[NEohioPAL]National City Presents Cleveland Opera's Dazzling Turandot

Thu Feb 23 10:53:15 PST 2006

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<h2 align="center"><><st1:City
 w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">National City</st1:place></st1:City>
Presents <o:p></o:p><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:City>
Opera’s Dazzling Turandot <o:p></o:p></>with
</h2>
<h2 align="center">Rising
International Star Stuart Neill as Calaf<o:p></o:p></h2>
<o:p></o:p>February
23, 2006…Cleveland.  Acclaimed for his
“performance of staggering virtuosity” by The Times<st1:City
 w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:City>) and
praised for his “bright,
splendidly steady and consistent tones” by The New York Times,
the
incomparable tenor Stuart Neill will make his Cleveland Opera debut in
Puccini’s
Turandot singing the role of Calaf for the first time.  Presented by <st1:City w:st="on">National City</st1:City>
with support from Cleveland Magazine, the Company’s final
2005-2006 main stage production will open Friday, March 31 with
additional
performances April 2, 7, and 8, 2006 at the State Theatre in <st1:place
 w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Playhouse</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
 w:st="on">Square</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.  The international cast features soprano Lise
Lindstrom as Princess Turandot, Timothy M. R. Culver
as The Emperor
Altoum, bass Alvy Powell as Timur,
soprano Eun-Hee Kim as Liù,
joined by James Kleyla, Yoonsoo Shin, and Chad
Freeburg as Ping, Pang, and Pong, respectively and Cleveland
Opera veteran Ray C. Liddle.  A
stunningly exotic opera with breathtaking
arias, Turandot was Puccini’s final composition debuting two
years after
his death.  Maestro Richard Buckley,
artistic director of Austin Lyric Opera,
will lead the production joined by director Garnett Bruce,
with set designed
by Peter Graves, lighting by Cynthia Stillings, costumes by Malabar,
Ltd. and
wigs and makeup by Alison Mizerski.<o:p></o:p> 

