Soprano Nadine Sierra to Perform Recital at The Dallas Opera This Winter

The Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Art Song Recital Series will feature American soprano, Nadine Sierra, winner of the 2017 Richard Tucker Award and the 2009 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Finals, in an exclusive recital produced by The Dallas Opera.

The performance will take place on Sunday, January 28, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. in Moody Performance Hall (a 749-seat venue located at 2520 Flora Street-across the street from the Winspear Opera House-in the Dallas Arts District). Tickets are now on sale for $15 and $25 and may be purchased at dallasopera.org/titus or by contacting the friendly professionals in The Dallas Opera Ticket Office at 214.443.1000.

"Nadine Sierra has quickly progressed from enchanting ingénue to operatic powerhouse," explains Keith Cerny (The Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO of The Dallas Opera) and we are justifiably thrilled to be able to introduce her to North Texas audiences!"

"We are so grateful for the Titus Family's generous support of these important recitals, which offer an intimate setting in which to appreciate these tremendous talents.

"This is the fifth recital in the series which has included world-class tenors Ian Bostridge and Matthew Polenzani, legendary mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade in 2016 and tenor Michael Fabiano last winter," Cerny adds, "each of which has contributed significantly to the advancement and preservation of this art form for future generations."

Nadine Sierra will be accompanied by renowned pianist Bryan Wagorn, an Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera who made his house debut during the 2013-14 Season working with conductor James Levine on the new production of Falstaff. He regularly performs throughout North America, Europe, and Asia as a pianist, chamber musician and piano accompanist.

Praised for her vocal beauty, seamless technique, and abundant musicality, soprano Nadine Sierra is being hailed as one of the most promising talents to emerge from the opera world today. The youngest winner to date of both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Marilyn Horne Foundation Vocal Competition, Ms. Sierra has already attracted the attention of top-ranked opera companies and symphony orchestras, worldwide.

Quoted in a recent New York Times article by Michael Cooper, "Barry Tucker, president of the Richard Tucker Music Foundation - and the son of the Brooklyn-born tenor for whom it was named - said that he had watched Ms. Sierra develop since she was in college. 'She possesses an artistic maturity that is well beyond her years and is destined to be a leading light of the opera world'."

Ms. Sierra's first taste of national notice came at the tender age of fifteen, in the wake of her appearance on the popular NPR program, From the Top, which showcases young musical artists. At sixteen, she sang the role of Sandman in Hansel and Gretel at Palm Beach Opera, under the baton of the legendary Julius Rudel.

After graduating from New York's Mannes College of Music, Ms. Sierra was accepted into the prestigious Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera, where she made her 2011 company debut in the dual roles of Juliet and Barbara, opposite Thomas Hampson, in the world premiere production of Heart of a Soldier, a 9/11 opera by Christopher Theofanidis.

Commenting on her performances, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "There is no way to listen to soprano Nadine Sierra...and feel anything but awe and delight-a combination of admiration for her current gifts and eager anticipation at what the future surely holds for her."

Despite her youth, Ms. Sierra is already putting her special stamp on a wide variety of major signature roles including Lucia (in Lucia di Lammermoor), Musetta (in La Bohème), Gilda (in Rigoletto), and Pamina (in Mozart's The Magic Flute).

After earning "rave reviews at the Metropolitan Opera and La Scala, Ms. Sierra won the Richard Tucker award this past spring-as sure an indicator that exists of a successful opera career" (Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review). Before the January recital, Ms. Sierra will be appearing on the Metropolitan Opera stage in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.

Ms. Sierra recently attracted critical acclaim for her Metropolitan Opera performances in Idomeneo, a Mozart rarity co-starring Matthew Polenzani, one of the earlier stars of the Titus Art Song Recital Series.

The 2018 Titus Recital will include a variety of much-loved works by composers Richard Strauss, Samuel Barber, Franz Schubert, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Robert Schumann, Joaquín Turina, and Leonard Bernstein (program specifics are subject to change).

Through the generosity of the Titus Family, ticket prices are $15 or $25. Seating is reserved and tickets will be held at Will Call. $10 Student Tickets are also available with a current Student I.D. Tickets may be purchased through The Dallas Opera Ticket Office (214.443.1000) or online, 24/7, at dallasopera.org/titus.

"With the selection of Nadine Sierra, Keith Cerny and The Dallas Opera continue to bring world-renowned singers to the stage in Dallas. My family is excited and honored to be a part of this important series" said Dallas Opera Trustee Sarah Titus.

Ms. Sierra made her professional debut with Palm Beach Opera while still a teenager, in her home state of Florida. She studied in New York City at Mannes College of Music and was an Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera. She made her debut at San Francisco Opera in 2011 as Juliet/Barbara in the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis's Heart of a Soldier. Recent engagements include Gilda in Rigoletto (La Scala, Milan, Chorégies d'Orange, Opéra Bastille, Metropolitan Opera, New York, Seattle Opera), Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoore (La Fenice, Venice, San Francisco Opera, Zürich Opera), Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera), Tytania in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Norina in Don Pasquale (Valencia), Musetta in La bohème, Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (San Francisco Opera) and Flavia Gemmira in Eliogabalo (Paris Opéra). She is the youngest winner of the Marilyn Horne Foundation Vocal Competition, the 2017 Richard Tucker Award Winner, and has recently signed a record contract with Deutsche Grammophon/Universal. Plans include Susanna (Metropolitan Opera), Norina in Donizetti's Don Pasquale (Paris Opéra) and Nannetta in Falstaff (Staatsoper Berlin).

Canadian pianist and vocal coach Bryan Wagorn serves as Assistant Conductor at The Metropolitan Opera, and regularly performs throughout North America, Europe, and Asia as pianist, chamber musician, and recital accompanist to the world's leading singers and instrumentalists. In the 2013-2014 season, Mr. Wagorn made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Assistant Conductor in their new production of Falstaff. He has performed with James Levine and the Met Chamber Ensemble at Carnegie Hall as solo pianist and chamber musician, and in recital for the George London Foundation, the Marilyn Horne Foundation and Richard Tucker Foundation, and also serves on the music staff of the Glyndebourne Festival. A participant at the Marlboro Music Festival, Mr. Wagorn has also been engaged as Staff Coach at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, and has served on faculty of the National Arts Centre Orchestra's Summer Music Institute directed by Pinchas Zukerman. He made his solo recital debut at New York's Carnegie Hall in 2009, and has performed two extensive tours with Jeunesses Musicales de Canada, and performed chamber music with members of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Mr. Wagorn holds degrees in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada, the University of Ottawa, the Mannes College of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He is a graduate of The Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

Founded in 1957, The Dallas Opera is an internationally-recognized innovator dedicated to the overall advancement of the operatic art form and the support of established and emerging artists, as well as the education and development of new opera audiences in North Texas-and beyond. These goals are achieved by commissioning and producing world-class opera; through ground-breaking institutes, national competitions and topical programs; and by presenting opera in both traditional and non-traditional formats and venues in order to attract patrons of every age, background, educational level, and ethnicity-while engaging with more than 87,000 people in our community each year. TDO is equally committed to the task of responsible stewardship and is managed with efficiency and accountability, to the highest possible standards.

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