The NAC Orchestra's 2003 Messiah led by Thierry Fischer December 16-17
December 09, 2003 -
Ottawa, Canada -- "I think God has visited me," declared George Frideric Handel upon completion of Messiah, and generations of music-lovers for whom the holiday season is not complete without an evening of this masterful oratorio would agree with the composer. The National Arts Centre Orchestra's annual presentation of Handel's Messiah, takes place in Southam Hall on Tuesday, December 16 and Wednesday, December 17 at 20:00. Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer makes his NAC Orchestra podium debut leading a stellar quartet of singers in the magnificent oratorio: Canadian soprano Nathalie Paulin, American mezzo-soprano Jennifer Dudley in her NAC Orchestra debut, British tenor Rufus Müller also making his NAC Orchestra debut, and Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Lichti. The Cantata Singers of Ottawa and the Opera Lyra Ottawa Chorus are prepared by Music Director Laurence Ewashko. (Jennifer Dudley replaces countertenor Matthew White who has had to withdraw for reasons of health.)
Thierry Fischer, the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Ulster Orchestra, has conducted numerous orchestras in Europe including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Northern Sinfonia and Dutch Radio Chamber, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, Scottish Chamber. He is a strong advocate of composers from his native Switzerland, particularly of Holliger, Honegger, and Frank Martin. His disc for Deutsche Grammophon conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe playing works by Frank Martin was nominated for a Gramophone Award. These concerts mark Thierry Fischer's National Arts Centre debut.
New Brunswick-born soprano Nathalie Paulin has appeared with the National Arts Centre Orchestra as Valencienne in the NACO/Opera Lyra Ottawa fundraiser The Merry Widow in 1998, and in Strauss' Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme with Franz-Paul Decker in 1994. Her international engagements have taken her to Germany, the United States and Japan. She debuted for l'Opéra de Montréal as Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande and for Chicago Opera Theater as Galatea in Acis and Galatea. She began her 2003-2004 season with Festival Vancouver as Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande and will tour Korea in Opera Atelier's Don Giovanni. She appears on CBC Records The Complete Choruses of Handel's Messiah.
American mezzo-soprano Jennifer Dudley is a compelling performer both as a singer and an actress. Her recent performances as "Jo" in Mark Adamo's Little Women for Glimmerglass Opera and New York City Opera (NYCO) have been definitive and greeted with unanimous raves. Ms. Dudley appears regularly at the Metropolitan Opera. Her roles there include "Flora' in La Traviata, "Schoolboy/Page" in Lulu, and "Javotte" in Manon, and she created the role of the "Tango Singer" in the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby. She now makes her NAC Orchestra debut.
British tenor Rufus Müller is making his NAC debut in Messiah which he is also performing this season in Carnegie Hall, New York, and in Uppsala, Sweden. He has established a distinguished reputation for opera and oratorio throughout Europe, Scandinavia, Japan and in North America. He has given recitals in the Wigmore Hall and the Barbican Concert Hall in London and in Munich, Tokyo, Barcelona, Madrid, Utrecht, Paris, Salzburg and New York. Recordings include Bach's St John Passion and Bach Cantatas with John Elliot Gardiner for DG Archiv, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Beethoven's Choral Fantasia with Roger Norrington for EMI.
Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Lichti made his NAC Orchestra debut in Messiah in 1988, and has since sung Der Winterreise at the NAC as part of Festival Canada in 1998. He is a frequent guest soloist throughout North America, Europe, Japan, and Argentina. Active in opera as well, he recently sung Don Bartolo in Le Nozze Di Figaro for L'Opéra de Montréal. Highlights past performances include Carnegie Hall appearances in Bach's St. Matthew Passion with St. Luke's Orchestra under Blanche Moise, and in Bach's Mass In B Minor with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem under Greg Funfgeld. Mr. Lichti has been heard with the orchestras of San Francisco, Toronto, Calgary, Milwaukee, Montreal, Vancouver, Cleveland, and Winnipeg; Boston's Handel & Haydn Society, and Quebec's Les Violons du Roy. His discography includes Sony's "The Gift of Messiah". This fall a recording of Baroque gems will be released by the American early music ensemble "Olde Friends".
Messiah will be presented at the National Arts Centre on December 16 and 17 at 20:00. Tickets are on sale now at $34.00, $48.00, 62.00 and $64.00, with box seats at $77.00 (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.
