APPLETON, WIS. — Mezzo-soprano, Susan Graham, will grace the stage of the Lawrence Memorial Chapel at 8:00 p.m. January 16 as part of the 2006-07 “Performing Arts at Lawrence” Artist Series. Accompanying Graham is pianist Malcolm Martineau.
One of today’s foremost international opera stars, Graham’s repertoire spans the history of opera, from the Baroque to the classical and contemporary. She has always had a special affinity for French repertoire and devotes the entirety of her current recital program–like much of her extensive discography–to French song and opera. Graham has sung leading roles in many of the great opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyrica Opera of Chicago, La Scala Milan, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Vienna State Opera.
Last season, Graham created a leading role in her second Metropolitan Opera world premiere, Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy. Her first was in The Great Gatsby, by John Harbison, in 1999-2000. Graham has an extensive discography of solo recitals and complete opera recording. Her disc of Charles Ives songs with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard won a Grammy Award. She received a Grammy Award nomination for her portrayal of Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. She also received the Maria Callas award from France’s Académie du Disque Lyrique for the same role.
She was honored by the French government with its highest award for performers, the “Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.” She was also named Musical America’s 2004 Vocalist of the year. She won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Schwabacher Award from San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, as well as a career grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation.
Martineau was born in Edinburgh, read music at St. Catharine’s College in Cambridge, and studied at the Royal College of Music. He is recognized as one of the leading accompanists of his generation and has worked with many of the world’s greatest singers including Sir Thomas Allen, Ina Bostridge, Della Jones, Amanda Roocroft, and many more.
He has presented his own series at St. Johns Smith Square, the Wigmore Hall, and at the Edinburgh Festival. He has appeared throughout Europe, North America, Australia, and at the Aix-en-Provence, Vienna, Edinburgh, Schubertiade, Munich, and Salzburg Festivals. He was given an honorary doctorate at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2004.
Tickets for this concert are $22 and $20 for adults, $19 and $17 for senior citizens, and $17 and $15 for students and are available through the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center, or by phone at 920-832-6749. Tickets, if available, will also be sold beginning one hour before the performance at the box office.
Other upcoming Artist Series concerts include cellist David Finkel and pianist Wu Han on March 3 and bassoonist Peter Kolkay ’98 on April 21. For more information on the “Performing Arts at Lawrence” concert series, please visit www.lawrence.edu/news/performingartsseries.