<></><><o:p></o:p>Performances
for Turandot on Fridays and Saturday will be at 8 p.m. with
Sunday at 2
p.m.  Tickets range from $25 to $135 and
may be purchased online at <a href="http://www.clevelandopera.org/">www.clevelandopera.org</a>
or <a href="http://www.tickets.com/">www.tickets.com</a> , by phone at
Tickets.com 216/241-6000 or 800/766-6048, or at the State Theatre Box
Office, <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">1519 Euclid Avenue</st1:address></st1:Street>.  Discounts are available for students,
seniors, and groups of ten or more.  Turandot
will be sung in Italian with English
“subtitles” projected above the stage.<o:p></o:p></>
<o:p> </o:p>
<><o:p></o:p>Puccini
composed Turandot, his final opera, in the early 1920s.  Throughout his career, he was so fascinated
by the exotic that when collaborators Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni
presented the idea of Carlo Gozzi’s Chinese fable Turandotte to
him, Puccini
seized upon it as a chance to indulge in a mythical world. 
As opera’s most successful composer and first
true superstar, Puccini had grounded all his work firmly in realism;
characters
and events may have been exaggerated for emotional expression, but they
were
always subject to the laws of gravity and the “fourth wall” of a
well-made
play.  By writing music which could
include Chinese folk melodies, he was at liberty to create a spectacle
completely
new and different from what he had done before. 
It was his chance to create the extraordinary, to re-invent the
myth in
music for the new century.  Turandot
debuted under the baton of Maestro Arturo Toscanini in <st1:place
 w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Milan</st1:City></st1:place> on April
25,1926.  The three-act opera tells of the
legendary
Princess Turandot whose royal suitors are required to correctly answer
three
riddles.  Failure means execution. 
Featuring the most famous tenor aria of all
time, “Nessun dorma!,” Cleveland Opera’s Turandot
promises to be an evening of extraordinary artists, unforgettable
music, and
magnificent costumes in an astonishing setting. 
<o:p></o:p></> 
<><o:p></o:p></>
</div>
<></>
<>Turandot is presented by <st1:City
 w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">National City</st1:place></st1:City>
with additional support from Cleveland
Magazine.  The 2005-2006 Season is
sponsored by The Cleveland Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, MBNA, The
Plain
Dealer, and WCLV.<o:p></o:p></>
<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p>The
Company<o:p></o:p>
<><><o:p></o:p></></>
<><>Stuart Neill, Calaf,
has
performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teatro
alla
Scala, Teatro La Fenice, Opera Company of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
 w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:place></st1:City>,
and Dallas Opera.  Mr. Neill debuted at
The Metropolitan Opera as Arturo in I Puritani; at Teatro alla
Scala as
Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor; at Opéra National de
Paris/Bastille as
Der Singer in Der Rosenkavalier; and <st1:place w:st="on">Covent
Garden</st1:place>
as Riccardo in Verdi's Oberto. His <st1:State w:st="on">New
York</st1:State>
recital debut at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lincoln</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>'s Alice
Tully Hall
was sponsored by the Opera Orchestra of New York. Mr. Neill is most
recognized
as a leading interpreter of the tenor role in Verdi's Requiem
as well as
several works by Hector Berlioz. Mr. Neill can be heard on classical
recordings
of Bellini's II Pirata for Berlin Classics, Verdi's Oberto
for
Philips Classics, and the three Grammy-recipient recording of
Stravinsky's Persephone
with the San Francisco Symphony for RCA Red Seal. Mr. Neill also
records for
Ligonier Music and can be heard on sacred recordings of
The Father's Love, God In The Manger, The Church Triumphant
and Verdi's Requiem.  This
is Mr. Neill’s Cleveland Opera debut.<o:p></o:p></> 
<><o:p></o:p></></>
<></>
<>Lise
Lindstrom, Princess Turandot, made
her professional debut as
Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with
Skylight Opera, for which she received the Debut Artist of the Year
Award. Recent
performances for the soprano include Rachel in La Juive
in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:City>
with the Berkeley Jewish Festival, Donna Anna in Don
Giovanni with Berkeley Opera, and Ines in Il Trovatore
and Gianetta in L’Elisir
d’Amore, both with Orlando Opera. She’s also been heard as Susan B.
Anthony
in The Mother of Us All with City
Summer Opera and Fiordiligi in Così fan
tutte with Opera Domani in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New
York City</st1:place></st1:City>.  Ms.
Lindstrom recently made her debut in the title role of Turandot
at
Mobile Opera to great critical acclaim. 
She reprised the role in the fall of 2005 at the Union Avenue
Opera
Theater in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">St. Louis</st1:place></st1:City>.  Ms. Lindstrom’s orchestral collaborations
include Verdi’s Requiem, Richard
Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder, and the
premiere performance of John Beeman’s Dos
Retablos. She was a featured soloist at the Sonora Bach Festival in
<st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>
and has
appeared in concert with world-famous mezzo-soprano Federica von Stade
alongside
pianist Martin Katz upon personal invitation. 
This is Ms. Lindstrom’s Cleveland Opera debut.<o:p></o:p></><></>

Timothy
M.R. Culver, The Emperor Altoum, received both his Bachelor and
Master of
Music degrees from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Kent</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.  He has performed many roles in opera and
musical theater over the past few years with organizations including
Cleveland
Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Lansing Lyric Opera, Cleveland Chamber
Symphony,
Bach Society of Dayton, and Summit Choral Society.  Some
of his most recent roles include
Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin, The
Beadle in Sweeney Todd, Peppe in I
Pagliacci, Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia,
Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore, and Alfredo in La
Traviata.  During the inaugural season of
the Opera
Theatre of Lucca in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Lucca</st1:City>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
Mr. Culver performed and
studied under the direction of internationally renowned baritone
Lorenzo
Malfatti.  A frequent recitalist,
oratorio and concert soloist, Mr. Culver sang in the <st1:country-region
 w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
premiere of Erwin Schulhoff’s H.M.S. Royal Oak.  Mr.
Culver is currently an Assistant Professor of Voice at <st1:place
 w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Kent</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName
 w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.  <o:p></o:p> 
<><o:p></o:p></>
<></>
<>Alvy Powell, Timur,
has performed
with Teatro alla <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Scala</st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">New York</st1:State></st1:place>
City Opera (which was telecast on Live From Lincoln Center on PBS), San
Francisco Opera, Cape Town Opera, Opera Australia and Houston Grand
Opera.  An accomplished interpreter of operatic roles, Mr. Powell has
appeared as Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro,
Sharpless in Madame Butterfly,
Colline in La Bohème, Timur in Turandot,
Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Olin Blitch in Carlisle
Floyd’s Susannah and Balthazar in Amahl
and the Night Visitors.  He participated as
a bass soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Rome Opera
commemorating
the centennial of the death of Giuseppe Verdi which was sponsored by<o:p></o:p></>
<><o:p></o:p>the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
 w:st="on">Vatican</st1:place></st1:country-region>.  His
vast oratorio repertoire includes:
Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, and Brahms’s Requiem.  Combining his military career with his
independent vocal performances, Sergeant Alvy Powell is also a soloist
with The
United States Army Chorus. He has sung at the White House on several
occasions
and first came to national prominence singing “The Star Spangled
Banner” at the
inauguration of President George H.W. Bush.  <o:p></o:p></>

