Soprano Golda Schultz Makes LA Debut In Two Performances With The Los Angeles Philharmonic

Celebrated South African soprano Golda Schultz makes her Los Angeles debut in two performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic: Salonen & Sibelius led by Esa-Pekka Salonen on Saturday, October 26, 2019 at 8:00pm and Beethoven's Ninth led by Gustavo Dudamel on Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 2:00pm, both at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

In Salonen & Sibelius on Saturday, October 26, 2019, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the world premiere of his complete Castor and Pollux, commissioned by the LA Phil, paired with Sibelius's Symphony No. 5 and his Luonnotar featuring Schultz.

Continuing the LA Phil's centennial celebration, Gustavo Dudamel leads Beethoven's epic Ninth Symphony on Sunday, October 27, 2019, a specialty he performed at the outset of his music directorship. Schultz is featured soprano soloist. The work is paired with the world premiere of Gabriela Ortiz's Yanga, commissioned by the LA Phil.

Ms. Schultz says, "It was such a privilege and honor to work with Maestro Dudamel and The Mahler Chamber Orchestra last September, and now to sing Beethoven 9 in my LA debut will be absolutely thrilling. He is an inspirational conductor and musician, and as a human he is one of my new favorites - so full of joy and wonder! This will be my first time working with Maestro Salonen and I am truly grateful for this chance. To sing something as beautiful as Luonnotar in his native tongue is daunting for sure, but I look forward to learning from him."

Ms. Schultz's 2019-2020 season also includes returns to the Metropolitan Opera in its highly anticipated season opening production of Porgy and Bess (Clara), in addition to Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie); the Bayerische Staatsoper for Carmen (Micaela); the Wiener Staatsoper for Turandot (Liu); and the Glyndebourne Festival for Dialogues des Carmélites (Madame Lidoine). Ms. Schultz will make her Carnegie Hall recital debut in Weill Recital Hall with pianist Jonathan Ware, and additionally appears this season with the London Symphony Orchestra in Tippett's A Child of Our Time led by Alan Gilbert; the Philharmonia Orchestra in an all-Beethoven program led by Esa-Pekka Salonen; the Philadelphia Orchestra at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in an all-Mozart program led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and at the Verbier Festival in Mahler's Resurrection led by Fabio Luisi.

Program Information
Salonen & Sibelius
Saturday, October 26, 2019 at 8:00pm
Walt Disney Concert Hall | Los Angeles, CA

Performers:
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Golda Schultz, soprano

Program:
Sibelius - Luonnotar
Salonen - Castor and Pollux (World Premiere, LA Phil commission)
Sibelius - Symphony No. 5

Beethoven's Ninth
Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 2:00pm
Walt Disney Concert Hall | Los Angeles, CA

Performers:
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Golda Schultz, soprano
Tamara Mumford, mezzo
Mario Chang, tenor
James Rutherford, bass-baritone
Tambuco Percussion Ensemble
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, Artistic Director

Program:
Gabriela Ortiz - Yanga (World Premiere, LA Phil commission)
Beethoven - Symphony No. 9

About Golda Schultz
Praised internationally for her passionate and technically brilliant performances, South African soprano Golda Schultz has a "clear, pure tone and... a sparkling personality, with a ready sense of humor" (The New York Times). Equally at home in leading operatic roles as she is as featured soloist with the world's foremost orchestras and conductors, Ms. Schultz is making waves as one of the most exciting new voices on the classical music scene today.

Ms. Schultz's recent debuts include critically acclaimed performances at the Metropolitan Opera (Pamina in Die Zauberflöte), at the Bayerische Staatsoper (role debut as Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro), at the Salzburger Festspiele (Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier), at the Glyndebourne Festival (Contessa Almaviva, Le nozze di Figaro), at Teatro alla Scala (Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro), at San Francisco Opera (Clara in the West Coast premiere of Jake Heggie's It's a Wonderful Life), at the New National Theatre Tokyo in Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie), and at the Staatsoper Hamburg in the world premiere of Beat Furrer's La bianca notte as the lead female role, Sibilla. Additional performance highlights include appearances with the Vienna State Opera and at the Zurich Opera House in Le nozze di Figaro (Contessa d'Almaviva); with the Salzburger Festspiele in a new production of La clemenza di Tito (Vitellia) by Peter Sellars; with the Metropolitan Opera in Falstaff (Nannetta); with Zurich Opera in Mendelssohn's Elias; and with the Bayerische Staatsoper in Die Zauberflöte (Pamina), Carmen (Micaëla), La bohème (Musetta), Turandot (Liù), Das Rheingold (Freia), Cosi fan tutte (Fiordiligi), and Parsifal (Klingsors Zaubermädchen).

Her recent concert and recital performances have included a tour with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel to Lisbon, Paris, Frankfurt, Cologne, Barcelona, and Madrid, as well as performances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms, the National Symphony Orchestra led by Christoph Eschenbach, The Cleveland Orchestra at both Carnegie Hall and in Cleveland in Haydn's iconic The Seasons, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Finnish Radio Symphony, the Copenhagen Opera Festival, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, at the Rheingau Musik Festival, with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen on tour to Japan, at Musikfestival Heidelberger Frühling, and with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, in addition to recitals at Wigmore Hall and at the Boulez Saal in Berlin.

Ms. Schultz was a journalism major at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa when she took her first music elective, spurred from her upbringing by performing arts-loving parents. In the school's music library, she happened upon a recording of Die Fledermaus featuring soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, followed by an album featuring the legendary Maria Callas. Inspired by these recordings, Ms. Schultz pursued a graduate degree in music at the University of Cape Town, cementing her decision to pursue a career in opera. After two years with Cape Town Opera, Ms. Schultz traveled to the US for the first time to successfully audition for the prestigious Juilliard School. When the head of Juilliard's vocal program contacted Ms. Schultz in 2011 to let her know someone had dropped out of their audition slot for the Young Artist Program at the Bayerische Staatsoper, she flew to Munich immediately to audition, where they offered her a two-year position on the spot. After her time in Munich's Opernstudio, Ms. Schultz joined the ensemble of Stadttheater Klagenfurt for one season, where she earned considerable attention in new productions of both Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie) and Giulio Cesare (Cleopatra). She continued as a member of the Bayerische Staatsoper ensemble with roles including Die Zauberflöte (Pamina), Carmen (Micaëla), La bohème (Musetta), Das Rheingold (Freia), Cosi fan tutte (Fiordiligi), and Parsifal (Klingsors Zaubermädchen), and her role debut as Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, among others. For more information, visit www.goldaschultz.com.

Photo Credit: Dario Acosta.

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