The final concert “AD ASTRA” brings together the outstanding soprano, internationally renowned Latvian opera diva Liene Kinča, future opera stars – the best students of the Vocal Department of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and for the first time in Latvia – internationally renowned conductor Gregory Buchalter (USA) with the JVLMA Symphony Orchestra.
The programme is musically elegant, genre-spanning and exciting, including:
- Antonin Dvořák’s aria and tercet from the opera “Nara”
- Gaetano Donizetti’s Nemorino aria from the opera “Love Potion”
- Excerpts from Jean-Jacques Offenbach’s opera-fantasy “The Tales of Hoffmann”
- Excerpts from Charles Gounod’s opera Faust
- Excerpts from Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen
- Excerpts from Johann Strauss II operetta “The Bat”
- Franz Lehár’s operetta “Land of Smiles” (“You Own My Heart”)
- Franz Lehár’s operetta “Judith” (“Judith’s aria”), etc.
The concert will bring together the most beautiful pages of operas, operettas and Broadway music, proving that the different genres of musical theatre are different branches of one big musical tree, each with its own place, and that great art is based on talent, attitude and high professional standards.
Soprano Liene Kinča, the internationally acclaimed Latvian opera diva, is a so-called Wagner singer and rarely visits her native Latvia. Her creative commitments include the roles of Ada in Richard Wagner’s Die feen and Elisabeth in Tanhauser at the Leipzig Opera, her debut as Isolde in Tristan und Isolde in Estonia, and her work in the Geneva music world.
In order to have the opportunity to take part in this Gala Concert, the young aspirants – future opera stars – had to undergo a serious professional selection process by the Vocal Department of the JVLMA. They have been recognised as the best ones who are able to vividly represent the future creative potential of Latvian vocal performing arts.
Gregory Buchhalter has been a guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and Artistic Director of Camerata Washington Opera for 30 years. He is currently guest conductor of the South Florida Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Varna International Festival, Music Director of the Grand Strand Music Festival, conductor of the Orlando Opera and Teatro Lirico d’Europa, and performs regularly around the world.
In this concert programme, the Operetta Theatre presents a new, high artistic quality and ambitious event, including masterclasses by Gregory Buchhalter at the Academy of Music and a Gala Concert, highlighting the professional excellence of vocal performing arts students.
