BWW Interview: Dolora Zajick of INSTITUTE FOR YOUNG DRAMATIC VOICES at University Of Nevada, Reno
American mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick is one of the world's leading exponents of the dramatic Verdi repertoire. Her talent was first noticed when she was a pre-med student at the University of Nevada in Reno. Some years after that, she debuted with the San Francisco Opera as Azucena in IL TROVATORE, and it brought her international stardom. Decades later, she is best known for her interpretations of Amneris in AIDA, Eboli in DON CARLO, Ulrica in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, Ježibaba in Dvo?ak's RUSALKA, and Adalgisa in Bellini's NORMA.
VIDEO: On This Day, March 28: Happy Birthday, Reba McEntire!
Ms. McEntire, the third in a family of four children, grew up on a cattle ranch in the small, rural town of Chockie, Oklahoma. Her father expected all the children to work on the ranch and Ms. McEntire began riding horses at the age of three. By the time she was seven, she was gathering cattle from before daylight until after dark. In what little spare time she had, McEntire also competed in rodeos as a barrel racera sport she continued until she was 21. As a child, Ms. McEntire's mother taught her and her three siblings how to sing and harmonize as they traveled to and from their father's rodeo performances. While in high school, Ms. McEntire and her siblings formed their own group, The Singing McEntires, and performed frequently at rodeos, clubs, and dance halls. Ms. McEntire attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University, graduating with a major in elementary education and a minor in music. She continued to work on her father's ranch to help pay her tuition. While the more predictable career paths for Ms. McEntire would have been to become a teacher or barrel racer, she was determined to pursue her dream of becoming a country music artist. Ms. McEntire got her first break singing the national anthem at a rodeo in 1974, which resulted in an invitation to move to Nashville and ultimately a deal with Polygram Mercury Records. Although her first recordings were not an immediate success, Ms. McEntire worked diligently, releasing a series of increasingly popular albums and winning the CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Award four years in a row, from 1984 to 1987. As the only country female solo act to have a No. 1 hit in four straight decades, Reba has achieved a rare pinnacle with 35 No. 1 singles and over 56 million albums sold worldwide often prompting her to be called the 'queen of country music.' The Country Music Hall of Fame and Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame member has won 15 American Music Awards, 13 ACM Awards, nine People's Choice Awards, seven CMA Awards, two GRAMMY Awards, an ACM Career Achievement Honor and the National Artistic Achievement Award from the U.S. Congress, in addition to other leadership and philanthropic accolades. With SING IT NOW: SONGS OF FAITH AND HOPE(Nash Icon Records / Capitol Christian Music Group), which topped both theBillboard Country and Christian/Gospel charts for multiple weeks and marked her thirteenth summit, Ms. McEntire won her first GMA Dove Awards forBluegrass/Country/Roots Album of the Year as well as a GRAMMY Awards nomination for Best Roots Gospel Album to be broadcast live on January 28, 2018 on CBS. Her creative and entrepreneurial endeavors have established her as a household name across music, television, film, theater and retail. Proving her business acumen, Ms. McEntire has expanded her brand to include lines with Dillard's and Justin Boots. She wrote her autobiography, Reba: My Story, in 1994, and a second book, Comfort from a Country Quilt, in 1999. Ms. McEntire is also an acclaimed actress with 11 movie credits, a lead role on Broadway and starred in her own six-season television sitcom 'Reba,' for which she received a Golden Globe nomination in 2004. 'The Horatio Alger Association stands for integrity, honesty and resilience qualities that Reba certainly exemplifies,' said Matthew Rose, president, Horatio Alger Association and 2013 Horatio Alger Award recipient. 'She has faced numerous challenges in both her early career and personal tragedies, with admirable strength and grace. Reba inspires us all with her tenacity and always upbeat attitude. Her positive outlook is contagious and she will serve as an excellent role model for our Scholars. For these reasons and more, we are proud to recognize her as a 2018 Horatio Alger Member.'< Ms. McEntire is also well-known for her charitable efforts, working with organizations such as The Salvation Army, Texoma Medical Center, Children's Medical Research, Habitat for Humanity, Outnumber Hunger and more. The Texoma Medical Center in Denison, Texas, is home to the Reba McEntire Rehabilitation Center, Reba's Ranch House, and the TMC Reba Mobile Mammography Unit. In recognition of her philanthropic efforts, Ms. McEntire has received the Salvation Army Award, the Home Depot Humanitarian Award and Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award.
BWW Exclusive: Watch Broadway Veteran Phyllis Somerville in WGN America's OUTSIDERS
WGN America's new original scripted drama 'Outsiders,' premiering Tuesday, January 26 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT,explores the epic battle of the Farrell Clan, a tight-knit family of renegades who have lived atop the rugged Shay Mountain for over two hundred years, as they fight to defend their land and their way of life from the town below and anyone who would dare to challenge them.Below, we've got an exclusive clip, in which Asa (Joe Anderson) speaks to the leader, Lady Ray (theater vet Phyllis Somerville) about the outside world from which he's just returned. Check it out below!
VIDEO: Vanessa Hudgens & Cast of Broadway-Bound GIGI Share Their Excitement on Instagram!
Below, Vanessa Hudgens and the cast of GIGI turned to Instagram to share their excitement over the news that they will soon be heading to the Great White Way.
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