February 09, 2004 -

Ottawa, Canada -- The world-famous mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, renowned for her thrilling voice and charismatic stage presence, will give a vocal masterclass in the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall on Tuesday, February 17 from 18:00 to 20:00. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Denyce Graves is in Ottawa to star in the Black & White Opera Soirée on Saturday, February 21, a fundraiser for the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Opera Lyra Ottawa, where she will perform excerpts from her two signature roles Carmen and Samson et Dalila.

Denyce Graves’ visit to Ottawa as Cultural Ambassador is sponsored by the United States Government CultureConnect Program, an international initiative of the United States Department of State whose goal is to promote global, cross-cultural understanding through outreach to youth.

A masterclass is a one-on-one lesson given by a teacher to a student in front of and for the benefit of an audience. Masterclasses are of particular interest and value to music students and teachers, but are also illuminating and entertaining for the general public.

Denyce Graves will work with three students over the course of the masterclass: Dorothea Hayley, a soprano from McGill University; Marcel Van Neer, a tenor also from McGill University; and Joyce El-Khoury, a soprano from the University of Ottawa, who is also a participant of the Opera Lyra Ottawa Young Artists Programme.

The CultureConnect Program will also include a visit by Denyce Graves to De La Salle Secondary School on Wednesday, February 18 at 14:15 for a private talk and exchange with the 450 students of the School’s Centre for Artistic Excellence.

Recognized worldwide as one of today’s most exciting vocal stars, Denyce Graves continues to gather unparalleled popular and critical acclaim in performances on four continents. Her signature roles as Carmen and Dalila have brought her to the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Washington Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Arena di Verona, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. It has just been announced that Graves will be one of the stars of an outdoor performance of Carmen set in a Spanish bullring in Seville, Spain, led by Lorin Maazel, the opening event of the first Seville International Music Festival next September.

The seventh annual Black & White Opera Soirée on Saturday, February 21, 2004 at 20:00 in the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall will also feature Canadian bass-baritone James Westman, and is hosted by Albert Millaire, with the National Arts Centre Orchestra conducted by James Judd, and the Opera Lyra Ottawa Chorus prepared by Laurence Ewashko. The fundraiser is presented by Bell Canada in association with Enbridge Gas Distribution and Scotiabank.

For information on the Denyce Graves masterclass and Black & White Opera Soirée please contact:
Jane Morris, National Arts Centre
(613) 947-7000, ext. 335
jmorris@nac-cna.ca

For information on Opera Lyra Ottawa Young Artists Programme please contact:
Laïla-Gabrielle Côté, OLO,
(613) 233-9200, ext. 229
marketing@operalyra.ca

For more information on the CultureConnect Program, please contact:
Elizabeth Kauffman,
Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy
(613) 688-5314
cultureconnect.state.gov