First Sonnet to Orpheus
CD#: 1 - Track#: 2
COMPOSER
Theodore Morrison Theodore Morrison began composing in his 40s, 20 years after he was well-established as a conductor and pedagogue. He has composed an epic choral symphony, War and Reconciliation, other large works for voices and orchestra, and shorter pieces including chamber works, organ music, song cycles and choral pieces. Morrison's James Joyce cycle Chamber Music was commissioned by countertenor David Daniels, who has performed it with pianist Martin Katz on recital tours throughout North America and Europe. Oscar, an opera on the subject of Oscar Wilde's trial and imprisonment, is Morrison’s latest project. The Santa Fe Opera and Opera Company of Philadelphia commissioned Morrison and the English stage director John Cox to create the work. Starring David Daniels in the title role, Oscar will receive its world premiere in Santa Fe (2013) and its East Coast premiere in Philadelphia (2015). The opera is published by G. Schirmer, Inc.
LYRICIST
Rainer Maria Rilke, trans. Stephen Mitchell
VOCALIST
Elizabeth Futral  Karli CadelAmerican soprano Elizabeth Futral has established herself as one of the world's leading coloratura sopranos. She has embraced a repertoire that ranges from the Baroque to world premieres with such groups as the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Covent Garden, New York Philharmonic, London Symphony, Israel Philharmonic and Bayerische Staatsoper. A leading interpreter of today’s music, Futral has sung the world premieres of Andre Previn’s Brief Encounter, Philip Glass’s Orphée, Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice, Dominic Argento’s Evensong: Of Love and Angels and Stephen Paulus’s Three Poems of Dylan Thomas. Other notable performances include concerts and/or recordings of Paulus’s To Be Certain of the Dawn, Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath, Kaija Saariaho's Emilie and Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men.
PIANIST
William Hobbs Born in Austin, TX, William Hobbs received his bachelor’s degree in piano performance summa cum laude from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and an M.M. in piano performance, research and literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Hobbs works at many of the world’s major opera houses as conductor and coach, including the Opéra National de Paris, the Salzburg Festival, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Washington Opera and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. He has assisted conductors Claudio Abbado, Sir Charles Mackerras, Jirí Belohlávek, Sir Andrew Davis, James Conlon, Robert Spano, Richard Bonynge, Donald Runnicles, Jiri Kout, Marco Armiliato and many others. Hobbs joined the piano and voice faculty at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, in 2010, and was appointed assistant professor in 2011. He is the founder and artistic director of Opera Slavica, which is devoted to presenting full productions of masterworks from Russian, Czech and Polish composers, providing singers with no background in these languages with the knowledge and training to sing, read and translate them, and offering professional guidance for reaching industry standards.
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