Denyce Graves

• Denyce Graves (mezzosoprano)
• Massimo Mercelli (flute)
• Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rastislav Štúr (conductor)

Program

F. Cilea

• Adriana Lecouvreur – Acerba volutta (DG)
• Preludio (orchestra)

C. Saint-Saëns

• Samson et Dalila – Mon Coeur (DG)

Ch. W. Gluck

• Orfeo et Euridice – aria Orfeo / for flute and orchestra (MM)

H. Purcell

• Dido & Aeneas – Dido’s Lament (DG)

G. Donizetti

• Il concertino for flute and orchestra (MM)
• La Favorita – O mio Fernando (DG)

Intermission
 

E. Morricone

• Mission medley / for flute and orchestra (MM)

• Just You (DG)
• Give me Jesus (DG)
• Witness (DG)
• Every time I feel the spirit (DG)
• The joint is really jumpin’ down at Carnegie Hall (DG)

Denyce Graves (mezzo-soprano)

Recognized worldwide as one of today’s most exciting vocal stars, Denyce Graves continues to gather unparalleled popular and critical acclaim in performances on four continents. USA Today identified her as one of the “singers most likely to be an operatic superstar of the 21st Century,” and after a recent performance in Atlanta, the Journal-Constitution exclaimed, “if the human voice has the power to move you, you will be touched by Denyce Graves.”

Her career has taken her to the world’s great opera houses and concert halls. The combination of her expressive, rich vocalism, elegant stage presence, and exciting theatrical abilities allows her to pursue a wide breadth of operatic portrayals as well as delight audiences in concert and recital appearances. Denyce Graves has become particularly well-known to operatic audiences for her portrayals of the title roles in Carmen and Samson et Dalila. These signature roles have brought Ms. Graves to the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Washington Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Arena di Verona, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opernhaus Zürich, Teatro Real in Madrid, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Los Angeles Opera, and the Festival Maggio Musicale in Florence.

Denyce Graves made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in the 1995-96 season in the title role of Carmen. She returned the following season to lead the new Franco Zeffirelli production of this work, conducted by James Levine, and she sang the opening night performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s 1997-98 season as Carmen opposite Plácido Domingo next to whom she also sung in Samson et Dalila at the MET and Los Angeles Opera. She was seen as Saint-Saëns’ seductress with Royal Opera, Covent Garden and The Washington Opera, both opposite José Cura.

Ms. Graves appears continually in a broad range of repertoire with leading theaters in North America and Europe. In May 2005 she created the title role in Richard Danielpour’s Margaret Garner in the world premier performances at Michigan Opera Theatre. She also performed the roles of Charlotte in Werther (with Andrea Bocelli) Judith in Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Azucena in Il trovatore, Nicklausse in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Dulcinée in Massenet’s Don Quichotte, the title role in La Périchole, Amneris in Aida, Cuniza in Verdi’s Oberto and many other roles in major opera houses in Europe and North America. Ms. Graves gave her first performances of Adalgisa in Norma for Opernhaus Zürich.

Denyce Graves has worked with leading symphony orchestras and conductors throughout the world in a wide range of repertoire. She has performed with Riccardo Chailly, Myung-Whun Chung, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, and Mstislav Rostropovich. Ms. Graves has appeared in Verdi’s Messa di Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, as well as for Rostropovich’s farewell performances with the National Symphony. She performed Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder with Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla, and repeated this work in concert engagements in Genoa and with the Kansas City Symphony. Mahler’s Eighth Symphony was the vehicle of her debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and she traveled to Rio de Janeiro for Verdi’s Requiem as well as Concert for Planet Earth, a gala performance celebrating the United Nation’s Summit on the Environment. This concert was broadcast live around the world, and has been released on Sony video and audio recordings. Her first performances of Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death were with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ravel’s Shéhérazade and Gershwin works at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, where she also performed the title role in Honegger’s Antigone. In Florence, she appeared in performances of Handel’s Messiah with Zubin Mehta.

Ms. Graves appears regularly on radio and television as a musical performer, celebrity guest, and as the subject of documentaries and other special programming. Her weekly show on XM Radio, a nation-wide satellite network, is titled Voce di donna. The program includes music and interviews with people in the world of music, including other singers, producers, presenters, and managers.

Denyce Graves has been the recipient of many awards, including the Grand Prix du Concours International de Chant de Paris, the Eleanor Steber Music Award in the Opera Columbus Vocal Competition, and a Jacobson Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation. In 1991, she received the Grand Prix Lyrique, awarded once every three years by the Association des amis de l’opéra de Monte-Carlo, and many others.

Denyce Graves is a native of Washington, D.C., where she attended the Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts. She continued her education at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory. In 1998, Ms. Graves received an honorary doctorate from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. She was named one of the “50 Leaders of Tomorrow”by Ebony Magazine and was one of Glamour Magazine’s 1997 “Women of the Year.” In 1999 WQXR Radio in New York named her as one of classical music’s “Standard Bearers for the 21st Century.” Denyce Graves has been invited on several occasions to perform in recital at The White House, and she provides many benefit performances for various causes special to her throughout each season.