Florida Grand Opera Welcomes Denyce Graves and Announces Songfest Master Series

Florida Grand Opera (FGO) and Steinway & Sons Piano Gallery Miami are pleased to welcome internationally-celebrated mezzo soprano Denyce Graves on Thursday, January 5, 2017 in a one-night-only masterclass held at Steinway & Sons Piano Gallery Miami in Coral Gables.

Each season FGO hosts a series of masterclasses for the members of its Young Artist Program. This season, FGO is opening up these three masterclasses to the public through its SongFest Master Series, an extension of the SongFest South Florida program.

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. The combination of her expressive, rich vocalism, elegant stage presence, and exciting theatrical abilities allows her to pursue a wide breadth of operatic portrayals and to delight audiences in concert and recital appearances. USA Today identifies her as "an operatic superstar of the 21st century," and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution exclaims, "if the human voice has the power to move you, you will be touched by Denyce Graves."

Attendees are invited to observe as Graves imparts her incredible wealth of wisdom and skill upon up-and-coming singers, and watch as the fascinating singer learning process happens right before their eyes.

These events will be open to attendees age seven (7) and older. Individual tickets cost $35. A full SongFest Master Series subscription costs $100, which includes admission to all three masterclasses.

The SongFest Master Series will continue on Saturday, February 18, 2017 by welcoming internationally-renowned spinto "singing actress" Diana Soviero. Lenore Rosenberg of the Metropolitan Opera in New York will round out the series with a masterclass in May 2017.

If you go...

WHO: Denyce Graves with Florida Grand Opera Young Artists WHAT: SongFest Master Series, Masterclass with Denyce Graves WHEN: Thursday, January 5, 2017 from 7:30-9pm WHERE: Steinway & Sons Piano Gallery Miami 4104 Ponce De Leon Blvd Coral Gables, FL 33146 COST: Individual tickets cost $35. A full SongFest Master Series subscription costs $100, which includes admission to all three masterclasses. For more information or to purchase tickets, please go to www.fgo.org or call (800) 741-1010.

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ABOUT FLORIDA GRAND OPERA

Florida Grand Opera (FGO), the oldest performing arts organization in Florida, celebrates its 75th Anniversary Season during 2016-17. The mainstage opera of the season include: Georges Bizet's Carmen, November 12-December 3, 2016; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, January 28-February 11, 2017; Jorge Martín's Before Night Falls, March 18-25, 2017; and Giuseppe Verdi's A Masked Ball (Un Ballo in Maschera), April 29-May 13, 2017.

FGO is currently accepting subscription renewals, new subscriptions, and single ticket purchases online or at FGO's offices. FGO's Box Office is located at the Doral Center at 8390 NW 25th Street, Miami, FL 33122, and is open from 10am to 4pm, Monday through Friday during the season. Season tickets may also be purchased by phone at (800) 741-1010. For more information on supporting our work through donation, or to make a pledge, please contact Individual Giving Officer Carlton Ford at (305) 403-3320 or cford@fgo.org.

Founded in 1941 as Greater Miami Opera and later merging with The Opera Guild Inc. in 1994, FGO presents a mixture of standard repertoire and contemporary works as well as commissions and new productions - all featuring projected translations in English and Spanish. FGO is recognized for funding by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding is also provided, in part, by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners and the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council. Florida Grand Opera is a Resident Company of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and a member company of OPERA America. Intercontinental Miami is the Official Hotel and Steinway & Sons is the Official Piano of Florida Grand Opera.

ABOUT Steinway & Sons PIANO GALLERY MIAMI

Steinway & Sons was founded by master craftsmen, trained in the best European tradition. They built their pianos one at a time, applying skills that were handed down from master to apprentice, generation after generation. Steinway & Sons still builds piano that way. Each Steinway grand piano, for example, takes nearly a year to create. Nothing is hurried. Even the carefully selected woods employed in the rims, tops, soundboards, and actions cure for months in our yard, kilns and conditioning rooms, until they stabilize at a rigidly specified moisture content. As a result, Steinway pianos have set an uncompromising global standard for sound, touch, beauty, and long-term investment value since 1853.

Steinway & Sons Piano Gallery Miami has served South Florida and the Caribbean for over a decade. This beautiful 6,000 sq. ft. showroom is located in the Collection building in Coral Gables, and only minutes from downtown and South Beach.

Home to the largest collection of Steinway instruments in South Florida, Steinway & Sons Piano Gallery Miami houses an incredible selection of Steinway, Boston, and Essex products along with many pre-owned pianos. The gallery also hosts hundreds of Miami area teacher recitals, masterclasses and events in a unique 100 seat recital hall. The Hall also serves as an intimate venue for the Artist Concert Series, where many International Artists perform on Steinway's world famous concert grand pianos.

Florida Grand Opera, Inc. 8390 NW 25th Street Miami, FL 33122 305-854-1643 (Administrative Offices) 800-741-1010 (Box Office)