Venetian Arts Society presents Up Close & Personal at Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale
Leona Mitchell “…is known as one of the greatest African-American sopranos of this age,” according to Opera News.
Metropolitan Opera Star Leona Mitchell will perform on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014 at 7:30 pm at NSU’s Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale in conjunction with “The Movement: Bob Adelman and Civil Rights Era Photography.”
Following the intimate and interactive Salon Concert there will be a VIP Champagne Social to meet Leona Mitchell. Mitchell will return the next morning, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, for A Conversation with the Artist, a non-traditional Master Class/interview/Q&A hosted by Julia Yarbrough, TV host/reporter.
The Master Class will feature students from Frost School of Music at University of Miami from 10 a.m. to 12 Noon in MOA’s Horvitz Auditorium.
Leona Mitchell “…is known as one of the greatest African-American sopranos of this age,” according to Opera News. She has graced the stages of the major opera houses of the world. “Ms. Mitchell is a Grammy Award winning soprano who sang 18 consecutive seasons as a leading lyrico-spinto soprano at the Metropolitan Opera of New York,” enthused William Riddle. “She has sung for most of the greatest opera houses: Paris, Covent Garden-London, Rome, Australia, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, Chicago, and Caracalla, amongst many others. And quite frankly, we are thrilled that she will be per-forming in conjunction with the Bob Adelman Exhibition: Art of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Miss Mitchell has sung for four US Presidents and many international dignitaries: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton, Prince Charles, and Bishop Tutu. On July 5, 1986 she per-formed “Un bel di” from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on the New York Philharmonic’s tribute to the 100th Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was televised on ABC Television.
In 1973, Leona Mitchell debuted to great acclaim as Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen with the San Francisco Opera, debuting on Dec. 15, 1975 in the same role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
She received international attention as Bess in the first stereo recording of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra. It was also in this role that she earned her Grammy Award for the Best Opera Recording. She has contributed too many historic recordings of operas, had numerous television appearances, and served as honorary chair of Black History Month of the Oklahoma legislature. In 1998 Leona Mitchell performed the role of Liu to rave reviews in an historic production of Puccini’s Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera under the direction of James Levine. She has also appeared with the major symphony orchestras of the world including London, New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.
Leona Mitchell has been seen and heard on numerous television broadcasts since her unforgettable debut, most notably in the PBS “Live from Lincoln Center” and “Live from the Met” series.
Salon Concert: Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014 7:30 pm Horvitz Auditorium at NSU’s Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale $45 General Admission ($30 MOA & VAS Members) $60 VIP Package ($45 MOA & VAS Members) VIP Package (includes Salon Concert preferred seating, Post Concert Champagne Reception with Leona Mitchell, and Master Class. Master Class: Friday, Feb. 21, 2014 10 am-noon Horvitz Auditoriun at NSU’s Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale $20 Master Class; A Conversation with Leona Mitchell (Free to MOA & VAS Members).
To purchase tickets, go to www.VenetianArtsSociety.org or call Willie Riddle at (954) 709-7447 or email Willie@VenetianArtsSociety.org ** Reservations are required as open seating is limited**
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