Seattle Symphony Kicks Off 2009

The Orchestra will also perform Beethoven’s First Symphony. Performances will take place on Friday, January 2, 2009, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, January 3, 2009, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, January 4, 2009, at 2 p.m.

Seattle Symphony will also perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on Wednesday, December 31, at 9 p.m. as part of a New Year’s Eve celebration, including an after-party with dessert, champagne toast and dancing, plus a countdown to 2009. Additionally, Maestro Gerard Schwarz will lead the Orchestra in works by Ginastera, Sousa and Strauss, Sr., The Seattle Seahawks Blue Thunder drumline will perform solo selections as well as with the Orchestra. Tickets start at $40. Please visit Seattle Symphony’s website for details.

Program

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 jarred the ears of early late-classic era audiences. Today, however, the work’s humor and inventiveness keep this fresh-sounding work in the popular imagination and repertoire.

Beethoven’s heaven-storming Symphony No. 9, “Choral,” continues to enthrall listeners worldwide. Dramatic and ardently felt, the first three movements form a magnificent introduction to the famed vocal/choral finale drawn from Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy.”

Ute Selbig

The leading soprano of the Dresden State Opera, German soprano Ute Selbig has achieved international renown for her radiant voice, superb musicianship and dramatic conviction. North American concert appearances include those with the New York Philharmonic; Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Indianapolis symphonies; Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; and an acclaimed recital at Boston's Gardner Museum. Collaborations with Gerard Schwarz include debuts at Seattle Opera as Annchen in Der Freischutz, the Mostly Mozart Festival in Mozart’s Requiem; and Seattle Symphony, performing Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri. Selbig’s recent highlights include singing Agathe in Weber's Der Freischutz, Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio at the San Diego Opera; the Brahms and Mozart Requiems in Dresden; and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Rome, Japan and Leipzig.

Michele Losier

Canadian mezzo-soprano Michele Losier made her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in the fall of 2007, performing the role of Diana in Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride, appearing alongside Susan Graham and Placido Domingo, having first sung the role at Seattle Opera in October 2007. Upcoming performances include as Cerubino in Le Nozze di Figaro at both Washington National Opera and the San Francisco Opera; Stephano in Romeo et Juliette at the Dallas Opera; Kiklause in Les Contes d’Hoffman at Boston Lyric Opera; and Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder with the Charlemagne Orchestra. Awards and grants include those from the the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation, the Conseil des Arts et Des Lettres du Quebec and the Canada Council for the Arts. She is a Laureate of the 2008 Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Competition.

John Mac Master

Since his critically acclaimed portrayal of Canio in Pagliacci at Glimmerglass Opera, tenor John Mac Master has been in demand at the international level for the dramatic tenor repertoire. Recent performances include as Florestan in Fidelio with Sir Colin Davis and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Sir Bernard Haitink, both with the London Symphony Orchestra; his debut at Dresden’s Semper Opera as Calaf in Turandot; and his Metropolitan Opera Debut as Canio in Pagliacci, which included a “Live from the Met” radio broadcast. This season, Mac Master performs the title role in Otello for Kentucky Opera; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with both Seattle Symphony and Orchestra London (Ontario); Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Orchestra Metropolitan du Grand Montreal; and Herodes in Strauss’ Salome with Vancouver Opera.

Richard Zeller

American baritone Richard Zeller is internationally acclaimed for both his concert and operatic appearances. Recent engagements include the role of Valentin in Gounoud’s Faust at Portland Opera, Enrico in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at New Orleans Opera, covering the title role of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Metropolitan Opera. Recent concert appearances include Handel’s Messiah with Seattle Symphony; Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 and Brahms’ Requiem with Richmond Symphony, Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins with Oregon Symphony; Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Memphis Symphony; and Orff’s Carmina burana with Buffalo Philharmonic. Zeller’s recordings include Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 for Centaur Records, and Virgil Thompson's Lord Byron and Aaron Copland's The Tender Land for Koch International. -- www.seattlesymphony.org