John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Kick Off the Weekend With Music by Ravel and Rota and End With Fireworks

FRIDAY, JULY 14, & SATURDAY, JULY 15, AT 8:30 PM

Friday's concert is a Lexus Passionate Performance; Media sponsor: KFWB News 980

Saturday's concert is generously sponsored by Princess Cruises

Hot summer nights are cooled with Mediterranean melodies as Director John Mauceri leads the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and special guest Mariza on Friday, July 14, and Saturday, July 15 at 8:30 p.m. Mauceri sails the orchestra through this superhighway of culture, trade and transport between Europe, Africa and Asia with inspired works, including Rózsa's Ben-Hur, "The Holy Land," Ravel's "Dawn" from Daphnis et Chloé, selections from North's Cleopatra, Steiner's Casablanca, and Rota's Suite from The Godfather. The evening ends with a spectacular fireworks display choreographed to selections from Rózsa's El Cid.

The evening's second half begins with fado songstress Mariza, whose sultry voice adds passion to these sad Portuguese folksongs. Supported by the Orchestra, Mariza performs alongside her band including Luis Guerreiro (Portuguese guitar), Antonio Neto (acoustic guitar) and Vasco Sousa (bass guitar). The international superstar has released three studio albums to worldwide acclaim, and appeared on Unity, the official album of the 2004 Olympic Games, in which she sang "A Thousand Years" with Sting. Performing on stages on four continents, Mariza has received numerous awards for her artistry and was recently named a UNICEF Ambassador.

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 and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra have presented an astonishing number of premieres, and during his year tenure, opera and ballet along with the staging of Broadway musicals returned to the Bowl's stage. In addition to his Hollywood Bowl position as Director, Mauceri was recently elected as Chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts and has served as music director for the Pittsburgh Opera since June 2000. The 2006 Hollywood Bowl season marks Mauceri's 16th year and final season with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, which was created by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1991.

MARIZA is a Mozambican whose soul was forged in the old Mouraria district of Lisbon. It was there that she first heard fado singers, lots of them-so many that their names and faces have merged into the mist of memory; but these "reminiscences live on in my singing." Hence the tributes to Fernando Maurício, Carlos do Carmo and Amália Rodrigues in Transparente (her most recent album) come as no surprise. Fado em Mim (Fado in me): the titles of her albums are always revealing; evident right from the start with her first album release in 2001. Triple platinum in Portugal, the album thrust her onto the international scene in recognition of her talent. As early as 2002, at the Quebec Summer Festival she received the First Award for Most Outstanding Performance. The same year, Mariza was considered by BBC Radio 3 the Best European World Music artist. With her second album, Fado Curvo (Curved Fado), Mariza confirmed all expectations as German critics once again awarded her the Deutsche Schalplatten Kritik Award. The album reached number six on the Top Billboard of World Music. And in Portugal, besides critical acclaim, it achieved double platinum despite the recession and she emerged as one of the best-loved artists in her homeland. Including Walt Disney Concert Hall, Albeniz Theatre in Madrid, Rock in Rio in Lisbon, Teatro Grec in Barcelona, Cairo International Song Festival, Chicago World Music Festival, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, Macau Cultural Centre and at Moscow's House of Music.

One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 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. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. 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 38th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2006, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the second year in a row at the 17th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

FRIDAY, JULY 14 AT 8:30 PM

SATURDAY, JULY 15 AT 8:30 PM

HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

Mediterranean Blue: From Fado to Fireworks

Hollywood Bowl Orchestra

John Mauceri, conductor

Mariza, special guest

Tickets ($5 - $111) 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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