Sherrill Milnes VOICE Programs Singers Offer Operatic Valentines in Two NYC Events February 13 and 14 Snowed-out “Milnes Conversations” at National Opera Center rescheduled to February 25
Sherrill Milnes, the definitive Verdi baritone of his generation and winner of three Grammy Awards, returns to New York City this month for a trio of events: as teacher, honoree, and speaker. The legendary American baritone is leading a weeklong career intensive of dramatic study with participants from the Sherrill Milnes VOICE Programs. The week culminates in a concert by these emerging professional opera singers at the National Opera Center entitled “Opera as Drama: A Valentine Showcase” (Feb 14 at 12:30 PM). The previous evening, Milnes will be honored and serenaded during “A Winter’s Opera Night” gala dinner and concert at New York’s Harmonie Club (Feb 13). This event celebrates twin landmarks in 2015: Milnes’s 80th birthday last month and the 50th anniversary of his Metropolitan Opera debut in December. The Master of Ceremonies is OPERA America President Marc A. Scorca, who also will host Milnes in the “Conversations” series at the National Opera Center (Feb 25). This evening, which features stories and video clips from the singer’s illustrious career, was rescheduled after being snowed out last week.
The festivities for “A Winter’s Opera Night” gala dinner and concert on February 13 include selections from opera and musical theatre, and recognition for the founder of the VOICExperience Foundation, one of the Sherrill Milnes VOICE Programs. The baritone launched VOICExperience in 2000 with his wife, Maria Zouves, to train and mentor young singers and build audiences for the vocal arts. The featured performers are Jamie Barton, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Christopher Cano, Mark Delavan, Amy Shoremount-Obra and emerging artists of VOICExperience. Some of the notables providing toasts and stories are longtime colleagues of Milnes’s: Martina Arroyo, Alan Dershowitz, Judy Kaye, James Morris, Tony Roberts, Renata Scotto, Barry Tucker, and Fritz Weaver, with birthday video greetings from Andrea Bocelli and Plácido Domingo, among others. Net proceeds from the event will benefit the nonprofit foundation. For information and tickets, visit VOICExperiencefoundation.org.
On February 14, Milnes presents “Opera as Drama: A Valentine Showcase” at the National Opera Center Audition Hall. The concert features the young professional opera singers who have been focusing on their acting skills during their weeklong intensive in New York City with Milnes. The singers will perform dramatic readings and related operatic scenes as a study of storytelling on the operatic stage. For tickets, visit VOICExperiencefoundation.org.
When New York City braced for the blizzard that wasn’t last week, OPERA America postponed its January 27 “Conversations” evening with the legendary baritone. The new date is February 25 at the National Opera Center. Milnes will share stories and video clips from his long and illustrious career during an intimate conversation with OPERA America’s Marc Scorca. The clips range from collaborations with such fellow legends as Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti to Hollywood stars Carol Burnett, Burt Lancaster and Tony Randall. For tickets, visit OPERAAmerica.org.
About Sherrill Milnes
With his powerful voice and commanding stage presence, Sherrill Milnes achieved the kind of adulation that is usually reserved for tenors. The definitive Verdi baritone of his generation, he was one of the leading lights of the Metropolitan Opera for more than three decades. From his 1965 debut, when he sang Valentin opposite Montserrat Caballé in Gounod’s Faust, to his final appearance in 1997, Milnes gave 652 performances at the New York house, where he was honored with 16 new productions, seven opening nights, and ten national telecasts. In 2008 he was recognized with an Opera News Award for Distinguished Achievement. The magazine stated in its tribute feature, “Milnes was an American idol in the most admirable sense of the term – a ‘complete package’ long before the expression came into vogue – and for many of us he left an indelible mark on every role we heard him sing.” The peerless American baritone was the subject of a feature-length cover story in the January issue of Classical Singer magazine, which focused on his invaluable contribution to opera, and his dedicated work mentoring the next generation of opera singers and developing new audiences for the vocal arts.
