Posted on: March 3, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Stephen Costello will give his American recital debut in Kansas City on Saturday, March 5, performing arias and songs by Verdi, Liszt, Tosti, Rossini, Quilter and Brodsky. The evening performance at the Folly Theater is presented by the Harriman-Jewell Series, which has offered the first American recitals of many important young artists throughout its history, beginning with Luciano Pavarotti in 1973 and, more recently, tenor Juan Diego Flórez. Soon after, Costello heads to Southern California where he will make two role debuts at the San Diego Opera: the Italian Singer in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier (April 3-12), and the title role in Gounod’s Faust (April 23, 26, 29 and May 1). In June, Costello makes his Glyndebourne Festival debut as Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore.

“The Harriman-Jewell Series has had such an amazing history,” says Costello, “and I’m so proud to follow in the footsteps of so many wonderful artists.”

Among the highlights of Costello’s recital program, which features Danielle Orlando at the piano, will be an aria from Verdi’s Rigoletto, Liszt’s Three Petrarch Sonnets, three songs in English by Tosti, four songs by Quilter, the beloved traditional song “Danny Boy”, and Brodszky’s “I’ll Walk with God,” a song immortalized by several great tenors of the past, most notably Mario Lanza. Complete program details are available here.

Stephen Costello made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in October, opening the company’s new season as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème, and returned soon for his fifth consecutive season at the Dallas Opera. His most recent staged performances were with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, where he starred, with his wife, soprano Ailyn Pérez, in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. A critic for the Associated Press reported, “Costello, winner of the 2009 Richard Tucker Award, is a prodigiously gifted singer whose voice makes an immediate impact. There’s an unforced warmth and generosity to his sound, and his big aria, ‘Ah! Leve-toi, soleil!’ (“Arise, o sun!”) showed excellent control over phrasing and dynamics.”

This fall, Costello will reprise the role of Percy in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, opening the Metropolitan Opera’s new season on September 26, 2011, in a new production featuring Anna Netrebko in the title role.

Stephen Costello: upcoming engagements

March 5

Kansas City, MO

Harriman/Jewell Series

U.S. recital debut

April 3

San Diego, CA

Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Italian Singer – role debut)

San Diego Opera

Additional performances April 6, 9, & 12

April 23

San Diego, CA

Gounod: Faust (Doctor Faust – role debut)

San Diego Opera

Additional performances April 26, 29, & May 1

June 9

East Sussex, England

Donizetti: L’elisir d’amore (Nemorino)

Glyndebourne Festival 2011 (debut)

Additional performances June 12, 17, 24, 30, July 3, 8, 10, 14, 16, 19, 22, 24, 28, 31, & Aug 4

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