Wexford Festival Opera to Celebrate 70th Anniversary With Debut New York Performance

Wexford Festival Opera is celebrating its 70th anniversary with its debut New York concert on Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 7:30pm at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, featuring renowned soprano Angela Meade, together with pianist Myra Huang, in works by Wagner, Meyerbeer, Amy Beach, and others.

The festive concert reunites Angela Meade with Wexford Festival Opera, which played a pivotal role in her career; she made her European debut there in 2010, starring in the title role of Saverio Mercadante's rarely-heard Virginia. Following this, she quickly became recognized as one of today's outstanding vocalists who excels in demanding roles of the 19th-century Bel Canto repertoire, as well as in the operas of Mozart and Verdi. She has performed at leading opera houses across the world including the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, and the Teatro Regio di Torino.

In addition to the concert in New York, Wexford Festival Opera is presenting three other international concerts in celebration of its 70th anniversary which include recitals by Eleanora Buratto at the Teatro Torlonia Rome on December 22, 2021, by Mariangela Sicilia at the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow on February 12, 2022, and by Ermanela Jaho at St. John's Smith Square in London. Each of these sopranos appeared at Wexford Festival Opera early in their careers.

Wexford Festival Opera won Best Festival at the International Opera Awards in 2017, confirming its reputation for high-quality productions that, every year, bring thousands of opera-lovers flocking to Wexford from all over the world. Over the years, the Festival has championed the works of Donizetti, having staged more of his operas than any other opera company in the world outside of his native Bergamo; sparked a Massenet revival; and established an international reputation both for attracting and for making major stars.

"Having welcomed visitors to Wexford from the United States over many years, we are thrilled to at last present a concert in New York with one of our most-loved artists!" said Randall Shannon, Executive Director of Wexford Festival Opera.

Concert Information

Wexford Festival Opera: Angela Meade
Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 7:30pm
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center | 129 W 67th St | New York, NY
Tickets: $40
Link: https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/wexford-festival-opera-angela-meade/

Angela Meade, soprano
Myra Huang, piano

Works by Wagner, Meyerbeer, Amy Beach, and others.

About Angela Meade

American soprano Angela Meade is the winner of both the Metropolitan Opera's 2012 Beverly Sills Artist Award and the 2011 Richard Tucker Award. In 2008 she joined an elite group of history's singers when, as Elvira in Verdi's Ernani, she made her professional operatic debut on the Met stage. Since then she has fast become recognized as one of today's outstanding vocalists, excelling in the most demanding heroines of the 19th-century Bel Canto repertoire as well as in the operas of Verdi and Mozart.

Among her recent and future engagements: Ermione and Norma at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Anna Bolena in Bilbao and Genoa, Aida in Barcelona, at the Arena di Verona and in Turin, Il Trovatore in Palermo, Simon Boccanegra and Norma in Parma, Un ballo in maschera at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and in Verbier, Norma in Modena and Piacenza, Don Carlo at the Metropolitan Opera New York, Ernani at Opera in Rome, Armida in Wildbad, La forza del destino at La Coruña, Lucrezia Borgia in Monaco.

The 2018-19 season began with Ms. Meade joining forces with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain for a special performance of Verdi's Requiem in memory of Jacqueline Desmarais. Domestic opera engagements included a role debut as Margherita in the Robert Carsen production of Boito's Mefistofele at the Metropolitan Opera, a company debut with Seattle Opera as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore, and a return to the Dallas Opera as Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff. Internationally, Ms. Meade returned to Spain in the title role of Rossini's Semiramide for Asociación Bilbaina de Amigos de la Ópera and revived her portrayal of Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore at Teatro de la Maestranza de Sevilla. Her schedule also included a return to the Palacio de la Opera in A Coruña, Spain and the Sinfónica de Galicia for a concert of operatic highlights, a recital and masterclass with Vancouver's The Singer Behind the Song series as well as a return to Verdi's Requiem in Dublin, Ireland, with the RTÉ National Symphony conducted by Michele Mariotti. Ms. Meade ended the season with a gala concert in her debut at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy.

