CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS SOPRANO DIANA DAMRAU IN RECITAL WITH PIANIST CRAIG RUTENBERG ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6

Ms. Damrau most recently appeared at Carnegie Hall in spring 2014 and spring 2015, both times with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The 2014 performance, part of Carnegie Hall’s Vienna: City of Dreams festival, concluded with a boisterous encore of Johann Strauss Jr.’s “Unter Donner Und Blitz” Polka Schnell, that featured Ms. Damrau conducting the Vienna Philharmonic—with the help of Maestro Zubin Mehta—as captured in this video. Ms. Damrau also recently made her opera stage debut in France at the Opera Bastille in Paris, recorded the role of Konstanze at Festspielhaus Baden Baden for Deutsche Grammophon, and was named OPERA magazine’s singer of the year. Ms. Damrau’s latest appearance was as the lead in Donizetti’s Lucia de Lammermoor at San Francisco Opera. Later this season, she will perform the role of Leïla in Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles at the Metropolitan Opera.

About the Artists
Acclaimed as one of today’s leading coloratura sopranos, Diana Damrau continues to amaze audiences with her unique voice and arresting stage presence. A regular guest at the most renowned opera companies and concert halls, she was awarded the title “Bayerische Kammersängerin” in 2007 and named “Best Female Singer” at the 2014 International Opera Awards.

Over the last seasons, Ms. Damrau has extended her repertoire to include some new signature roles such as Philine (Mignon) and Elvira (I puritani) with Grand Théâtre de Genève, Linda di Chamounix with Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, and Lucia di Lammermoor and Amina in La sonnambula for the Metropolitan Opera. In 2011, the soprano scored a tremendous success with her rendition of the three soprano roles in Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Bavarian State Opera. An audience favorite at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Diana has returned to New York every year since 2005, tackling Zerbinetta, Rosina, Aithra, Konstanze, Gilda, Lucia, and Adina, and causing a sensation by singing both her first Pamina and her last Queen of the Night in a 2007 run of Die Zauberflöte.

In addition to her achievements in opera, Ms. Damrau has established herself as one of today’s finest lieder singers and gives recitals with pianists like Craig Rutenberg, Helmut Deutsch, and Julius Drake. In Europe, she has close ties with the Salzburg Festival, Berlin’s Philharmonie, Vienna’s Musikverein, and London’s Wigmore Hall.

The 2015–2016 season sees Ms. Damrau performing a broad range of repertoire both on the operatic and concert stages of the world. She begins the season with gala concerts and recitals, followed by her return to the Metropolitan Opera for a production of Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles. Ms. Damrau further sings Massenet’s Manon at the Wiener Staatsoper and Lucia di Lammermoor at the Royal Opera House in London.

Pianist Craig Rutenberg’s playing ranges from sterling directness to expansive beauty. He has collaborated with many of the world’s greatest vocalists and is recognized as one of the most distinguished accompanists on stage today.

Having studied piano and interpretation with John Wustman, Geoffrey Parsons, Pierre Bernac, and Miriam Solovieff, Mr. Rutenberg has appeared in performance with Diana Damrau, Christine Brewer, Susanne Mentzer, Frederica von Stade, Angelika Kirchschlager, Dawn Upshaw, Thomas Hampson, Ben Heppner, and Jerry Hadley as well as Olaf Baer, Simon Keenlyside, Piotr Beczala, and José van Dam. He has performed with Mr. Hampson at the White House. He has appeared repeatedly in concert on national and international television and radio, including numerous PBS specials. Mr. Rutenberg, whose recording with Susanne Mentzer prompted Opera News to praise him for his clean articulation and wide array of sound, records for Deutsche Grammophon, EMI/Angel, BMG/RCA, and Koch International.

Head of Music Administration at the Metropolitan Opera from 2006-2015, Mr. Rutenberg is also guest coach at The Royal Opera in Stockholm, the Gothenburg Opera, The Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Stuttgart Opera, and the Zurich Opera. He has coached and given master classes at the Ryan Opera Center for American Artists at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theatre, the Santa Fe Opera, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Mr. Rutenberg has also worked for the Opera Studio de Paris, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, and the Vancouver Opera.

In addition to teaching activities in Stockholm and Moscow during the 2015-2016 season, Mr. Rutenberg appears in recital with Christine Brewer, Diana Damrau, and Susanne Mentzer. As a solo pianist, he completes his recording of the piano portraits of Virgil Thomson for the Virgil Thomson Foundation’s label Everbest.

Program Information
Sunday, December 6 at 2:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
DIANA DAMRAU, Soprano
CRAIG RUTENBERG, Piano

FRANZ SCHUBERT “Ständchen,” D. 957, No. 4
FRANZ SCHUBERT “Du bist die Ruh,” D. 776
FRANZ SCHUBERT “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” D. 118
FRANZ SCHUBERT “Heimliches Lieben,” D. 922
FRANZ SCHUBERT “Geheimes,” D. 719
FRANZ SCHUBERT “Rastlose Liebe,” D. 138
FRANZ SCHUBERT “Lied der Delphine,” D. 857, No. 1
RICHARD STRAUSS “Ständchen,” Op. 17, No. 2
RICHARD STRAUSS “Einerlei,” Op. 69, No. 3
RICHARD STRAUSS “Winterweihe,” Op. 48, No. 4
RICHARD STRAUSS “Wiegenlied,” Op. 41, No. 1
RICHARD STRAUSS “Breit über mein Haupt dein schwarzes Haar,” Op. 19, No. 2
RICHARD STRAUSS “Wie sollten wir geheim sie halten,” Op. 22, No. 4
FRANCIS POULENC Fiançailles pour rire
•• La dame d’André
•• Dans l’herbe
•• Il vole
•• Mon cadavre est doux comme un gant
•• Violon
•• Fleurs
MANUEL ROSENTHAL from Chansons du Monsieur Bleu
•• L’éléphant du Jardin des plantes
•• Fido, Fido
•• Grammaire
•• Le vieux chameau du zoo
•• L’orgue de barbarie
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Zigeunermelodien, Op. 55

Tickets: $31–$90

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

Image of at top of release by Rebecca Fay Erato