An opera gala celebrating the music of Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni and Ruggero Leoncavallo and others will be performed Sunday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Richard and Lucille Ice Auditorium in Melrose Hall at Linfield College.
The program celebrates Italian and French operas from the turn of the 20th century. At that time, the quest for artistic realism (“verismo” in Italian) was a predominant cultural movement. The characters in many of the operas of the period are ordinary people, often from the lowest classes of society. The verismo operas are distinguished by their dramatic intensity, unmatched vocalism and harmonic language influenced by both Wagner and Debussy.
The evening will include celebrated arias and duets from Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci,” Bizet’s “Carmen,” Puccini’s “La Bohème,” “Tosca,” “Madame Butterfly” and “Turondot.” Four professional soloists will perform — soprano Erin McCarthy, mezzo-soprano Hannah Penn, tenor Brian Tierney and baritone Anton Belov. They will be joined by the Linfield Concert Choir and pianist Susan McDaniel, principal accompanist for the Linfield Department of Music.
McCarthy enjoys both operatic and concert engagement and has appeared with Longwood Opera, Mass Theatrica, the Paul Madore Chorale, the Salem Philharmonic, the Braintree and Nashoba Valley Choral Societies, Masterworks Chorale and many other organizations. She has been honored with awards from the Gibner King Vocal Competition, the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions, and most recently, as a semi-finalist in the Elizabeth Connell Prize for Dramatic Sopranos competition.
Penn’s diverse career includes performing opera, oratorio and recital literature. She has sung more than 20 operatic roles with Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Portland Opera, Tacoma Opera and many other companies. Upcoming engagements include a series of Bach cantatas with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, a concert of Handel arias with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Gluck’s “Orfeo” with Opera Idaho, and the role of Julie in Portland Opera’s production of “Show Boat.” She teaches voice at Linfield and Portland State University.
Tierney has been a featured soloist in Portland and Louisville, Ky. HeBrian received a bachelor of music degree from Portland State University and his master’s degree from the University of Louisville. He has been a young artist with the Kentucky Opera, and has performed in numerous operas both as a chorister and in lead roles. In 2007, he was recognized as the district winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Kentucky.
The voice of Belov, assistant professor of music at Linfield, has been described as “rich and mellifluous” by the New York Times and “that of an emerging star” by the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has appeared with Portland Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Oregon Symphony and earned praise from critics and audiences alike for his portrayals of Count di Luna in “Il Trovatore,” Germont in “La Traviata,” Escamillo in “Carmen,” Eugene Onegin and Don Giovanni.
The performance is free and open to the public, It is sponsored by the Linfield Music Department and the Lacroute Arts Series, which contributes to the artistic life of students, faculty and community members by providing quality arts experiences featuring distinguished visiting artists. For more information, call the Linfield Department of Music at 503-883-2275 or visit linfield.edu/arts.
