexander Farkas. He completed his musical studies in New York with Martin Isepp and Paul Jacobs.

ABOUT NYFOS (www.nyfos.org) - Now in its 27th season, New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) is dedicated to creating intimate song concerts of great beauty and originality. Weaving music, poetry, history and humor into evenings of compelling theater, NYFOS fosters community among artists and audiences. Each program entertains and educates in equal measure.

Founded by pianists Michael Barrett and Steven Blier in 1988, NYFOS continues to produce its series of thematic song programs, drawing together rarely-heard songs of all kinds, overriding traditional distinctions between high and low performance genres, exploring the character and language of other cultures, and the personal voices of song composers and lyricists.

Since its founding, NYFOS has particularly celebrated American song. Among the many highlights is the double bill of one-act comic operas, Bastianello and Lucrezia, by John Musto and William Bolcom, both with libretti by Mark Campbell, commissioned and premiered by NYFOS in 2008 and recorded on Bridge Records. In addition to Bastianello and Lucrezia and the 2008 Bridge Records release of Spanish Love Songs with Joseph Kaiser and the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, NYFOS has produced five recordings on the Koch label, including a Grammy Award-winning disc of Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles, and the Grammy-nominated recording of Ned Rorem's Evidence of Things Not Seen (also a NYFOS commission) on New World Records. Soon to come: a CD of Spanish song-Basque, Catalan, Castilian, and Sephardic-on the GPR label, with soprano Corinne Winters accompanied by Steven Blier.

In November 2010, NYFOS debuted NYFOS Next, a mini-series for new songs, hosted by guest composers in intimate venues. Starting in 2013-2014, the series moved to Opera America's National Opera Center. In 2014, NYFOS introduced its unamplified cabaret series After Hours at HENRY's Restaurant on the Upper West Side, drawing full houses and superlative voices accompanied by Blier at the piano.

NYFOS is passionate about nurturing the artistry and careers of young singers, and has developed training residencies around the country, including with The Juilliard School's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts (now in its 9th year); Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts (its 6th year in March 2014); San Francisco Opera Center (over 15 years as of April 2013); Glimmerglass Opera (2008-2010); and its newest project, NYFOS@North Fork in Orient, NY.

NYFOS's concert series, touring programs, radio broadcasts, recordings, and educational activities continue to spark new interest in the creative possibilities of the song program, and have inspired the creation of thematic vocal series around the world.?