Opera In Concert Featuring Grammy Award-winning Baritone Gabriel Preisser Streams September 13

On Sunday, September 13, Opera Orlando fans are in for a special treat as executive director and acclaimed baritone Gabriel Preisser presents an exclusive concert of his personal opera and musical theater favorites in celebration of his recent Grammy win.

Mr. Preisser was awarded the Grammy as a principal soloist for Best Opera Recording, along with conductor Gil Rose, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and the entire cast of Tobias Picker's Fantastic Mr. Fox this past January. The award has finally arrived, and Mr. Preisser will be showing it off at his concert, broadcast live from Timucua Arts Foundation, with Chev Lovett as host and Robin Stamper on piano.

"Winning a Grammy is a major accomplishment, and we are so happy for Gabe," stated Opera Orlando board president, John Wettach. "We are also grateful for him agreeing to present this concert as a fundraiser for Opera Orlando and in a sense share this wonderful recognition with all of us. Gabe has led Opera Orlando for five years now while maintaining an active performance career, and we are the better for it, as seen by moments like this. Opera Orlando is honored to have a Grammy Award winner leading the way."

The concert will be free and livestreamed from Timucua Arts Foundation's concert hall via the Opera's YouTube and Facebook outlets. Donations are encouraged; a $75 donation will gain access to the private link for Opera Orlando's Fifth Anniversary Party, which takes place the following Sunday, September 20.

Mr. Preisser has been praised by Opera News for his "handsome voice, charismatic energy, and timbral allure," and The New York Times called his performance as Lt. Gordon "wonderful." He created the role of Lt. Gordon in Kevin Puts's Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night at Minnesota Opera, with subsequent performances at Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre. His performance as Lt. Gordon with Minnesota Opera was broadcast nationally on PBS in 2013 and 2014. Mr. Preisser then took on the role of Farmer Bean in Tobias Picker's Fantastic Mr. Fox with both Opera San Antonio and Odyssey Opera of Boston. He can be heard on the first official audio recording of Fantastic Mr. Fox, for which he won the Grammy.

Mr. Preisser's resumé includes over 40 operatic and musical theater roles, including Danilo in The Merry Widow with Utah Festival Opera, Billy Bigelow in Carousel with Minnesota Orchestra, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia and in Le nozze di Figaro with various companies, Dandini in Cenerentola with Opera Tampa, Le Mari in Les Mamelles de Tirésias with Opera Parallèle, Albert in Werther with Minnesota Opera, Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette with St. Petersburg Opera and Opera Tampa, Tommy in Brigadoon with Gulfshore Opera, Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera Naples, Harold Hill in The Music Man with Colorado Symphony, and Bob Baker in Wonderful Town with Skylark Opera. He has been praised for having "a beautiful, luscious baritone" and "a compelling, commanding stage presence."

Mr. Preisser is also a 2016 League of American Orchestras Emerging Artist and is known for his dynamic interpretation of Orff's Carmina Burana, performed with the Winter Park Bach Festival, Atlanta Ballet, and Gulf Coast Symphony.. He has been heard as a bass soloist in Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the Colorado Symphony under the baton of Cristian Macelaru, soloist in William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast with Jacksonville Symphony and the Canterbury Chorale, Schlendrian in Bach's Coffee Cantata with Orlando Philharmonic, bass soloist in Bach's St. John's Passion with the Houston Bach Society, and bass soloist in Handel's Messiah with Ars Lyrica and The Messiah Choral Society.

For this FREE concert, Mr. Preisser will share selections from Fantastic Mr. Fox as well as operatic arias and musical theater pieces that have proven to be hallmarks of his career. In addition to this virtual concert, Opera Orlando audiences will have the opportunity to see Mr. Preisser live "On the MainStage" later this season. He will be singing Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus: The Revenge of the Bat in the Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center.

Please consider making a donation to Opera Orlando in support of this and future programs. Suggested donation for a single concert is $30 and for the entire series, $75. Donate $75 today and, as a perk, get exclusive access to Opera Orlando's virtual Fifth Anniversary Party on Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 2 p.m. Donations made through the United Arts 2020 Empower the Arts Campaign, a new fundraiser designed to help support small and midsize arts and cultural organizations in Orange County, will be eligible.

for a 15% match by United Arts, with all administrative fees waived. The campaign is
running from July 15 to September 15, 2020, with a goal to collectively raise $162,000. Opera Orlando is honored to be a participating organization and is hoping to surpass its individual goal of raising $30,000.

Opera in Concert

featuring Grammy Award-winning baritone

Gabriel Preisser

Online and FREE via Facebook and YouTube

Sunday | September 13, 2020 at 2 p.m.

https://operaorlando.org/concert

https://www.facebook.com/operaorlando/live

https://bit.ly/ooyoutube