El Pasoans are encouraged to secure tickets now for a gala presentation of Gershwin in Concert featuring the Porgy and Bess Suite. A true American classic, Porgy and Bess encompasses the essence of Americana combining the spiritual with blues and the jazz of New Orleans. The 80-minute show includes hits like “Summertime”, “My Man’s Gone Now” and “Bess, You is My Woman Now”. El Paso’s own Maestro Raymond Harvey will also perform Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. Tickets are available now at www.epopera.org and www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 915-581-5534. Special discounts are available for seniors, students and military personnel. Ticket prices range from $15 - $90, making the evening’s concert an affordable night for all.
“We’re thrilled to be presenting one of America’s most beloved musical pieces,” says El Paso Opera Artistic & General Director David Grabarkewitz. “It’s the perfect way to close out our successful 2009-10 season and give the diverse El Paso audience an unforgettable treat while their ticket purchases help their own local opera relieve its deficit and continue gifting the city with this great art for years to come.”
The production’s all African-American cast is rich with acclaim. Maestro Raymond Harvey has appeared as guest conductor with many of America’s leading orchestras including Philadelphia, Atlanta, St. Louis, Utah, Indianapolis, Detroit, New Orleans and Minnesota, as well as the New York Philharmonic's Young People's Concerts and the Boston Pops. Porgy and Bess is the piece he has conducted most throughout his celebrated career.
Geraldine McMillian (as Bess) appeared in El Paso Opera’s 1996 production of Madama Butterfly and is a frequent guest performer with orchestras throughout the world including the Detroit Symphony, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Glendale Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, Sinfonieorchester Hamburg Orchestra, the New World Orchestra in Mexico City, Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México. Playing Serena, Lori Hicks was featured in concerts and recitals throughout Italy and France, as well as starring as Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff under the baton of Maestro Joseph Rescigno.
Roland Burks (as Porgy) has performed with New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Anchorage Opera, Knoxville Opera, Connecticut Opera, Opera Theater of Philadelphia, and San Antonio Opera, while his international appearances include performances with the Bregenz festival Austria, International Opera Theatre in Umbria, Italy, Mercury Opera in Edmonton, Canada, and Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain. And in the role of Sportin’ Life, Timothy Robert Blevins’ upcoming engagements include Crown in Porgy and Bess at the Edinburgh Festival and Opéra National de Lyon, a role he has sung at New York City Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Virginia Opera, and Pablo Casal's Festival in Puerto Rico. He was also featured on the soundtracks Disney’s Home on the Range and Enchanted.
