The NAC Orchestra's 2002 Messiah -- December 17-18
December 10, 2002 -
Ottawa, Canada -- Spend a couple of hours in heaven with one of
the greatest pieces of music ever written. The National Arts Centre
Orchestra's annual presentation of Handel's Messiah,
in Southam Hall on Tuesday, December 17 and Wednesday, December 18 at
20:00, is guaranteed to inspire, uplift and enthrall. Conductor
William Boughton makes his NAC Orchestra podium debut leading a
stellar quartet of singers in the magnificent oratorio: soprano
Arianna Zukerman, countertenor Daniel Taylor, tenor Christopher Pfund
and bass-baritone Robert Pomakov. The Cantata Singers of Ottawa are
prepared by Music Director Laurence Ewashko.
Conductor William Boughton was Artistic and Music Director to the
Jyvaskyla Sinfonia in Finland from 1986 to 1993. With the English
Symphony Orchestra, of which he is Founder, Artistic Director and
Principal Conductor, Boughton has developed the orchestra's
repertoire through the Viennese classics to contemporary music.
Together he and the orchestra have built a significant discography of
internationally acclaimed recordings with Nimbus Records, a number of
which have reached the Top Ten in the US charts. His guest conducting
includes the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, London
Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony.
Soprano Arianna Zukerman, a graduate of the Juilliard School and
winner of a 2002 Sullivan Foundation Award, has sung a variety of
comprimario roles as a member of the young artist program at the
Bavarian State Opera in Munich, including Barbarina in Le nozze di
Figaro, and der Taumännchen in Hänsel und
Gretel. She sang her first Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro
with Opera Illinois in 1999. In concert she has sung with the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (Polochik), the English Symphony
Orchestra (Boughton), the Israel Philharmonic (Bolton), the Moscow
Chamber Orchestra (Orbelian), and has performed critically acclaimed
solo recitals in the U.S. and Europe. She made her NAC Orchestra
debut in 1998 conducted by her father Pinchas Zukerman.
Ottawa-born Daniel Taylor, who began his singing career at the St.
Matthew's Boys Choir under Brian Law, is one of the world's
most sought-after countertenors, receiving invitations from an
ever-widening circle of the world's leading early and contemporary
music ensembles. He appears in opera (Metropolitan Opera,
Glyndebourne, San Francisco, Rome), oratorio (English Baroque
Soloists, Collegium Vocale de Ghent, Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment, The Academy of Ancient Music), symphonic works
(Dallas, Philadelphia, Toronto, Rotterdam), recital (Vienna
Konzerthaus; Frick Collection, New York; Forbidden Concert Hall,
Beijing; Lufthansa Baroque Festival, London), and film (Podeswa's
Five Senses for Fineline - Winner at the Cannes Film Festival
and also of a Genie Award). He has made 35 recordings which include
Handel's Rinaldo (winner of the Gramophone Award for Decca)
with Cecilia Bartoli and the Academy of Ancient Music led by Hogwood.
He performed Messiah at the NAC in 1996 and 2001.
American tenor Christopher Pfund is a versatile tenor in operatic
and oratorio repertoire and has performed with orchestras and
oratorio societies throughout North America. He has performed
Messiah with the Buffalo Philharmonic, and Virginia Symphony;
Carmina Burana with a number of orchestras including the
Detroit Symphony as well as with the NAC Orchestra in 2001, and has
performed opera with the Glimmerglass Opera (with whom he has also
toured), New York City Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, and more. His
recordings include the critically acclaimed title role in
Britten's Albert Herring on the Vox Label.
Canadian basso cantante Robert Pomakov is a 1999 graduate of
Canada's world-renowned St. Michael's Choir School and in
May 2001 received his Bachelor of Music Degree from the prestigious
Curtis Institute of Music. He has performed extensively throughout
North America and Europe having made his professional concert debut
in 1998 and his operatic debut in 1999 in a concert performance of
Don Giovanni with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. Other
notable performances have included the Roy Thomson Hall Millennium
Opera Gala with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Recorded by CBC
Records), his Carnegie Hall debut with the Oratorio Society of New
York, as well as his Concertgebouw debut with the European Union
Baroque Orchestra. He performed in the Black & White Opera
Soirée at the NAC in 2002.
Messiah will be presented at the National Arts Centre on
December 17 and 18 at 20:00. Tickets are on sale now at $33.00,
$46.50 and $60.00, with box seats at $76.00 (GST and Facility Fee
included) 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.
