Zachary James To Play Carnegie Hall With All-Female Composer Recital

Zachary James, Bass-Baritone, and Charity Wicks, pianist, will offer a recital of works composed by women at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Monday, November 30, 2020 at 7:30pm.

The one night only program includes works by Venetian composer, Barbara Strozzi, English composer and member of the women's suffrage movement, Dame Ethel Smyth, whose opera, Der Wald, was the only opera written by a woman produced at The Metropolitan Opera for over a century, and Florence Price, the first African-American woman to have her work premiered by a major orchestra. The program will also feature the work of seven prominent living composers, including Kamala Sankaram (Houston Grand Opera, Opera Ithaca, LA Opera, Opera Memphis) and Rene Orth (Opera Philadelphia, Washington National Opera, Festival d'Aix en Provence).

Premieres planned for the program include music from Bonnie Montgomery (Arkansas Country Music Award's Americana Artist of the Year); a new work inspired by the sculptures of Duane Hanson from composer Rachel J. Peters (Fort Worth Opera, Sarasota Opera, Atlanta Opera, Utah Opera) with lyrics by Robert Maddock (Recipient of the American Theatre Wing's Jonathan Larson Grant); the world premiere of Ahab, from composer Juliana Hall (Buxton Festival, Rhonefestival für Liedkunst, Schumannfest Düsseldorf, Tanglewood) and librettist Caitlin Vincent (Washington National Opera, Oxford Lieder Festival, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble), based on Melville's Moby Dick; excerpts from the upcoming world premiere opera, The Old Man And The Sea by Paola Prestini (San Diego Opera, Minnesota Opera, New York Philharmonic) and Royce Vavrek (Los Angeles Philharmonic, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); and Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, from composer Kristin Hevner (BBC, Opera Ithaca, Teatro Città della Pieve, Metropolis Opera Project).

Zachary James has appeared with The Metropolitan Opera (Akhnaten, Wozzeck), Teatro Real (the world premiere of Philip Glass's The Perfect American), Minnesota Opera (the world premiere of Edward Tulane), Opera Philadelphia (the world premiere of Breaking The Waves, The Love For Three Oranges), English National Opera, Opera Queensland, Los Angeles Opera, Arizona Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Virginia Opera, Union Avenue Opera, Opera Roanoke, Shreveport Opera, Opera Ithaca, Sun Valley Opera, Central City Opera, Ash Lawn Opera, The Prototype Festival, The New York Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and The Philadelphia Orchestra. James created the role of Lurch in the Original Broadway Cast of The Addams Family, played Hassinger in the Lincoln Center Theater Revival of South Pacific, and made his Broadway debut in the play, Coram Boy. Off-Broadway credits include Pasquale in The Most Happy Fella and Jo-Jo in Irma La Douce both with Encores. He has appeared on the sitcoms, 30 Rock and Murphy Brown. A frequent interpreter of new music, James premiered operas by Philip Glass, Missy Mazzoli, Kristin Hevner, Paola Prestini, Dana Wilson and Andy Teirstein and serves as an Ambassador to Opera America. James was named the Most Innovative Opera Singer of 2019 by Classical Post and 2019 Breakout Artist of the Year by Verismo Magazine.

Pianist and conductor Charity Wicks has worked extensively in both the classical and commercial music worlds notably with American Opera Projects, The Prototype Festival, Opera Santa Barbara, on the National Tour of Billy Elliot, and in the current Broadway production of West Side Story as well as the Broadway runs of Tootsie, Frozen, The Great Comet, Spring Awakening, Girl From The North Country, Wicked and Nice Work If You Can Get It. James and Wicks first collaborated on the world premiere of Andy Teirstein's opera A Blessing On The Moon at Vancouver's Chutzpah Festival and at NYC's Le Poisson Rouge.

James and Wicks are joined on stage by Baroque specialist Brandon J. Acker (Leipzig Baroque Orchestra, Joffrey Ballet, The Chicago Philharmonic, The Newberry Consort), cellist Jeffrey Zeigler (recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize, the Polar Music Prize, the President's Merit Award from the Grammy Awards National Academy of Recorded Arts, the Chamber Music America National Service Award and The Asia Society's Cultural Achievement Award), and soprano Megan Nielson (San Luis Potosí Festival, Miami Music Festival, Opera Ithaca, Symphony of the Mountains). The recital is directed by Ellen Jackson (Atlanta Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Opera San Antonio, Tulsa Opera, Arizona Opera).