Join us on Sunday, April 21 at 3PM for the first concert of our 27th Season, when we are once again privileged to present some rising young stars of the opera world through the auspices of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Yes indeed, that is the Metropolitan Opera, sending another fabulous group of performers to Stamford.
The audience for this concert grows steadily each season, which we take as proof that the superb talent of these young artists has won over the musical hearts of many folks in our audience pool who thought they do not like opera. This is a rare opportunity to hear world-class operatic voices in an up-close-and-personal setting, a very different experience from a venue like the Metropolitan Opera House which seats nearly 4,000 people. For those who are acknowledged opera fans, this performance is not to be missed.
Founded in 1980, The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program identifies and nurtures the most promising young artists through training and performance opportunities. The selected artists are provided with specialized coaching in music, language, drama, and movement from the Met’s own artistic staff and from invited master teachers.
The Program provides an annual stipend for living expenses and funds private lessons with approved teachers from outside the Met staff. Participants also have access to rehearsals for all Metropolitan Opera productions.
The selected artists are offered a position with the Program for a period of one year with annual renewal for up to three years for singers and two years for pianists. During this period, the young artists’ engagements both inside and outside of the Met are at the consent of the Artistic and Executive Directors, and Friends of Music is grateful for this superb musical gift sent to us in Stamford.
To learn more about the Lindemann Program, please visit the Met’s Web site.
Administrator’s Note, Saturday Night 04/20/13:
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the program we had planned on and worked so hard to bring about has changed radically due to the illness of two of the artists scheduled to perform. Rather than cancel the concert altogether, Mr. Kalil and Mr. Wagorn have graciously agreed to make the journey to Stamford and with only hours to prepare they will perform a modified program, which will include some solo piano pieces. The final program may be listed here after-the-fact.
We apologize for any disappointment and inconvenience this may cause to the many people in our area who were so looking forward to the program previously announced.
April 21, 2013 Performers
Tenor Anthony Kalil is in his first year with the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera. Most recently, Mr. Kalil made his Alice Tully Hall debut in a gala concert with the I Sing Beijing program, was the tenor soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, sang the role of Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Vashon Opera, and participated in the I Sing Beijing program in Beijing, China.
In the 2013-2014 season, Anthony Kalil will make his Met debut as the Young Man in Die Frau Ohne Schatten and as the 1st Armed Man in The Magic Flute. Career highlights include Rodolfo in La Bohème, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, Canio in I Pagliacci and Gabriel Von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus.
In the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Mr. Kalil was awarded a prize as a Semi-Finalist. He is the winner of a 2013 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation and earned Second Prize in the Gerda Lissner Competition.
Originally from Goshen, Indiana, Anthony Kalil majored in music studies at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
Bryan Wagorn, from Ottawa, Canada, is in his second year of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera. This season he is the rehearsal pianist and harpsichordist in the Met + Juilliard production of Così fan tutte conducted by Alan Gilbert. Recent career highlights include his recital debut at New York’s Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. He has also served as a staff pianist for the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Music Festival.
Mr. Wagorn has given two extensive tours under the auspices of the Jeunesses Musicales de Canada and toured China with Canada’s Tabaret Ensemble. He has performed for the Marilyn Horne Foundation, the Banff International Keyboard Festival, the Holland Music Sessions, and the Orford Centre for the Arts.
Since 2007 Bryan Wagorn has been on faculty of the National Arts Centre of Canada’s “Summer Music Institute” directed by Pinchas Zukerman, and he formerly taught at the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Wagorn graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music with distinction and holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Ottawa, a Master of Music Degree from the Mannes College of Music, and is a Doctoral Candidate in Musical Arts at the Manhattan School of Music