George London Foundation Presents Lisette Oropesa and Brian Mulligan, 4/1

The George London Foundation for Singers culminates its 2011-12 season of events with a recital by two young George London Award-winning opera stars:  soprano Lisette Oropesa, who will sing the role of Gilda in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Rigoletto next season, and tenor Brian Mulligan, who sings the title role of Nixon in China in the San Francisco Opera's company premiere of the work in June, perform a recital program with pianist Ken Noda at The Morgan Library & Museum on Sunday, April 1, 2012, at 5:00 PM.

Lisette Oropesa, a 2008 George London Award winner, will sing songs by Bizet as well as "Al destin che minaccia" from Mozart's Mitridate and "Ah! non credea mirarti" from Bellini's La Sonnambula.  Brian Mulligan, a 2003 George London Award winner, will perform four songs from Dominick Argento's song cycle The Andrée Expedition, songs by Liszt, and "Per me giunto...lo morrò" from Verdi's Don Carlo.  The two will conclude the program with the duet "Il pallor funesto, orrendo" from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

Lisette Oropesa made what the San Francisco Chronicle described as a "superb company debut" as Romilda in Handel's Xerxes in the fall, and garnered critical praise for her performance as Miranda in the Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island with the Metropolitan Opera. The season culminates with Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serailwith Pittsburgh Opera later in the spring, and Ismene in a revival of Mitridate, rè di Ponto with the Bayerische Staatsoper in July. 

Brian Mulligan in February joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its music director, Gustavo Dudamel, as a soloist in Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in performances at the Hollywood Bowl and on the orchestra's historic trip to Caracas,Venezuela.  He also sang Valentin in Faust at The Metropolitan Opera earlier this year, eliciting praise from MusicalAmerica.com:  "He brought burnished tone and deep feeling to his famous aria, 'Avant de quitter ces lieux,' then came close to stealing the entire show with a death scene that was riveting in its raw intensity." 

The event caps a season in which the George London Foundation also presented duo-recitals by pairs Ailyn Pérez & Stephen Costello and Marcello Giordani & Meagan Miller, as well as the 41^st annual George London Foundation Awards Competition.