Vocal Arts DC Presents Lucas and Irina Meachem in Recital at The Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater

On Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 7:30pm, Vocal Arts DC will present GRAMMY Award-winning baritone Lucas Meachem alongside accomplished pianist Irina Meachem in a season-opening recital at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater in Washington DC.

The husband-and-wife duo will perform Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children), as well as Liszt's Petrarch Sonnet, Ravel's Don Quichotte à Dulcinée and works by Rachmaninov and William Grant Still.

Based on the poems by Friedrich Rückert, Mahler's Kindertotenlieder is a mournful exploration of grief. Mahler selected five of Rückert's poems to set as Lieder, composed between 1901 and 1904 for voice and orchestra, exploring the different emotions and perspectives of a grieving parent who has lost his children. The songs are written in Mahler's late-romantic idiom, and like the texts reflect a mixture of feelings: anguish, fantasy resuscitation of the children, resignation. The final song ends in a major key and a mood of transcendence.

After a summer at Teatro Real performing Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Meachem's 2024-2025 season includes starring as Count di Luna in Houston Grand Opera's production of Verdi's Il trovatore before returning to the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona for appearances as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and Giorgio Germont in Verdi's La traviata. Meachem later headlines Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna with Daniel Oren conducting before closing his season with the world premiere of Filidei's Il Nome Della Rosa at Teatro alla Scala where he performs the lead role of Guglielmo da Baskerville, conducted by Ingo Metzmacher. Summer 2025 brings performances as Marcello in San Francisco Opera's La bohéme.

In September 2021, the Meachems released their first collaborative album, Shall We Gather, on Rubicon Records. Through 15 art songs by and about a broad swath of people from the United States, the project responds to the darkness of the pandemic and social distancing with the simple question of its title, and was praised by The New Yorker, which wrote, "There is much to enjoy in Lucas Meachem's first solo album, Shall We Gather, a plea for togetherness in a divided country. Meachem's voice - a substantial and propulsive lyric baritone with pillowy edges - records beautifully."

Meachem made his Mahler debut with the Prague Philharmonia in 2018 at the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum in Prague, performing Kindertotenelieder conducted by Emmanuel Villaume. The performance was praised by Bachtrack as a "warm singer with faultless diction and a dark-hued timbre" and this marked his second appearance with the celebrated orchestra, after the previous season's performance of Brahms' Requiem.

Program Information

Vocal Arts DC Presents Lucas Meachem and Irina Meachem
Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 7:30pm
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, Washington DC
Tickets: $50
Link: www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/vocal-choral-music/2024-2025/meachem-and-meachem/

About Lucas Meachem

GRAMMY Award-winning baritone Lucas Meachem, dubbed a "rock star of opera" by Opera Pulse, is renowned for his mastery of a wide variety of leading operatic roles, as well as the creation of new ones. An artist whose genuine warmth and enthusiasm resonate deeply with both audiences and colleagues, Meachem is lauded for his "exceptionally compelling" (Seen and Heard International) performances as he continues to captivate audiences worldwide with his "earnest, appealing baritone" (The New York Times).

Named the winner of San Francisco Opera's inaugural "Emerging Star of the Year" Award in 2016, Meachem has gone on to prolific careers in both the U.S. and Europe, including return appearances at the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Dallas Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, New Orleans Opera, Cincinnati Opera, San Diego Opera, Opera Colorado and more.

In recent seasons, he starred in the world premiere production of composer Joby Talbot's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly at The Dallas Opera; debuted at Teatro alla Scala in Massenet's Thaïs; performed Il barbiere di Siviglia with the Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera House and Den Norske Opera; sang the title role in Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne Festival and Semperoper Dresden; and performed in Britten's Billy Budd at Opéra national de Paris. He has performed with Teatro Real de Madrid in the world premiere of El Viaje a Simorgh, as Frank/Fritz in Die Tote Stadt, and as Oreste in Iphigénie en Tauride.

Meachem's first solo album, Shall We Gather, was released in September 2021 on Rubicon Records and was described by The New Yorker as "a plea for togetherness in a divided country. Meachem's voice - a substantial and propulsive lyric baritone with pillowy edges - records beautifully."

Born in North Carolina, Lucas Meachem studied music at Appalachian State University, the Eastman School of Music, and Yale University before becoming an Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera. Learn more at www.lucasmeachem.com.

About Irina Meachem

First-generation Romanian-American pianist Irina Meachem regularly accompanies voice recitals and coaches opera singers and often performs with her husband, baritone Lucas Meachem. Recently, Meachem performed William Grant Still's Ennanga for solo harp, piano, and strings as soloist with Classical Tahoe. Last season, Meachem served on faculty and staff at the Festival Napa Valley for their summer production of Don Pasquale and coaching young artists.

Meachem has served on faculty at the Tequila Cultural Festival, the Vincerò Opera Program, University of Minnesota, and Michigan State University. She has also worked as a coach and repetiteur at opera companies and festivals such as Palm Beach Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Birmingham, Amarillo Opera, Nashville Opera, Shreveport Opera, OperaWorks, Chicago Summer Opera, Mill City Summer Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, Bay View Music Festival, the Banff Centre, and the Interlochen Summer Arts Academy. Meachem earned a Master of Music degree from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Music from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

About Vocal Arts DC

Vocal Arts DC is dedicated to promoting and preserving the art of vocal performance. We provide a platform for both emerging and established artists to share their talent with the community. Our mission is to enrich the cultural landscape of Washington, DC, through high-quality vocal music presentations and educational outreach. Learn more at www.vocalartsdc.org.

*Photo Credit: Nate Ryan

To post a comment, you must register and login.