Home » Jazz News » Performance / Tour

115

Mezzo Soprano Denyce Graves at the George Weston Recital Hall in the Toronto

Source:

Sign in to view read count
Ysis Entertainment
presents the second concert in the new CLASSICS IN BLACK series
MEZZO-SOPRANO DENYCE GRAVES
In Concert at the Toronto Centre for the Arts
One Night Only! Thursday, March 16, 2006

One of today's most exciting vocal stars, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves will make her Toronto recital debut at the George Weston Recital Hall on Thursday, March 16, 2006. Known for her expressive, rich voice, glamourous stage presence and dramatic gifts, Ms. Graves, a native of Washington, D.C., has successfully pursued a wide range of operatic roles and musical styles. Her debut recital will showcase her vocal versatility with a repertoire of operatic arias, songs by Sibelius and Schumann, spirituals, and a selection of Latin jazz songs from her 2003 recording The Lost Days (BMG/RCA Red Seal).

Denyce Graves made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1995 playing the lead role in Georges Bizet's Carmen to tremendous critical acclaim. That role, along with her portrayal of Delila in Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila, has become one of the foundations of her career, performing it with operatic giants like Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras in the world's greatest opera houses including the Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Arena di Verona, Deutsche Oper Berlin and L'Opra National de Paris.

Another career highlight includes creating the title role of Margaret Garner for the world premiere at Michigan Opera Theatre. The tragic role of Garner, a fugitive slave who kills her young child rather than see her returned to bondage, was co-written expressly for Ms. Graves by novelist Toni Morrison and composer Richard Danielpour. Following her Toronto recital, Ms. Graves will perform another new role, Dragon, for the world premiere of Elliot Goldenthal's Grendel at the Los Angeles Opera in a production by Julie Taymor, director of the Broadway hit The Lion King.

Named one of Glamour's “Women of the Year" and one of the “50 Leaders of Tomorrow" by Ebony Magazine, Denyce Graves is an American success story whose personal triumphs have been more dramatic than the roles she has played. She has overcome poverty, depression, career-threatening vocal-chord surgery and divorce. Now, married to French clarinetist Vincent Thomas, who will perform with her at this recital, she has one daughter Ella-Thais, named after Ella Fitzgerald.

Following the events of September 11th, 2001, Ms. Graves became a household name when she performed “America the Beautiful" and “The Lord's Prayer" for the National Prayer Service in Washington's National Cathedral. Since then, she was named a US Cultural Ambassador, traveling to Poland, Romania, and Venezuela alongside musicians like Yo-Yo Ma and Wynton Marsalis on good-will musical missions.

“If the human voice had the power to move you, you will be touched by Denyce Graves." Journal Constitution, Atlanta

Ysis Entertainment Inc. (producers of the South African hit UMOJA) proudly presents Denyce Graves as the second concert in Classics in Black, a new arts series celebrating the world's greatest Black classical artists.

Classics in Black presents
Mezzo Soprano Denyce Graves in Concert
George Weston Recital Hall in the Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge Street
Tickets prices are $50 - $150 and may be purchased in person at the Toronto Centre for the Arts Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet, by calling Ticketmaster at 416.872.1111.

Visit Website

For more information contact .

Comments

Tags

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.