In the 2017-18 season, Meade sang the title roles in Bellini's Norma and Rossini's Semiramide (broadcast Live in HD in theaters worldwide) at the Metropolitan Opera, Handel's Alcina with Washington National Opera, and Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur with Oper Frankfurt. In addition, she sang the role of Giselda in Verdi's I Lombardi at Teatro Regio di Torino and stepped in as a last minute replacement as Leonora in performances of Il Trovatore with Deutsche Oper Berlin. Concert performances included Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézét-Séguin and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Seattle Symphony. She gave recitals in Philadelphia, Santa Fe, and Waterford (VA).

During the 2016-17 season, Meade joined the Teatro Real in Madrid as Lucrezia in concert performances of Verdi's I due Foscari, opposite Plácido Domingo and Michael Fabiano, conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado. She returned to Madrid later in the season to sing the title role in Norma and also returned to the Met for Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, conducted by Plácido Domingo. Ms. Meade gave concert performances of Rossini's Ermione under the baton of the late Alberto Zedda with the Russian National Orchestra in Moscow, the Opéra de Lyon orchestra in Lyon and in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. She also returned to the Caramoor Music Festival in their opening night gala and later in the season as Imogene in Bellini's Il Pirata. Later, she returned to Spain to sing at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville in the title role of Donizetti's Anna Bolena and to Bilbao for Lina in Verdi's Stiffelio, a debut role. In concert, she sang with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel for Janáček's Glagolitic Mass, made her Japanese debut in Tokyo with the NHK Symphony in Mahler's Symphony No. 8 conducted by Paavo Järvi, joined the Metropolitan Opera for their 50th Anniversary at Lincoln Center celebration concert, made her Houston Grand Opera debut in Verdi's Requiem under conductor Patrick Summers, performed Martinu's The Epic of Gilgamesh with the Grant Park Music Festival, as well as Washington Concert Opera's 30th Anniversary gala, and presented a solo recital with Performance Santa Fe.

Highlights of the 2015-16 season included performances as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore on both sides of the Atlantic, at the Met, at Deutsche Oper Berlin and at Palacio de la Opera in A Coruña, Spain. She revisited her celebrated portrayal of Bellini's Norma at Los Angeles Opera and performed selections from Don Giovanni with the Baltimore Symphony. Returning to Opera Orchestra of New York with Eve Queler, Ms. Meade performed the title role in Donizetti's rarity Parisina. In concert, she returned to the Philadelphia Orchestra for a New Year's Eve Gala and performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the symphony's U.S. premiere, as well as to her alma mater, Pacific Lutheran University, for a Christmas concert that was broadcast on PBS. Besides making her Cincinnati Symphony debut in Rachmaninoff's The Bells, and her St. Louis Symphony debut in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, she sang Verdi's Requiem on three continents: with the Boston Philharmonic, Brazil's Fundação Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, and with Spain's Asociación Bilbaína de Amigos de la Ópera (ABAO Bilbao).

The 2014-15 season saw Meade - the face of the Opera News 2014 "Diva Issue" - reprise Elvira in Verdi's Ernani at the Met, this time singing opposite Plácido Domingo under the leadership of James Levine. She undertook the title role of Ermione at Palacio de la Opera, and as one of the few sopranos to feature all three of Donizetti's Tudor queens in her repertoire, headlined Maria Stuarda in concert at Oregon's Astoria Music Festival. Again in Donizetti, she joined Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra to record the composer's lesser-known opera Le duc d'Albe for Opera Rara label. In concert, Verdi's Requiem was the vehicle for debuts with the New York Philharmonic, under Alan Gilbert; at London's BBC Proms, with Donald Runnicles leading the BBC Scottish Symphony; and with Spain's Oviedo Filarmonía. She also joined the Philadelphia Orchestra for Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall; sang Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the BBC Scottish Symphony; and headlined concert performances of Rossini's Guglielmo Tell with the orchestra of the Teatro Regio di Torino and Gianandrea Noseda in Edinburgh, Scotland, Stresa, Italy, and on a high-profile North American tour which included as sold out performance at Carnegie Hall.

Since her momentous Met debut, Meade's numerous returns to the storied New York house include starring in the title roles of Norma and Sir David McVicar's new Anna Bolena; as Leonora in Il trovatore; as Alice Ford in a new Falstaff under James Levine, as seen around the world in the Met's Live in HD series and released on DVD by Decca Classics; and as Mozart's Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. She also reprised Verdi's Elvira in a production seen both in the Met's Live in HD series and as a Great Performances at the Met presentation on PBS-TV. At Carnegie Hall, she headlined Bellini's rare gem Beatrice di Tenda and appeared in Rossini's Moïse et Pharaon, while at Lincoln Center she sang Giselda in I Lombardi with the Opera Orchestra of New York.

