Jacobi, Daniels and More Set for THE TEMPEST, 6/13

For one night only at Juilliard, on Monday, June 13 at 7 PM, actors Sir Derek Jacobi, Richard Clifford, and Juilliard alumna Monica Raymund perform selected readings from Shakespeare's The Tempest, complemented by 17th-century songs and instrumental highlights inspired by Shakespeare's play and compiled into an early operatic version. Countertenor David Daniels and baritone Bob McDonald are featured vocalists, performing with Juilliard415, the School's highly praised student historical performance group. Public radio station WQXR 105.9 will host a live stream of this special performance. An encore presentation on Classical 105.9 FM WQXR , featuring largely the musical portions of the performance, will air on Sunday, June 26 at 4 PM.

Juilliard's June 13 performance is a benefit for the Juilliard Drama Division. A limited number of benefit tickets remain for the performance and post-performance dinner, ranging from $1,000 - $50,000. Performance-only benefit tickets range in price from $75 - $125. FOR BENEFIT TICKET INFORMATION CALL (212) 799-5000 EXT. 329.

A very limited number of non-benefit balcony seats priced at $50 are available at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard; may be purchased online at http://events.juilliard.edu; or by calling CenterCharge (212) 721-6500.

Juilliard is located at Lincoln Center, at 155 West 65th Street, just west of Broadway.

Adapted and directed by Mr. Clifford, this presentation of The Tempest with period music was first performed in 2010 by the Folger Consort, early music ensemble-in-residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, with mostly the same cast. Robert Eisenstein was musical director. Thought to have been written by Shakespeare about 1610, The Tempest is among the great plays of his late period. Frequently adapted in performance, it also has been the inspiration for operatic treatments, tone poems, and numerous song texts. At Juilliard, the benefit reading includes a setting of Shakespeare's text from a 1674 staging of The Tempest as well as other period works; the composers are Matthew Locke, John Banister, Pelham Humfrey, Georg Frideric Handel, and Antonino Reggio.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
SIR DEREK JACOBI
Known to American audiences for his Broadway (Uncle Vanya, Much Ado About Nothing), film (Hamlet, Dead Again, Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Gladiator, The King's Speech), and television work (I, Claudius), the legendary British actor Sir Derek Jacobi currently is starring in the Donmar Warehouse production of King Lear at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He and director Michael Grandage both received UK Critics' Circle Awards for their work. Sir Derek has received Olivier Awards for A Voyage Round My Father and for his portrayal of Malvolio in a Donmar production of Twelfth Night. Here in the US, his Broadway performance in Much Ado About Nothing garnered him a Tony Award.

RICHARD CLIFFORD
Richard Clifford has performed in acclaimed stage productions with Royal Shakespeare Company, Prospect Theatre Company at the Old Vic, and in London's West End, as well as US productions on Broadway and at The Kennedy Center. He currently is appearing in London at the Old Vic Theatre in Terrance Rattigan's Cause Célèbre. His films include Kenneth Branagh-directed Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labour's Lost, and As You Like It. Other films include Gulliver in Lilliput, Cyrano de Bergerac, Little Dorrit, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells. He has directed numerous productions at the Folger Theatre in Washington, DC, including Elizabeth The Queen, which was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award. In addition to their adaptation of The Tempest, Mr. Clifford also directed and performed in the Folger Consort's production of The Fairy Queen in 2007.

MONICA RAYMUND
A native of Florida, Monica Raymund is a Group 37 (2008) graduate of the acting program at The Juilliard School, where she won the coveted John Houseman Award. She performed in Twelfth Night, Ibsen's Ghosts, and was Clymenestra in Juilliard's compilation, The Greeks. Close upon graduation, Ms. Raymund was a guest-star on the 200th episode of Law & Order: SVU starring Robin Williams, and soon after was cast in the television series Lie To Me.

DAVID DANIELS, COUNTERTENOR
American countertenor David Daniels has appeared with the world's major opera companies and on leading concert and recital stages. He made history as the first countertenor to give a solo recital in Carnegie Hall's main auditorium. Highly sought after to perform the works of Handel, Monteverdi, Gluck, Mozart, and Britten, he returns to the Metropolitan Opera this month in the title role of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. His recent recital on music by Handel with soprano Dorothea Röschmann at Carnegie Hall, in which Juilliard415 also performed, was called "radiantly beautiful" by The New York Times. An exclusive Virgin Classics recording artist with several critically-acclaimed and best-selling solo albums to his credit, Mr. Daniels' latest release is a collection of Bach's Sacred Arias and Cantatas conducted by Harry Bicket with The English Concert. He is the recipient of two of classical music's most significant awards: Musical America's Vocalist of the Year for 1999 and the 1997 Richard Tucker Award.

BOB McDONALD, BARITONE
Washington, DC-based baritone Bob McDonald enjoys a diverse career across artistic disciplines of musical theater, opera, and the concert stage, appearing at Signature Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Folger Theatre and Arena Stage, among others in the Washington area. He has appeared as soloist with The Choral Arts Society of Washington, The Folger Consort, and the New Dominion Chorale. In addition, Master Sargeant McDonald is NCOIC (non-commissioned officer in charge) of The United States Army Chorus, where he has been a member since 1994. The Chorus performs often at the White House and at State and Defense Department functions. The Chorus performs for each presidential inaugural, and in official ceremonies and special events at the US Capitol. An avid sports fan, Mr. McDonald is a regular singer of the National Anthem for the Washington Capitals, who have just advanced past the New York Rangers in the Eastern Division Playoffs of the National Hockey League.

JUILLIARD415
Juilliard415 is the performing ensemble of Juilliard Historical Performance. Juilliard's newest program of study, it provides a comprehensive course of study for exceptional graduate-level musicians who have a special interest in period-instrument performance. With an emphasis on music from the High Baroque through the early Classical eras performed on appropriate instruments, the performance-oriented curriculum brings together some of the most prominent period-instrument performers, scholars, and teachers in the world, under the artistic leadership of Baroque violinist Monica Huggett. Players on June 13 are: Beth Wenstrom, violinist and leader, Liv Heym, violin; Adriane Post, viola; Ezra Seltzer, cello; Jeffrey Grossman, harpsichord; Luke Conklin, Priscilla Smith, Kristin Olson, oboes; Nathan Heldeson, bassoon; with guest artist Grant Herreid, theorbo.

JUILLIARD DRAMA DIVISION
During the course of its history, Juilliard's Drama Division has become one of the most respected programs for actor education in the English-speaking world. The division's outstanding creative reputation, distinguished faculty, and extraordinary level of rigor have enabled more than forty years of alumni to excel as artists, leaders, and global citizens. The Drama Division continues to cultivate gifted young actors, providing them with the necessary breadth of knowledge and skills required to interpret a broad range of theatrical works. More than 80 percent of Juilliard's drama alumni actively work in theater, film, and television.

WQXR
Classical 105.9 FM WQXR is New York City's only all-classical music station, immersing listeners in the city's rich musical life. WQXR presents new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from the Metropolitan Opera, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the New York Philharmonic, among other city venues. WQXR broadcasts essential shows such as the Metropolitan Opera Radio Saturday Matinee Broadcasts, the New York Philharmonic This Week on Thursday evenings, the McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase on Wednesday evenings, and Symphony Hall each weeknight. For listeners in search of the new, WQXR also operates Q2, a 24-hour-a-day online music stream dedicated to contemporary classical composers, cross-genre adventures, and performances from New York City's edgier venues. WQXR.org provides essential playlist info for online listening, as well as original content, host blogs, NYC cultural news, and videos.

Additional information at www.Juilliard.edu or www.WQXR.org.