September 23, 2005 -

Ottawa, Canada -- A gorgeous programme of Verdi, Mozart, Bellini, Gounod, Bach, and more has been announced for the Gala concert that soprano Kathleen Battle will perform with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Music Director Pinchas Zukerman on Saturday, October 1. The NAC Gala is presented by TELUS, Founding Partner of the NAC’s National Youth and Education Trust in association with SunLife Financial, CGI, Bruce Power, Michael Potter and Veronique Dhieux, supporters and patrons of the National Arts Centre Gala, and the National Arts Centre Foundation Donors' Circle. The Honorary Chair of the 2005 NAC Gala is Mrs. Sheila Martin. The 2005 Gala Committee is chaired by Jacques Shore, a Partner in the Advocacy Department and Government Relations Practice Group of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, one of Canada’s largest national law firms.

Pinchas Zukerman will open the concert leading the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Verdi’s overture to La Forza del Destino to set the stage for the entrance of Kathleen Battle in Susanna’s aria “Deh vieni, non tardar” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. The soprano will also sing Bellini’s “Oh! Quante volte” from Montagues and Capulets and the potion aria “Amour ranime mon courage” from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Kathleen Battle’s gifts as a singer extend beyond the realm of classical music: her work as a great interpreter of spirituals will be showcased in a medley of spirituals arranged by Hale Smith and Hall Johnson including “This Little Light of Mine” “Witness” and “Heaven is One Beautiful Place”.

The concert also features Canadian rising star mezzo-soprano and Rolex protégée Susan Platts who will be joined on violin by Pinchas Zukerman for a performance of Bach’s “Erbarme dich” from The Saint Matthew Passion.

Pinchas Zukerman will conduct the Orchestra in Ravel’s achingly beautiful Pavane for a Dead Princess and Gluck’s enchanting “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” from Orfeo ed Euridice.

The ninth annual Gala will take place on Saturday, October 1 in the NAC’s Southam Hall. There will be a pre-concert reception in the Foyer for all patrons at 18:00, followed by the concert at 19:00. Those with Gala dinner tickets will also attend a post-concert reception followed by dinner and dancing on the Southam Hall stage. Kathleen Battle is replacing Jessye Norman who had to withdraw for reasons of health.

KATHLEEN BATTLE, a five-time Grammy Award winner, is celebrated for her many recordings and television appearances that have brought her voice and musicianship into millions of homes worldwide. Throughout a remarkable career that has brought her to the stages of the world’s leading opera houses and major concert halls, critics have never tired of rhapsodizing over her limpid, unmistakable sound.  In quite poetic terms, they have compared it to “the ethereal beauty of winter moonlight” (The Washington Post), “a paradoxical meeting of earth and sky” (Philadelphia Inquirer), and “cream from a miraculous, bottomless pitcher” (The New York Times). 

The superstar soprano has appeared on stages including the Metropolitan Opera, the opera houses of Vienna, Paris, San Francisco and Chicago, and London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Miss Battle has enjoyed close collaborations with most noted artists of our time and has performed with the world’s great orchestras in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Los Angeles. She has also appeared regularly in the festivals of Salzburg, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Blossom, Hollywood Bowl, Mann Music Center, and performed in recital in the music capitals of the world. Kathleen Battle made her NAC debut in 1989, and was the guest artist for the NAC’s second annual Gala in 1998.

PINCHAS ZUKERMAN, the world-renowned instrumentalist and Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra is equally respected as a violinist, violist, conductor, teacher and chamber musician. He is a champion of the NAC’s rapid expansion in education, having founded the NAC’s Summer Music Institute, which last summer assembled 70 talented musicians to study with an international faculty. He has also led five national and international tours with the NAC Orchestra since becoming Music Director, with education playing an ever more important role. Last season’s British Columbia tour included over 90 education events in addition to concerts. All these initiatives are supported by the National Youth and Education Trust.

SUSAN PLATTS, the new Canadian mezzo-soprano sensation, has already made a name for herself with orchestras across Canada, including the NAC Orchestra, and has been featured in a number of acclaimed CBC-Radio broadcasts. Last season she made New York debuts at both Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in the same month. Among other debuts this season, she appeared at Milan’s La Scala in fall 2004. Compared by many to a young Maureen Forrester, she was selected last May after a world-wide search to be Jessye Norman’s protégée as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.

Some tickets at $65, $110 or $135 including the pre-concert reception in the NAC Foyer with wine and canapés at 18:00, followed by the concert at 19:00 may be available. Check at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00), or through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111.  Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s web-site at www.nac-cna.ca. 

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For more information please contact:
Jane Morris, Communications Officer,
National Arts Centre Orchestra
(613) 947-7000, ext. 335
jmorris@nac-cna.ca

Jayne Watson, Director of Communications,
National Arts Centre
(613) 947-7000, ext. 260
jwatson@nac-cna.ca