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  • HOLLYWOOD BOWL FEATURES OPERA OUTDOORS WITH VERDI'S "LA TRAVIATA" IN CONCERT
  • Jul. 13, 2003
  • SOPRANO ELIZABETH FUTRAL, TENOR FRANK LOPARDO AND BARITONE EARLE PATRIARCO FEATURED WITH HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA LED BY PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR JOHN MAUCERI

    FUTRAL AND LOPARDO MAKE BOWL DEBUTS

    SUNDAY, JULY 13, AT 7:30 PM

    A Lexus Passionate Performance

    The Hollywood Bowl brings popular opera to the outdoor concert stage with the Bowl's presentation of Verdi's tragic love story, La traviata, in concert on Sunday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m. The concert performance is highlighted by the Bowl debuts of leading coloratura soprano Elizabeth Futral as Violetta and critically acclaimed lyric tenor Frank Lopardo as Alfredo. Noted baritone Earle Patriarco returns to the Bowl in the role of Germont, to round out the roster of principals.

    Transferring the standard indoor performance to an outdoor concert under the stars, the program features a full cast, including the Opera Pacific Chorus, singing the opera's complete score, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra led by principal conductor John Mauceri. The score includes favorite operatic selections such as "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" (the famous brindisi), the rapturous duet "Un dì felice eterea," the show-stopping soprano number "Sempre libera," and the tenor fireworks of "Dio! morir sì giovine."

    The progressive themes of Verdi's opera shocked audiences at its Venice debut in 1853. Set in eighteenth-century Paris, La traviata is the story of courtesan Violetta and her live-in lover Alfredo. Violetta is forced to abandon Alfredo to save his family's reputation, only to have tragedy strike when they are at last reunited.

    ELIZABETH FUTRAL has established herself as one of the major coloratura sopranos in the world today. With her stunning vocalism and vast dramatic range, she has embraced a diverse repertoire that includes Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini, Verdi, Glass, and Previn. In 1994, Futral catapulted to stardom in a critically acclaimed production of Delibes' Lakmé at New York City Opera. Since then, Futral has garnered raves at the world's greatest opera houses in such roles as Gilda, Juliette, Lakmé, Lucia, Nanetta, Mélisande, Romilda, and Violetta. Futral's extensive discography includes Meyerbeer's L'Etoile du nord for Marco Polo and Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire for Deutsche Grammophon, among others. July 13 marks Futral's debut performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

    One of today's leading lyric tenors, FRANK LOPARDO is seen regularly with some of the most prestigious operatic companies and orchestras around the world, collaborating with the finest conductors including Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Among the many operatic roles that Lopardo has made his own are Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, the Duke in Rigoletto, Alfredo in La traviata, and Lensky in Eugene Onegin. He has also won acclaim in the Mozart repertoire and the bel canto roles of Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini. On the concert platform, Lopardo has performed Verdi's Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra (televised), and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra; the Mozart Requiem with the Berlin Philharmonic in La Scala; and more. Lopardo was born in New York and studied with Dr. Robert White, Jr., who remains his vocal mentor. Lopardo's July 13 performance marks his debut at the Hollywood Bowl.

    Baritone EARLE PATRIARCO has appeared with many of the world's finest opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Seattle Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, the Dallas Opera, the Paris Opera, the Monnaie, the Munich State Opera, the Frankfurt Opera, the Stuttgart State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, Madrid's Teatro Real, and the Welsh National Opera. His many roles include the title role in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Marcello and Schaunard in La bohème, Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, Falke in Die Fledermaus, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Lescaut in Manon, Valentin in Faust, and the Husband in Les mamelles de Tirésias. In concert, he has appeared with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, and the Montreal Symphony and has recorded Carmina Burana with Donald Runnicles and the Atlanta Symphony for Telarc, and Lescaut in Manon with Antonio Pappano for EMI. Both recordings have been nominated for Grammy Awards. Patriarco was born in Southern California.

    One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of just under 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and, in 1991 gave its name to The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. A hit from its very first season, the Hollywood Bowl has remained popular and accessible to a wide cross-section of Southern California's diverse population. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 35th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and last summer, close to one million admissions were recorded. It is no wonder that the Bowl's summer music festivals have become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers and Disneyland.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    Sunday, July 13, 7:30 PM


    HOLLYWOOD BOWL (2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood)

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA

    JOHN MAUCERI, conductor

    ELIZABETH FUTRAL as Violetta

    FRANK LOPARDO as Alfredo

    EARLE PATRIARCO as Germont

    with

    JAMIE OFFENBACH as Baron Douphol

    SUZANNA GUZMÁN as Flora Bervoix

    CHAD BERLINGHIERI as Gastone

    JESSICA RIVERA as Annina

    NMON FORD as Marchese

    JAMIE OFFENBACH as Dottore Grenvil

    THE OPERA PACIFIC CHORUS, HENRI VENANZI, CHORUSMASTER

    A Lexus Passionate Performance

    Verdi:   La traviata

    Tickets ($3 - $45) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl box office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at hollywoodbowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Elizabeth Hinckley, 213.972.3034: Ryan Jimenez, 213.972.3405; for photos: Beth Norber, 213.972.3409