Eun-hee Kim, Liù,
a native of <st1:country-region w:st="on">South Korea</st1:country-region>,
is
pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts studying with Linda Mabbs at the <st1:place
 w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
 w:st="on">Maryland</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>.  She was the
first-prize
winner of the 2005 Belle Voci National Competition and the 2004 Marie
E. Crump
Vocal Arts Competition.  Ms. Kim was also a winner of the Washington
District in the 2002-2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.  She subsequently made her <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
 w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:State> debut with the New York
Sinfonietta.  Since 2000 she has also performed in many Art Song
Recitals.
Ms. Kim's operatic roles include Antonia in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Romilda in Serse at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
 w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Maryland</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>,
the leading role of Suor
Angelica at the Intermezzo Young Artist Program, Micaela in Carmen, Fiordiligi
in Così fan tutte, and Mimi in La Bohème at the
Manhattan School
of Music.  She earned a master's degree at the Manhattan School of
Music.  This is Ms. Kim’s Cleveland Opera
debut.  

James Kleyla, Ping,
is
one of <st1:place w:st="on">New England</st1:place>'s most popular
performers,
balancing an extensive domestic career with widespread international
performing.  Mr. Kleyla has performed
leading roles with Boston Lyric Opera, Tulsa Opera, Gold Coast Opera of
South
Florida, June Opera Festival of New Jersey, Capital City Opera, Boston
Baroque,
Boston Ballet, Boston Classical Orchestra, The Boston Cecilia Society,
Masterworks Chorale at Harvard, Dedham Choral Society, John Oliver
Chorale,
Fine Arts Chorale, Berkshire Choral Festival, Rhode Island
Philharmonic, Rhode
Island Civic Chorale and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. His operatic
roles
include the title role and the role of Masetto
in Don Giovanni, The Count in
Le Nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo
in Così fan tutte, Marcello
and Schaunard in La Bohème, Sharpless in Madame Butterfly, Germont in La
Traviata, Silvio in I Pagliacci, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Escamillo
in Carmen, Nick Shadow in The Rake's
Progress
and Tarquinius in The Rape of
Lucretia. Mr. Kleyla's oratorio credits include Mendelssohn's Elijah,
Bach's Mass in B-Minor, Haydn's Die Schöpfung and Die
Jareszeiten, Berlioz's L'Engance du Christ, Bloch's Sacred
Service, and the requiems
of Brahms, Durufle, Faure, Mozart and Verdi. 
This is Mr. Kleyla’s Cleveland Opera debut. in <o:p></o:p>

Yoonsoo Shin, Pang,
earned a Master
of Music degree
from the <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
 w:st="on">Maryland</st1:PlaceName> where he studied with Dominic
Cossa, and
earned an Artist Diploma and studied with distinguished professor
Giorgio Tozzi
at <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">I</st1:place></st1:State><><o:p></o:p>University.
He recently covered as Rodolfo in La
Bohème during the 2004-2005 season for New York City Opera. He has
participated
in the Merola Program at San Francisco Opera and performed as the Duke
in Rigoletto. Operatic roles include Tito
in La Clemenza di Tito, Rodolfo in La
Bohème, Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, Rinuccio in
Gianni Schicchi, Des Grieux in Manon,
Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and the title role in Les Contes D'Hoffmann.  Mr. Shin has received several
awards
including the Metropolitan National Council Audition Semi-Finalist,
Licia
Albanese Puccini Foundation Competition Study Grant Winner, The
Liederkranz
Foundation Awards for Voice, and The Annual Homer Ulrich Solo
Performance
Competition at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Maryland Graduate Grand Prize</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>.  This is Mr. Shin’s Cleveland Opera debut.  <o:p></o:p></>

