PSO Viva Verdi! Concert to Feature Johnson, Lattimore, Borichevsky, & Russell, 5/17

On Sunday, May 17, at 4 pm at Richardson Auditorium, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presents Viva Verdi!, an opera extravaganza featuring excerpts from Giuseppe Verdi's most popular works and spotlighting gifted young opera stars Michelle Johnson, soprano; Margaret Lattimore, mezzo; Zach Borichevsky, tenor; and Hugh Russell, baritone. Conducted by PSO Music Director Rossen Milanov, the afternoon's selections from Il Trovatore's complicated story of war, revenge and love, La Traviata's portrayal of a soul-searching courtesan, and Aida's tale of impossible love in an exotic setting will serve as a fitting encore to last season's bicentennial celebration of Verdi's birth.

"Verdi was a prolific Romantic composer who sought out subject matter outside of the Grand Opera tradition and which touched on the human condition surrounding women and love in society. While honoring Verdi, we wanted to introduce Princeton to some of today's ascending opera stars who will lend a poignant vibrancy to the excerpted scenes, independent of a staged setting," explains Rossen Milanov of programming an entire concert devoted to Verdi opera favorites.

Giving voice to the roles of Violetta in La Traviata, Leonora in Il Trovatore, and the title role in Aida, soprano Michelle Johnson "has a shining soprano, beautifully warm and apparently tireless, ably conveying awakening love and passionate desperation" (parterre.com). She is also regarded as "a knockout 'Aida'" (Santa Barbara News-Press). A graduate of the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, she made her debut with Opera Company of Philadelphia as the title role in Puccini's Manon Lescaut. Recent performances include the Glimmerglass Music Festival and Opera Santa Barbara as Aida; Leonora in Il Trovatore and Alice Ford in Falstaff with Opera in the Heights; and Verdi's Requiem with Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias (OSPA) in Oviedo, Spain under the direction of Rossen Milanov, who is also OSPA's music director.

Grammy nominated mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore, who sings with the PSO as Azucena in Il Trovatore and Amneris in Aida, has gained acclaim in recent seasons for her versatility in performing the works of Handel, Rossini, and Mozart alongside Mahler, Verdi, and Wagner. Following her 2014 debut with Des Moines Metro Opera as Mrs. De Rocher in Dead Man Walking and Ragonde in Le Comte Ory, she is performing in the Metropolitan Opera's current season in Die Zauberflöte, The Merry Widow, Les contes d'Hoffmann, and The Rake's Progress.

The concert's tenor roles of Alfredo in La Traviata, Manrico in Il Trovatore, and Radamés in Aida will be performed by Zach Borichevsky, also a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. He will make his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in the spring of 2016. He recently made an acclaimed European operatic debut as Rodolfo in La Bohème with the Finnish National Opera. This season he makes his UK operatic debut as Alfredo in La Traviata with Glyndebourne Touring Opera. Further highlights this season include role debuts as Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Arizona Opera, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera Carolina and Toledo Opera, and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly for Teatro Municipal Santiago de Chile.

Canadian baritone Hugh Russell provides the deep register needed to perform as Germont in La Traviata and the Count in Il Trovatore. He has received high praise for his charisma, dramatic energy and vocal beauty. He is widely acclaimed for his performances in the operas of Mozart and Rossini, and is regularly invited to perform with symphony orchestras throughout North America. At the center of his orchestral repertoire is Orff's popular Carmina Burana, which Mr. Russell has performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Toronto Symphony, and Vancouver Symphony, among others. In the current season, Mr. Russell performed Falke in Die Fledermaus with Vancouver Opera.

Select members of the Princeton High School Choir will join in on the Aida finale, bringing their own season to a close, which included performing with the orchestra at the annual PSO Holiday POPS! concert in December. The PSO values its ongoing partnership with this fine choir which is under the direction of Vincent Metallo.

Tickets for Viva Verdi! are on sale at the following price levels: $75, $60, $48, and $30. Includes admission to 3 pm Pre-Concert Talk. Purchase at www.princetonsymphony.org or (609) 497-0020.

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