Washington Concert Opera to Present Donizetti's LA FAVORITE

Washington Concert Opera is proud to continue its season of Italian masters with Gaetano Donizetti's LA FAVORITE in its original, rarely performed, French version (with English supertitles). At the height of his career and his creative genius, Donizetti wrote LA FAVORITE - one of the few operas with a mezzo-soprano in the title role. Set amidst the Moorish invasion of medieval Spain, it is filled with the passions of war, love, and sacrifice.

Washington Concert Opera will debut the French version (WCO presented the Italian version in 1991) on Friday, March 4, 2016 at 7pm at Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University. This four-act opera features dazzling virtuosic arias, spectacular chorus and orchestral writing, and is Donizetti's most monumental work, written at the height of his career. The libretto, penned by Donizetti himself in French, is a lush tale that takes place during the Moorish invasion of medieval Spain, complete with the passions of war, love, and sacrifice. Léonor (Kate Lindsey), the mistress of the powerful King of Castile (Javier Arrey), falls in love with the devout monk Fernand (Randall Bills), who reciprocates her feelings despite the warnings of his superior, Father Balthazar (John Relyea)?.The resulting love triangle brings Léonor both happiness and despair.

Richmond native and mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey returns to the WCO stage in her first appearance since starring in I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI as Romeo. She's out of a trouser role and into the title role. American soprano and rising star, Joélle Harvey, will also return to WCO as Inès, Léonor's companion. You will likely remember her wonderful performance as Sophie in WERTHER. WCO veteran John Relyea, whose "sound is like night itself, solid and deep" (The Plain Dealer), will sing the role of Father Balthazar.

The Cast:

Kate Lindsey (Léonor, aka La Favorite, mezzo-soprano) - A native of Richmond, Virginia, Ms. Lindsey is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Her many awards include a prestigious 2011 grant from the Festival Musique et Vin au Clos Vougeot, the 2007 Richard F. Gold Career Grant, the 2007 George London Award in memory of Lloyd Rigler, the 2007 Lincoln Center Martin E. Segal Award, and a 2006 Sullivan Foundation Grant. Ms. Lindsey has already appeared in many of the world's prestigious opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Lille Opera, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and the Bayerische Staatsoper. Her repertoire includes Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Idamante in Idomeneo, Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Hansel in Hansel und Gretel, Kompanist in Ariadne auf Naxos and Nicklausse/The Muse in Les Contes d'Hoffmann. She also created the title role in Daron Hagen's Amelia at Seattle Opera.

John Relyea (Balthazar, bass) - John Relyea has appeared in the world's most celebrated opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Wiener Staatsoper. His many roles include the title roles in Le nozze di Figaro, Bluebeard's Castle and Aleko; Méphistophélès in both Faust and La damnation de Faust, the Four Villains in Les contes d'Hoffman, Bertram in Roberto Diablo, and Marke in Tristan und Isolde. He remains in high demand throughout the concert world where he has appeared with the leading orchestras of Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, London, and Berlin. He has also appeared at the Tanglewood, Ravinia, Salzburg, Edinburgh, Lucerne, and Mostly Mozart Festivals and in the BBC Proms.

Javier Arrey (King Alphonse, baritone) - A graduate of Washington National Opera's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, Chilean born Javier Arrey was a finalist at the 2009 Cardiff Singer of the World competition and winner of the CulturArte prize at the 2011 Operalia competition in Moscow. Arrey made an acclaimed debut under the late Lorin Maazel as Iago (Otello) at the Castleton Festival and continued that association in the summer of 2014 in the title role of Don Giovanni. Last season he appeared as Marcello (La bohème) at Washington National Opera and Sharpless (Madama Butterfly) for Teatro Municipal de Santiago in Chile - where he also gives performances of Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. Javier Arrey also features as Lescaut on the forthcoming recording of Manon Lescaut on Decca Classics, under the baton of Plácido Domingo.

Joélle Harvey (Inèes, soprano) - American born Joélle Harvey is quickly becoming recognized as one of the most promising young talents of her generation. She is the recipient of a 2011 First Prize Award from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, a 2009 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, and a 2010 Encouragement Award (in honor of Norma Newton) from the George London Foundation. This season, Ms. Harvey's numerous engagements include repeat appearances as Sicle in Ormindo with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Galatea in Acis and Galatea with the Killkenny Festival, and role debuts as Marzelline in Fidelio with San Francisco Symphony and Anne Trulove in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress with Utah Opera. On the concert stage, she appears with the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl (Carmina Burana), Cleveland Orchestra (Bach's B minor Mass), Tafelmusik, Handel & Haydn Society (Messiah and St. Matthew Passion), LA Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony (Missa Solemnis), Music @ Menlo (programs of Schubert & Previn), North Carolina Symphony (Messiah), Dallas Symphony (Mozart's Requiem) and the Pygmalion Ensemble (Mozart's Mass in C minor).

Randall Bills (Fernand, tenor) - American born Randall Bills is poised on the brink of an impressive international career. This past season, Mr. Bills made significant debuts as Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) with Seattle Opera, Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) at Nationaltheater Mannheim, Don Ramiro (La Cenerentola) at Opernhaus Chemnitz, and Tom Rakewell (The Rake's Progress) at the Staatstheater Braunschweig. During the previous season, he made several important international debuts, notably in a new production of Così fan tutte in London at English National Opera and Italian operatic debuts as Geoffredo/Ubaldo in Armida at the Rossini Opera Festival, as Ferrando in Così fan tutte at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, and as Prologue/Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw at Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

Artistic Director and Conductor:

Since making his professional conducting debut in Australia, Antony Walker, Artistic Director and Conductor of WCO, Music Director of Pittsburgh Opera, and Artistic Director of Pinchgut Opera in Sydney, Australia, has conducted over 200 operas, large and smaller scale choral/orchestral works, and symphonic and chamber works with companies in Europe, the United States and Australia. He has also recorded numerous works ranging from Monteverdi to Mahler in CD and DVD formats on the ABC Classics label. This season Maestro Walker will return to the Metropolitan Opera in New York and has recently completed acclaimed operatic engagements in Perth, Australia and San Francisco.

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