About The VOICExperience Foundation
The VOICExperience Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, established by world-renowned baritone Sherrill Milnes and his wife, soprano Maria Zouves. Its mission is to pass on the traditions of great singing and develop new audiences for opera. Since 2000, VOICExperience has helped thousands of singers find their career path through educational programs and workshops, where emerging artists work with the best names in opera, musical theatre and song. Now under the umbrella of The Sherrill Milnes VOICE Programs, VOICExperience continues its dedication to the quality, integrity and perpetuation of the vocal arts through life-changing intensives, performances, and community-enriching outreach events in New York, Georgia (with its sister organization, the Savannah VOICE Festival), Florida and Illinois. www.VOICExperience.org
Highlights of Sherrill Milnes’s 2015 activities follows, and more information can be found on his new website, SherrillMilnes.com, and official Facebook page. High-resolution promotional photos may be downloaded here.
Sherrill Milnes in 2015 – selected events & activities
Feb 7
Tampa, FL
Opera Tampa honors Milnes
Anton Coppola Excellence in the Arts Award
Feb 8–14
New York, NY
National Opera Center
Milnes VOICE Programs: Opera as Drama
Feb 13
New York, NY
“A Winter’s Opera Night”
Harmonie Club
Gala fundraising dinner and concert
honoring Sherrill Milnes at 80
Guest performers: Jamie Barton, Jennifer Johnson Cano,
Christopher Cano, Mark Delavan, Amy Shoremount-Obra
Tickets: VOICExperiencefoundation.org
Feb 14 (12:30 PM)
New York, NY
National Opera Center Audition Hall
Opera as Drama: A Valentine Showcase
Featuring singers from the Sherrill Milnes VOICE Program
Tickets: VOICExperiencefoundation.org
Feb 20
New York, NY
Viennese Opera Ball
A Master of Ceremonies
Feb 25 (7 PM) – rescheduled from Jan 27 snow day
New York, NY
Opera America’s National Opera Center
“Sherrill Milnes@80 – Stories from a Singer’s Life”
Tickets: OperaAmerica.org
Feb 27
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Opera honors Sherrill Milnes
as part of their opening night of Rigoletto
March 9
New York, NY
Julius Rudel Memorial Concert
The Rose Theater
Sherrill Milnes to speak
March 13
New York, NY
Metropolitan Opera Guild
Gerald Lynch Theater, John Jay College
“Incomparable: A Celebration of Licia Albanese and Carlo Bergonzi”
Sherrill Milnes to speak
March 16
New York, NY
Metropolitan Opera
Lindemann Young Artists Program Master Class
March 20 & 22
Savannah, GA
Savannah Music Festival & Savannah VOICE Festival collaboration
Lucas Theatre
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica
March 24
Savannah, GA
Savannah VOICE Festival
“Arias & Encores” – Festival Artists
April 22 & 23
New York, NY
Richard Tucker Music Foundation Competition
Vice President & Chairman of the Audition & Awards Committee
May 17
Savannah, GA
Levy Family Legacy Concert
Milnes VOICE Programs Festival Artists
May 22
Savannah, GA
Savannah Friends of Music event
Milnes VOICE Programs Festival Artists
July 1-4
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague Summer Nights Young Artists Music Festival
Mozart’s Don Giovanni
Sherrill Milnes & Maria Zouves, stage directors
Aug 2-16
Savannah, GA
Savannah VOICE Festival
Milnes VOICE Programs: Apprentice Program
Aug 2–10
Savannah, GA
Milnes VOICE Programs: CAMP VOICE for Teens, Milnes VOICE Studio
Aug 9, 11
Savannah, GA
Savannah VOICE Festival
Bizet’s Carmen
Aug 18–23
Tampa, FL
Milnes VOICE Programs: Florida VOICE Project
Aug 22
Tampa, FL
Milnes VOICE Programs
Savannah Ghost Opera Workshop: Alice Ryley: A Savannah Ghost Opera by Michael Ching
Oct 30
Savannah, GA
Savannah VOICE Festival
World Premiere: Michael Ching’s Alice Ryley: A Savannah Ghost Opera
Dec 22
50th anniversary of 1965 Metropolitan Opera debut
www.facebook.com/SherrillMilnes
www.VOICExperiencefoundation.org
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© 21C Media Group, February 2015
