July 07, 2005 -

Ottawa, Ontario -- The National Arts Centre Orchestra’s summer Great Composers series concludes on Wednesday, July 20 with the union of two of the world’s greatest opera stars singing the music for which they are most famous: Deborah Voigt – hailed by the world’s critics and audiences as today’s foremost dramatic soprano with what the New York Times describes as “a gleaming voice that easily soars over the largest Wagnerian orchestra,” – and Canadian heldentenor Ben Heppner, who set the international press ablaze with accolades for “a Tristan for the new millennium”, when he debuted in Wagner’s most challenging role. The two will sing arias and duets from Beethoven’s Fidelio and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, Tannhäuser, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Siegfried. Asher Fisch, Music Director of the Israeli Opera, will be on the podium for what promises to be an absolutely thrilling evening of opera. Ottawa will be the first to hear this programme which the same trio will perform at New York’s Lincoln Center and Berlin’s Deutsch Oper next season.

The 19:30 NAC Orchestra concert is preceded at 18:30 by the last of Thomas Annand’s Encounters with Bach which he is presenting prior to each of the four Great Composers concerts. Annand will discuss and perform music by Bach as well by composers who influenced or were influenced by him. The 30-minute Encounter with Bach is included in the ticket price of the orchestral concert. Ticket-holders have the option of arriving at 18:30 for Thomas Annand, or coming at 19:30 if they decide to attend only the orchestral concert.

The NAC Orchestra’s Great Composers series is presented in association with the Ottawa Citizen.

The concert begins with Beethoven’s Fidelio. Two of the opera’s most famous arias will follow the NAC Orchestra’s performance of the Overture. Voigt will sing “Abscheulischer, wo eilst du hin?” – one of the most sensational in the entire dramatic soprano repertoire – and then Heppner will present the hero Florestan’s big aria “Gott, welch Dunkel hier!” The first half closes with the love duet from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde: “O sink hernieder, Nacht der Liebe”, one of the most rapturous love songs ever written.

Then it is all Wagner for the second half. Voigt sings “Dich, teure Halle” from Tannhäuser, a rousing greeting to the packed hall in which her lover will soon compete. This is followed by Heppner in “Morgenlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein” from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, the mastersinger’s prize lovesong which he hopes will win him the hand of his muse. There is an orchestral interlude of Siegfried’s Forest Murmurs (Waldweben) as a prelude to the grande finale of Voigt and Heppner together in the final thrilling love duet – “Ewig war ich, ewig bin ich” – from Siegfried, Part III of Wagner’s monumental “Ring” trilogy.

Deborah Voigt, making her National Arts Centre debut is often described as unequalled in her performances of operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss. The New York Observer says: “Ms. Voigt has been one of the world’s leading dramatic sopranos for some time, and it’s a pleasure to report on that gleaming Cadillac of an instrument.” She has sung starring roles the world over, and this summer alone she performs from Brussels to Hollywood, from New York and Paris to Tanglewood. Her best-selling first solo CD Obsessions featured Wagner and Strauss arias and scenes. She now has an exclusive recording agreement with EMI Classics.

Ben Heppner is recognized as the finest dramatic tenor before the public today excelling in the most challenging roles. He is acclaimed in music capitals around the world for his beautiful voice, intelligent musicianship and sparkling dramatic sense. He has been recorded by every major international recording label and is now an exclusive artist for Deutsche Grammophon, which recently released his CD of songs of Tosti, entitled Ideale. He can also be heard on several solo recordings for RCA Red Seal and complete operatic recordings for Decca, EMI, Sony, and Teldec. He last performed at the NAC in 2000.

Well-known to opera audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, conductor Asher Fisch has been a regular guest at the Vienna Staatsoper, and in leading European opera houses such as Berlin, Paris, Munich, Dresden, Hamburg and Leipzig as well as the Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera and Houston Grand Opera. In the summer of 2003 he inaugurated the new Seattle Opera House to great acclaim with a new production of Parsifal, returning in 2004 for Lohengrin. That same year culminated in a new production of Wagner's Ring Cycle for the South Australian Opera. He is making his NAC Orchestra debut.

Tickets for this final Great Composers series concert with Deborah Voigt, Ben Heppner and Asher Fisch on July 20 at 19:30, including the Encounter with Bach at 18:30 are on sale now at $22 and $32, $42 and $62 at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111.  Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s web-site at www.nac-cna.ca.  Half-price tickets for students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card. Groups of 20 and more save up to 20% on NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances.  To book call 947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@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