Tucker Gala Returns Home to Carnegie Hall this Sunday

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual gala, one of the opera world's most star-studded evenings, returns home to New York's Carnegie Hall after an absence of more than a quarter of a century this Sunday, October 30, and for the first time, audiences both in the U.S. and abroad will have the opportunity to watch it live (6pm ET/3pm PT). Thanks to a new partnership with medici.tv, the gala concert will be webcast live free of charge both on medici.tv and on medici.tv's Facebook page, and made available for on-demand viewing for 90 days. In addition, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation continues its collaboration with WQXR 105.9 FM, New York's classical radio station, which will broadcast the performance to listeners in the New York metropolitan region and beyond on November 18 at 9pm ET/6pm PT. Both the medici.tv webcast and WQXR 105.9 FM radio broadcast are made possible in part by support from the Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation.

For this year's concert, soprano TaMara Wilson, winner of the 2016 Richard Tucker Award, joins a host of today's greatest opera luminaries: past Tucker Award-winnersRenée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato, and Jamie Barton; sopranos Anna Netrebko, Kristine Opolais, and Nadine Sierra; and tenors Lawrence Brownlee, Javier Camarena and Yusif Eyvazov. Maestro Asher Fisch leads members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the New York Choral Society in an evening of opera arias and ensembles by composers including Donizetti, Rossini, Wagner, and Puccini.

When beloved tenor Richard Tucker unexpectedly died on tour in 1975, his duo partner and friend Robert Merrill worked with the Tucker family to organize a gathering of opera legends, including Martina Arroyo and Roberta Peters, to take place on the duo's original date at Carnegie Hall. The Richard Tucker Music Foundation was formed later that year, and the concert became an annual tradition to raise funds to support young American opera singers and keep his memory alive. The gala continued to be held at Carnegie Hall every year until 1989, when it relocated across town to Lincoln Center. AsBarry Tucker, president of the Richard Tucker Music Foundation and son of the Brooklyn-born tenor, comments:

"Carnegie Hall holds a very special place both in my heart and in the history of the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, and we are thrilled to be returning there after such a long absence."

The non-profit cultural organization is dedicated to perpetuating the artistic legacy of the great Richard Tucker by nurturing the careers of talented young American opera singers. Through awards, grants for study, performance opportunities, and other activities, the Foundation provides professional development for singers at various stages of their careers. It also offers free performances in the New York metropolitan area and supports music education enrichment programs. Each year, the Foundation confers its most prestigious prize, the Richard Tucker Award, on an artist poised at The Edge of a major international career. Often referred to as the "Heisman Trophy of Opera," the award comes with a $50,000 cash prize as well as the ongoing support of the Tucker family and Foundation. Past winners include Lawrence Brownlee, Stephen Costello, Michael Fabiano, Christine Goerke, Angela Meade, Deborah Voigt, and Dolora Zajick.

American soprano TaMara Wilson, who takes the gala stage as winner of the 2016 Richard Tucker Award, has been hailed as "a veritable force of nature" (Chicago Tribune). Her recent debuts include the Metropolitan Opera, headlining Aida; Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu, in the title role of Norma; and the English National Opera, where she starred in La forza del destino, scoring a nomination for the 2016 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera. A finalist in the 2004 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a Grand Prize Winner at Barcelona's Annual Francisco Viñas Competition, and a winner of the George London Award, Wilson is also the recipient of both a 2008 Sara Tucker Study Grant and 2011 Richard Tucker Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation.

Tickets for the nearly sold-out concert, which range from $40 to $300, are available through Carnegie Hall or Carnegie Charge at (212) 247-7800. Prime concert seats at $750 and seats for the Gala dinner at the Plaza are available by calling (212) 757-2218 or emailing info@richardtuckermusicfoundation.org.

Heralded by the New York Times as "the closest thing to a classical Netflix," medici.tvbrings viewers around the world the leading classical artists, ensembles and orchestras from the greatest performing arts institutions, concert halls, opera houses, festivals and competitions. Since its official launch in May 2008, medici.tv has gained international recognition, bringing together an international community of music and arts lovers from 180 countries. In addition to offering live concert hall events that music lovers can experience on their computers and entertainment systems (Chromecast, Airplay), medici.tv offers a free application (available at the Apple App Store and at Google Play for Android) that makes it possible to experience world-class artistry on all mobile devices. In addition, more than 150 client universities, public libraries and music schools around the world take advantage of medici.tv, including Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music.

WQXR 105.9 FM, which streams live at www.wqxr.org, is New York City's only all-classical music station, immersing listeners in the city's rich musical life. WQXR presents new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York Philharmonic, among other venues. WQXR also broadcasts essential destination programs including New York Philharmonic This Week and The McGraw-Hill Financial Young Artists Showcase. For listeners in search of the new, WQXR operates Q2 Music, an online music stream dedicated to contemporary classical composers, cross-genre adventures, and performances from New York City's edgier venues. Operavore is WQXR's opera site featuring news, interviews, and commentaries from the world of opera, as well as a 24/7 all-opera stream. WQXR.orgprovides essential playlist information and online listening, as well as original content, host blogs, NYC cultural news, and videos. The station's free mobile app allows listeners to take WQXR with them wherever they go. As a public radio station, WQXR is supported by the generosity of its members and sponsors, making classical music relevant, accessible and inspiring for listeners in New York City and around the globe.