Mezzo-Soprano Susan Graham Joins Palm Beach Symphony

Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham joins Maestro Gerard Schwarz and Palm Beach Symphony in concert on Monday, January 30 at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

Graham rose to the highest echelon of international performers within just a few years of her professional debut, mastering an astonishing range of repertoire and genres along the way. Having worked and recorded with her, Maestro Schwarz calls her one of his favorite singers of all time.

"We all know her from hosting so many of the "Live from the Met" broadcasts and singing at New York's Metropolitan Opera, but Susan also performs a very eclectic repertoire and sings the Great American songbook very beautifully," Maestro Schwarz said. "I've asked her to perform a combination of the traditional arias everyone loves and some of the great standards."

The program features Graham performing arias by Mozart (Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio" and "Voi, che sapete" from Le Nozze di Figaro and "Deh per questo istante solo" from La Clemenza di Tito), Lehár ("Vilja" from The Merry Widow) and Berlioz ("Ah! Ah! je vais mourir...Adieu, fière cité" from Les Troyens). She will also perform Gershwin's "Fascinating Rhythm" and Richard Rodgers' "Sound of Music."

Maestro Schwarz will lead the Symphony in "Overture" from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Debussy's sensual and evocative Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) and Shostakovich's dramatic and powerful Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93.

"One of Debussy's most famous works, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, is a short piece but in a way it changed the world of 20th century music," Maestro Schwarz said. "Shostakovich's magnificent 10th Symphony is really powerful and made for a virtuoso orchestra, so you get to really hear all of the fantastic solo players and our great string section. Of course, the Overture from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is a wonderful preface to Susan's performance of many of Mozart's most cherished arias."

Graham's operatic roles span four centuries from Monteverdi's Poppea to Sister Helen Prejean in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, which was written especially for her. A familiar face at the Metropolitan Opera, she also maintains a strong international presence at such key venues as Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Santa Fe Opera and the Hollywood Bowl. Her extensive concert and recital career includes collaborations with the world's leading orchestras, and she makes regular appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Orchestre de Paris and London Symphony Orchestra. Among her honors are a GRAMMY® Award for her collection of Ives songs, Musical America's Vocalist of the Year and an Opera News Award.

Internationally recognized for his moving performances, innovative programming and extensive catalog of recordings, Maestro Schwarz is a leader both in the southeast region and globally. Locally, he is also the Music Director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra and the Distinguished Professor of Music, Conducting and Orchestral Studies at University of Miami's Frost School of Music. Nationally, he is the Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival and Mozart Orchestra of New York as well as Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony and Conductor Emeritus of the Mostly Mozart Festival. A prolific recording artist with 14 GRAMMY Award nominations, his extensive catalogue of more than 350 recordings on 11 labels includes "The Gerard Schwarz Collection," a 30-CD box set. In his five decades as a respected classical musician and conductor, Maestro Schwarz has received hundreds of honors and accolades including nine Emmy® Awards, eight ASCAP Awards and numerous "Stereo Review" and Ovation Awards. He holds the Ditson Conductor's Award from Columbia University, was the first American named Conductor of the Year by Musical America and has received numerous honorary doctorates. His memoir, "Behind the Baton," was released by Amadeus Press in March 2017.

The Masterworks concerts continue at the Kravis Center with Misha Dichter, piano (March 14); Joshua Bell, violin (April 16); and Maria João Pires, piano (May 15).

Tickets are $25-$95 and may be purchased at PalmBeachSymphony.org, by calling (561) 281-0145, and at the Palm Beach Symphony Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at 400 Hibiscus Street, Suite 100, West Palm Beach. The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach.

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