Baritone Sidney Outlaw Steps Into the Title Role of Mozart's DON GIOVANNI at Opera Philadelphia

Baritone Sidney Outlaw has joined the cast of Opera Philadelphia's new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni for four performances, April 25-May 4 at the Academy of Music. Outlaw steps in for baritone Timothy Murray, who withdrew from the opera on Friday, April 18, due to illness.

Outlaw first performed the role of Don Giovanni just one year ago in a Boston Baroque production. He returned to the role in October with Greensboro Opera. In 2010, outlawexploded onto the international scene as the winner of the Grand Prize at the Concurso Internacional de Canto Montserrat Caballé.

Originally from Brevard, North Carolina, Outlaw is a graduate of the Merola Opera Program and the Gerdine Young Artist Program at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. He holds a Grammy nomination for the Naxos Records recording of Darius Milhaud's 1922 opera trilogy, L'Orestie d'Eschyle, in which he sang the role of Apollo. Currently a member of the faculties at Manhattan School of Music and Brooklyn College, Outlaw has taught voice previously at Queens College and Ithaca College. He is currently working on his EDM in Music Education from Columbia Teachers' College and is passionate about balancing his performing career with teaching and mentoring the next generation of classical musicians.

Sidney Outlaw's appearance as Don Giovanni is underwritten by Mrs. Sheila Kessler.

Opera Philadelphia's new production of Don Giovanni is led by American stage director Alison Moritz, who has quickly gained a reputation for her innovative interpretations of the classic repertoire and her equally incisive takes on contemporary music theater. Her work focuses on using music as a prism for human emotion - as such, her work has been praised for her "edgy, teeth-grinding style" by the New York Observer, and her recent projects have been lauded as "enchantingly cheeky" (Washington Post), "elegantly sexy," and "raw, funny, surreal, and disarmingly human" (Opera News). The new production includes scenic designs by Jesse Wine and Cassandre Griffin, and costume design by Victoria Bek, all making their company debuts. Jack Mulroney Music Director Corrado Rovaris leads the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra, with Elizabeth Braden leading the Opera Philadelphia Chorus.