Chad Freeburg, Pong,
made
his professional operatic debut with Opera Delaware in the role of Count Almaviva in Il
Barbiere di Siviglia in May 2002. 
Mr. Freeburg was a member of the Young American Artist Program
at
Glimmerglass Opera during the summers of 2001 and 2002. At
Glimmerglass, Mr.
Freeburg sang the role of Laurie
in their production of Adamo's Little Women. 
Mr. Freeburg has also participated in Opera North's Young
Artist
Program, singing the role of Scaramuccio
in Ariadne auf <st1:place w:st="on">Naxos</st1:place>.
Additionally, Mr.
Freeburg studied in master classes at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
 w:st="on">Britten-Pears</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">School</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
for Advanced Musical Study where he worked with renowned mezzo-soprano
Ann
Murray. Mr. Freeburg recently debuted at <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lincoln</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType> singing the tenor solo in Carmina Burana
with the National Chorale, and returned to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
 w:st="on">Lincoln</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
to sing Carmina Burana with the American Ballet Theatre at the
Metropolitan Opera House in May, 2003. Other engagements include a
return to
the role of Count Almaviva, Beppe
in Pagliacci, Ramiro in La
Cenerentola, and
pops concert performances with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and
the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.  

Ray C.
Liddle,
A Mandarin, has
performed
throughout <st1:State w:st="on">Ohio</st1:State> and the <st1:place
 w:st="on">Midwest</st1:place>,
including appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, <st1:address
 w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">Opera Circle</st1:Street>, <st1:City
 w:st="on">Detroit</st1:City></st1:address>
Opera, Indianapolis Symphony, Wooster Symphony, Mansfield Symphony and
Youngstown Symphony. A native of <st1:City w:st="on">Akron</st1:City>,
Mr.
Liddle received his formal training in voice at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
 w:st="on">Indiana</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
as a student of Dr. Roger Havranek and James King. He was a member of
The Old
Stone Singers and the Robert Page Singers, and currently serves as
soloist and
section leader for the choirs of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Epworth-Euclid</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Methodist</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
 w:st="on">Church</st1:PlaceType>,
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Fairmount</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Temple</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and Park
Synagogue. He has been
featured for many seasons as a national anthem singer at Cleveland
Indians
games, as well as Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Barons games.<o:p></o:p>
<><o:p> </o:p></>
<></>
<>Richard
Buckley, Conductor,
has
had an
extraordinary career, having guest conducted some of the world's finest
orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles
Philharmonic, and
the <st1:City w:st="on">Chicago</st1:City> and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
 w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p></>
<><o:p> </o:p>orchestras.  
Recently appointed as the artistic director of Austin Lyric
Opera,
Maestro Buckley has conducted productions with Lyric Opera of Chicago, <st1:City
 w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:City> Opera, <st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State>
Opera, <st1:City w:st="on">New York City</st1:City> Opera, Opera
Company of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:place></st1:City>,
and L'Opéra
de Montréal. In Europe he has enjoyed engagements at the Royal Opera
House at <st1:place w:st="on">Covent Garden</st1:place>, Deutsche Oper
Berlin, L'Opéra National de
Paris, and Royal Danish Opera.  Maestro
Buckley is a strong supporter of new opera. He premiered Bright Sheng's
The Song of Manjnun, Stephen Paulus' The
Woodlanders and The Women at Otawi Crossing, and
led the U.S. premiere of Aulis
Sallinen's The King Goes Forth to France. 
This is Maestro Buckley’s Cleveland Opera
debut.<o:p></o:p></>

Garnett
Bruce, Director
, is a
presence at several national opera houses including Houston Grand
Opera, San
Diego Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera and The
Dallas
Opera.  This season has included a new
production of La Cenerentola for
Lyric Opera of Kansas City, revivals of the Francesca Zambello
productions of Madame Butterfly and Jenůfa
in <st1:State w:st="on">Texas</st1:State>,
as well as new stagings of Der fliegende
Holländer for Austin and Carmen
for <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Palm Beach</st1:place></st1:City>.  In 2005 he staged Susannah for
Columbus Opera, Vanessa
and Tosca in <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State>,
and returned to Wolf Trap's <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
 w:st="on">Filene</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
with his
production of La Cenerentola. In
2002, he staged the David Hockney production of Turandot
to open the season at Teatro di San Carlo in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
 w:st="on">Naples</st1:place></st1:City> (European debut)
as well as Tosca at Opera Colorado
and Street Scene at Wolf Trap, where
he returned in 2003 for a new production of La
Clemenza di Tito.  This is Mr.
Bruce’s Cleveland Opera debut.<o:p></o:p>
<pre style="margin-left: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><o:p>
</o:p></pre>
- 30 -
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-- 
Amy Pawlukiewicz
Public Relations Associate
Cleveland Opera
1422 Euclid Avenue
Suite 1052
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
Phone: (216)575-0903 ext. 214
Fax: (216)575-1918
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.clevelandopera.org">www.clevelandopera.org</a></pre>
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