Ars Lyrica Houston Features Three Young Opera Stars in a Gender-Bending Twist of Handel's Cantata

Grammy-nominated music organization Ars Lyrica Houston welcomes three young opera stars to perform Handel's Clori, Tirsi, e Fileno with full Baroque orchestra on Sunday, March 26th at 4 pm in Zilkha Hall. This concert will also be available to watch digitally through high-quality livestream.

Soprano Lauren Snouffer, countertenor Key'mon Murrah, and contralto Cecelia McKinley will present Handel's 1707 comic cantata with gender roles reversed, bringing a new twist to the timeless story of a beautiful nymph and two love-struck shepherds.

Artistic Director Matthew Dirst explains that "this gender reversal keeps with performance norms of such works during Handel's time in Italy, where male singers frequently performed female roles and vice versa - though our atypical casting with Murrah as the nymph Clori may surprise some!"

Speaking to the remarkable success of the three singers, Dirst continues, "Lauren Snouffer is a local favorite - a Rice and Houston Grand Opera studio grad who is now singing all over the world, in everything from Handel to contemporary opera and oratorio. Making their Ars Lyrica debuts on this program are two rising stars of the opera world: Key'mon Murrah and Cecelia McKinley. All three are amazingly gifted artists, and I can't wait to see what they do with their respective roles in this highly amusing dramatic work from Handel's Italian years."

Houston opera lovers are very familiar with world-renowned soprano Lauren Snouffer, who has been described as being "effervescent in coloratura numbers" (New York Times). Snouffer will be returning to sing with Ars Lyrica Houston after recent performances with Houston Grand Opera, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and Opernhaus Zürich.

Countertenor Key'mon Murrah is also beloved locally after winning 1st Place in the 2021 Concert of Arias hosted by Houston Grand Opera. Described as a "showstopper... a countertenor with an extraordinarily high range, rich tone and terrific presence" (Aspen Times), Murrah has found impressive success in competitions, most recently winning the 1st Opera Prize at the 2023 Belvedere International Competition in Germany. Murrah will be joining Ars Lyrica after engagements with major opera companies in Toulouse, Berlin, and Detroit.

Contralto Cecelia McKinley is making a name for herself across the nation after graduating from Rice University last May. Competitively selected as one of twelve Cafritz Young Artists at the Kennedy Center, she recently made her debut with the Washington National Opera in Strauss's Elektra. Ars Lyrica Houston is thrilled to present contralto McKinley at the beginning of her blossoming career.

The three singers will perform alongside an orchestra of many of the finest Baroque musicians in the country. Artistic Director Matthew Dirst leads the ensemble from his seat at the harpsichord.

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