Segerstrom Center Presents Paulo Szot

Paulo Szot, the acclaimed and versatile baritone with matinee idol looks, will make his debut at Segerstrom Center for the Arts December 15 - 18 in Samueli Theater. His star-making turn in
the smash revival of South Pacific was one of the most talked-about performances of that, or any other, year.

Since that Tony winning performance, he has continued to wow audiences every time he takes the
stage, from the Metropolitan Opera to the Café Carlyle and beyond. The New York Times wrote, "Mr. Szot's lady-killer aura is matched vocally by a much more persuasive emotional connection with this material...He delivered it with the authority of Zeus hurling thunderbolts."

Tickets for Paulo Szot are $75 and available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 15 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. The TTY number is (714) 556-2746.

Szot has won international acclaim both as an opera singer and actor. For his portrayal of Emile de Beque in South Pacific at Lincoln Center Theatre, he received the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and the Theater World Awards, as well as the Tony, becoming the first Brazilian actor to receive such honors.

Born in São Paulo and raised in Ribeirão Pires, Brazil, Szot began his musical training in piano at the age of 5 and later added violin and dance. He studied at Jagiellonian University in Poland, the country from which his parents had emigrated following World War II.

Szot began singing professionally in 1990 with the Polish National Song & Dance Ensemble, Slask. He made his opera debut in a production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Teatro Municipal de São Paulo in 1997. Since then, Szot has appeared with many major opera companies throughout the world both in Europe, the U.S. and his native Brazil.

Szot made his New York Philharmonic debut during the 2008-2009 season in a concert conducted by Marvin Hamlisch, appearing alongside Liza Minnelli. In 2010, he made his highly acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut in a new production of The Nose by Shostakovich, conducted by Valery Gergiev. He also made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops Orchestra.

In 2011, Szot returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Escamillo in Carmen and made his Paris Opera debut at the Palais Garnier as Guglielmo in Così Fan Tutte. He also returned to Carnegie Hall to appear in concert with Deborah Voigt.

He has performed in the Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center as part of the American Songbook Series and at Café Carlyle in New York.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is unique as both an acclaimed arts institution and as a multidisciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.
Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center traces its roots back to the late 1960s when a dedicated group of community leaders decided Orange County should have its own world-class performing arts venue.

As Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization, Segerstrom Center for the Arts owns and
operates the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and intimate 250-seat Founders Hall, which opened in 1986, and the 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, which opened in 2006 and also houses the 500-seat Samueli Theater, the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge Education Center's studio performance space and Boeing Education Lab. A spacious arts plaza anchors Segerstrom Center for the Arts and is home to numerous free performances throughout the year as part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' ongoing Free for All series.

The Center presents a broad range of programming each season for audiences of all ages from
throughout Orange County and beyond, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. It offers many education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts.

These programs reach hundreds of thousands of students of all ages with vital arts-in-education
programs, enhancing their studies and enriching their lives well into the future.
In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Paulo Szot
Segerstrom Center for the Arts - Samueli Theater
December 15 - 18, 2011
Thursday - Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday at 7 p.m.
615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA
Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Tickets: $75
In person - The Box Office
600 Town Center Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily
Online - SCFTA.org
Phone - (714) 556-2787
Open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily
TTY number - (714) 556-2746
Group Sales - (714) 755-0236

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