Other highlights of recent seasons include debuts at the Vienna State Opera as Elena in Verdi's I vespri siciliani; Deutsche Oper Berlin and Oper Frankfurt, in concert performances of Verdi's I due Foscari and Puccini's Edgar, respectively; Italy's Teatro Regio di Torino as Mathilde in a new production of Guglielmo Tell; Los Angeles Opera and Cincinnati Opera as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni; and, in her first fully-staged title portrayal of Norma, at Washington National Opera, where she was subsequently honored as "2013 Artist of the Year." She was catapulted to prominence in a 2010 concert performance of Norma at the Caramoor International Music Festival, where she has also triumphed as Hélène in Verdi's Les vêpres siciliennes, and in the title roles of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia and Rossini's Semiramide. In 2010, Meade made her European operatic debut at The Wexford Festival in the title role of Mercadante's rarely heard Virginia.

On the concert stage, Meade has appeared in recital at the Kennedy Center, and as soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Montreal's Orchestre Métropolitain, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, and Seattle Symphony, among others. Conductors with whom she has collaborated include Roberto Abbado, Marin Alsop, Marco Armiliato, Maurizio Benini, Will Crutchfield, Thomas Dausgaard, Plácido Domingo, Charles Dutoit, Riccardo Frizza, Manfred Honeck, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Donald Runnicles, Gerard Schwarz, and Osmo Vänskä. Visit angelameade.com for more information.

About Myra Huang

Grammy Award-nominated pianist Myra Huang performs in recitals and chamber music concerts around the world. Highly sought after for her interpretation of lieder and art song as well as her depth of musicianship and impeccable technique, she regularly performs with acclaimed opera singers around the world. Last season Huang performed in recitals throughout the U.S., including The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, The Kennedy Center, The Aspen Music Festival, Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan, Shriver Hall at Johns Hopkins University, and The Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Her recital with tenor Lawrence Brownlee at Carnegie Hall was chosen by WQXR as one of 2018's best classical recitals of the year, and Huang was chosen as the recipient of The Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artist Award for 2019 by The Classical Recording Foundation for her consummate artistry. Her participation with the "Emerging Voices" project under Nicholas Phan's curation at The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society in January 2020 included 6 concerts, exploring the themes of social connection through art song. Huang made her 92nd St Y debut in March 2020 with mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron, one of the first concerts that was streamed online during the covid-19 pandemic, which was viewed by over 77,000 people around the world from over 125 countries. She joins Lawrence Brownlee in September to record "Cycles of My Being" by Tyshawn Sorey, as well as "Larry Brownlee and Friends" for subscription broadcast.

Huang has served on the music staffs of the Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, and The Palau De Les Arts in Valencia, Spain. She worked closely with directors Lorin Maazel and Zubin Mehta as an assistant conductor at the Palau De Les Arts. From 2011-2013, she served as the Head of Music Staff at New York City Opera. She was a staff pianist for the Operalia competition, directed by Placido Domingo, performing at opera houses around the world such as Teatro alla Scala (Milan), The Royal Opera House (U.K.), The National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing), and Teatro Real (Madrid). She has taught at young artist programs throughout the U.S. and abroad to train young opera singers and pianists, including Music Academy of the West and the Houston Grand Opera Studio, and is on the music staff of The Atkins Program in The Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, as well as The Steans Institute at Ravinia. She is a part of the coaching staff in The Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, as well as The Atkins Program at The Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Huang is an avid recitalist and recording artist. Her recordings have received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Gramophone UK, Opera News, and The Boston Globe. Her recent album Gods and Monsters with tenor Nicholas Phan was nominated for the "Best Classical Vocal Solo Album" category at the 2018 Grammy Awards. Of this album, Opera News stated that "Huang matches the tenor with pianistic arsenal of colors and attacks, controlled by her astonishing technique." Her most recent album, Clairieres, on the Avie label with tenor Nicholas Phan, features the music of Lili and Nadia Boulanger, and has been released to critical acclaim anew. Other albums include Illuminations, Winter Words, and Still Falls the Rain on the Avie label with Nicholas Phan, and Paysages on the Bridge label with soprano Susanna Phillips, all released to critical acclaim. Huang is a Steinway Artist.

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