Announcing our 2020-2021 virtual season.
Like many other performing arts institutions in the United States and across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to reshape the way we approach our upcoming season. Performances held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have been cancelled until next spring. As a result, our season will consist of filmed recitals presented by the artists who would have given live performances here in Washington, DC.
We are committed to keeping the beauty of song alive and well now, more than ever! Thank you for your flexibility and understanding as we, like everyone else, move through these uncharted waters. Stay safe, and we hope you will join us this season.
Presenting the beauty of song.
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to our 2020-2021 season of exciting new artists in their Washington solo debut recitals, as well as the return of popular favorites. Lend your ears to these remarkable, diverse voices for a transcendent experience, all from the comfort and safety of your own home.
Matthew Polenzani, tenor
Natalia Katyukova, pianist
No American tenor of his generation has amassed a more loyal or sizeable following than Matthew Polenzani. His limpid, impeccably clear tenor and honest musicianship have graced every symphony hall, opera house, and concert platform of distinction, and he has an enviable discography and videography.
Davóne Tines, bass-baritone
Adam Nielsen, pianist
Originally from Northern Virginia, bass-baritone Davóne Tines graduated from Harvard with a degree in sociology before receiving a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. He is heralded by the LA Times as a “singer of immense power and fervor”, and commands a broad spectrum of operatic and concert performance as a singer and activist.
Rod Gilfry, baritone
Peter Walsh, pianist
Seen most recently in Washington as Alfred Stieglitz to the Georgia O’Keefe of Renée Fleming in the world premiere performances of Kevin Puts’ The Brightness of Light led by Gianandrea Noseda with the NSO, American baritone Rod Gilfry has an oaken voice as galvanizing as his considerable communicative warmth.
Lise Davidsen, soprano
James Baillieu, pianist
Young Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen has everyone in the world of classical music talking about her stunning, once-in-a-generation instrument and her charismatic communicative power.
Emily D’Angelo, mezzo-soprano
Sophia Muñoz, pianist
A recent alumna of the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Canadian-Italian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo is also a recent winner of an impressive array of international competitions for emerging artists, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the George London Competition, the Gerda Lissner Competition, Operalia, and a 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award.
In the meantime,
you can access the video recording of our recital with soprano Lisette Oropesa for free!
Accompanied by Vlad Iftinca, this program was given in March of 2017 at the Theatre of the Arts at the University of DC, and featured works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Felix Mendelssohn, and Fernando Obradors.
A very special thanks to Ms. Oropesa and the team at ArtsLaureate for permitting use of these recordings. Ms. Oropesa’s appearance with Vocal Arts DC was made possible in part by a generous contribution from Dr. Yolanda Oertel (1938-2020)
“While the ongoing global pandemic makes gathering in our home theater of the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center (or in any theater) impossible for the foreseeable future, we are excited to offer a series of all new virtual concerts by those singers we would have otherwise presented live.”
Peter Russell, General Director
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