Bublé Makes Bowl Debut; Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Also Included
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 and 9, AT 8:30 PM
Farmers Insurance Group sponsors
Principal conductor John Mauceri leads the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in a program featuring Carol Channing-Broadway's irrepressible "Dolly"-and Michael Bublé, the hottest new interpreter of American favorites, in The Great American Concert on Friday, August 8 and Saturday, August 9 at 8:30 p.m. at the Hollywood Bowl. The program is highlighted by selections from musicals, swing, and patriotic compositions that define the American songbook.
The performance also features a tribute to the late Katharine Hepburn by using Hepburn's 1987 recorded narration of Copland's A Lincoln Portrait. Hepburn's narration is unique because this year marks the 125th anniversary of recorded sound, which Thomas Edison invented in order to preserve famous and historical voices. Mitch Hanlon performs Von Tilzer/Norworth's Take Me Out To the Ball Game in honor of the 100th anniversary of the World Series, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra will also perform Broughton's An American Hero, Kander's Chicago Suite and a medley of music about 'Saints' with fabulous fireworks.
Recipient of the 1995 Lifetime Achievement Tony Award, CAROL CHANNING has been a star since a Time Magazine cover story hailed her performance as Lorelei Lee in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." Since then, her countless honors have included a Tony Award or nomination for every Broadway show in which she has appeared; an Emmy Award and four additional nominations; an Oscar nomination; and a Golden Globe Award, to name a few. Since her 1948 Broadway debut in Blitzstein's No for An Answer, her Broadway credits include Lend An Ear, Gentleman Prefer Blondes, Show Girl, Pygmalion, The Millionairess, The Vamp, Four on a Garden, Wonderful Town, and of course, Hello, Dolly! for which she won a Tony Award (against such competition as Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl). For her numerous recordings, Channing has received ten gold albums and her original cast album of Hello Dolly! is an all-time best seller in its field. When not performing in theater, Channing has appeared in every major nightclub and concert hall in the country. She last performed at the Hollywood Bowl in 1993.
A native of Vancouver, the 25 year-old vocalist MICHAEL BUBLÉ first began absorbing the sounds of Ella Fitzgerald, Keely Smith, Sarah Vaughan and Rosemary Clooney as a child. By age 17, Bublé already had a wealth of experience under his belt having garnered first prize at the Canadian Youth Talent Search, recorded and released a series of independent albums and racked up invaluable chops as part of a U.S. road company for Red Rock Diner and a musical revue aptly titled Swing. It was former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, himself a devoted fan of classic pop, who introduced Michael to fellow countryman David Foster, the multi-Grammy® winning producer, performer and Warner Bros. Records label executive. By the time the young singer performed "Mack The Knife" at the wedding of Mulroney's daughter, the creative chemistry between the fledgling artist and the accomplished producer was complete. Michael was duly signed to Foster's own 143 Records through Reprise. His debut album mixes perennials such as "For Once In My Life," "Fever" and "The Way You Look Tonight," with a version of Van Morrison's "Moondance," a rendition of the Lou Rawl's hit "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," and a rendering of the Bee Gees classic "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart," performed with the Bee Gees themselves. This is Bublé's Bowl debut.
JOHN MAUCERI's accomplishments extend nationally and internationally, not only to the world's greatest opera companies and symphony orchestras, but also to the musical stages of Broadway and Hollywood, before large television and radio audiences, and in recording studios and major publications. Mauceri has received substantial recognition for his work as one of the principal forces behind the movement to preserve two of America's great art forms, the American musical and music for the American cinema. He is equally at home conducting artists ranging from Plácido Domingo (during a live broadcast of the Grammy Awards) to Madonna (with whom he recorded the soundtrack to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita), from Garth Brooks (an inaugural inductee into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame) to the Smashing Pumpkins (for the 1996 MTV Music Awards). Carol Burnett, Chicago, John Denver, Rodney Gilfry, Jonathan Pryce, Jane Eaglen, Jennifer Larmore, Patrick Stewart, Tito Puente, Charlotte Church, and Trisha Yearwood are among the multitude of artists who have performed with Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Mauceri's first recordings with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra reached the "Top Ten" in Billboard's crossover chart, and one received Germany's highest award, the Deutsche Schallplatten Prize. To date, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra has made four successful tours to Japan and one to Brazil. Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra have presented an astonishing number of premieres, and under Mauceri's tenure, opera and ballet returned to the Bowl's stage. In addition to his Hollywood Bowl position, Mauceri has served as music director for the Pittsburgh Opera since June 2000. The only American ever to have held the post of music director of an opera house in Great Britain and Italy, he served as music director of the Scottish Opera, and recently completed his three-year tenure as music director (direttore stabile) of the Teatro Reggio in Turino.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
Friday, August 8, 8:30 PM
Saturday, August 9, 8:30 PM
HOLLYWOOD BOWL (2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood)
The Great American Concert with Fireworks: American Originals
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
JOHN MAUCERI, CONDUCTOR
CAROL CHANNING
MICHAEL BUBLÉ
Broughton: An American Hero
Copland: A Lincoln Portrait
Herman: Overture to Hello, Dolly
Kander: Chicago Suite
Von Tilzer/Norworth: Take Me Out To the Ball Game
arr. Healey: Saints!
Sponsored by Farmer's Insurance Group
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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Press Contacts: Elizabeth Hinckley, 213.972.3034; Laura Stegman, 310.645.1755; for photos: Beth Norber, 213.972.3409