FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Holly Hanchey 
Director of Marketing & Communications
470-427-2236 
hhanchey@atlantaopera.org

A GREAT AMERICAN VOICE SINGS THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGS

Stephanie Blythe & Friends at Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center Offer Recital of Opera, Pop and American Classics 

ATLANTA – April 19, 2019 – Stephanie Blythe, a world-renowned mezzo-soprano and champion of great American songs, will showcase her powerful, malleable voice in a recital with numbers from Tin Pan Alley to the Great American Songbook to classics that defined American theater and movies in the early 20^th century, with a little opera thrown in for good measure.

The Atlanta Opera presents Stephanie Blythe & Friends on May 18 at Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center at City Springs. Tickets start at $28 and can be purchased at atlantaopera.org or by calling 404-881-8885. This marks The Atlanta Opera’s first time holding a recital or performance in the new Byers Theatre inside Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center at City Springs.

The program features upbeat and happy songs, including “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “If You Don’t Want My Peaches,” and other classic pieces from musicals and film.

Ms. Blythe will be joined on stage by the artists-in-residences from The Atlanta Opera Studio, including baritone Jonathan Bryan, soprano Anna Koźlakiewicz, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Sarian, and tenor Justin Stolz. 

A renowned opera singer and recitalist, Ms. Blythe is considered one of the most highly respected and critically acclaimed artists of her generation. Her repertoire ranges from Handel to Wagner, German lieder to contemporary and classic American song. Ms. Blythe has performed on many of the world's great stages, such as Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Paris National Opera and San Francisco, Chicago Lyric and Seattle Operas. Ms. Blythe was named Musical America's Vocalist of the Year in 2009, received an Opera News Award in 2007 and won the Tucker Award in 1999. 

The Atlanta Opera audiences last saw Ms. Blythe in 2018 when she gave a show-stopping performance as the Marquise de Berkenfield in Donizetti’s The Daughter of The Regiment.

In addition to the concert recital, Ms. Blythe will spend several days working with the members of The Atlanta Opera’s Studio program – an artists-in-residence program that provides talented emerging artists with valuable performance experience as well as the chance to participate in masterclasses working alongside internationally acclaimed operatic professionals.

Accompanying and arranging for Ms. Blythe is internationally known pianist Craig Terry. Lauded for his “sensitive and stylish” (New York Times) and “superb” (Opera News) playing, pianist Craig Terry performs regularly with some of the world’s leading singers and instrumentalists. Currently Mr. Terry is Music Director of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center and is in his eleventh season as Assistant Conductor at Lyric Opera of Chicago.    

Running time is approximately ninety minutes with a 20-minute intermission

Stephanie Blythe & Friends

Music Director/Accompanist Craig Terry
Friends Jonathan Bryan, Anna Koźlakiewicz, Elizabeth Sarian, and Justin Stolz

About The Atlanta Opera

The Atlanta Opera’s mission is to enrich our community by creating the highest quality operatic and theatrical programming that reimagines the classics and introduces new works; expands and engages our audience; and stimulates critical conversations.

Founded in 1979, The Atlanta Opera celebrates its 40^th anniversary in the 2019-20 season. The Opera works with world-renowned singers, conductors, directors, and designers who seek to enhance the art form.

Under the leadership of internationally recognized stage director and Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun, The Atlanta Opera expanded from three to four mainstage productions at Cobb Energy Centre and launched the acclaimed Discoveries series. In recent years, the company was recognized by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as part of its “Best of 2015” awards; it was nominated for an International Opera Award in 2016; and it won ArtsATL’s 2019 Luminary Award for Community Engagement, recognizing its successful Veterans Program in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation.

In addition, The Opera was featured in a 2018 Harvard Business School case study about successful organizational growth, and Zvulun presented a TEDx Talk at Emory University entitled “The Ambidextrous Opera Company, or Opera in the Age of iPhones.”

For more information, visit atlantaopera.org