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Concert Season Opens September 13
Baritone William Stone boasts a vast repertoire --- and a
Grammy
 Heralded baritone
William Stone will visit Ithaca College on Sunday, September
13, for an 8:15 p.m. concert in Ford Hall Auditorium. The concert
is the first of four scheduled as part of the 1998--99 Ithaca
College Concerts series, "Transitions."
Known for his elegant and stylish interpretations
of repertoire ranging from Mozart to Berg, with a special emphasis
on the Bel Canto masterworks, Stone has been equally acclaimed
for his concert and opera performances. His Ithaca program will
feature works by Schubert and Wolf, as well as selections from
American music. A pre-concert lecture by Ithaca College School
of Music faculty member Deborah Montgomery will begin at 7:30
p.m. in room 201, Ford Hall. The lecture is free and open to
the public.
Sought after as baritone soloist by every
major orchestra in North America, Stone has been applauded for
his work with the Atlanta Symphony and Robert Shaw in giving
performances of the choral works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms,
Handel, Hindemith, Mahler, Mendelssohn and Mozart. Most recently
he made his debut with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur,
and his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Seiji Ozawa
in the North American premier of Takemitsu's My Way of Life
led to his invitation to return to the orchestra this season
for the world premiere of Kirchner's Of Things Exactly As
They Are, also with Ozawa.
Stone's engagements at the major opera houses
in North America are impressive. His long association with the
Lyric Opera of Chicago began with his creation of the role of
Adam in the world premier of Penderecki's Paradise Lost
and continued with the title role in a new production of Il
barbiere di Siviglia and as Schaunard in La boheme.
Having joined the Metropolitan Opera roster for the title role
of Wozzek, Stone returns to the company this season for
his stage debut as Capulet in Roméo et Juliette.
He also looks forward to Falke in Die Fledermaus and Der
Mann in a new production of Moses und Aaron, to be directed
by Mark Lamos and conducted by James Levine, also at the Metropolitan
Opera.
His appearances at the New York City Opera
reflect most of the leading roles in his repertoire (Germont
in La traviata, the Count in a televised performance of
Le nozze di Figaro, the title role in Il barbiere di
Siviglia and Enrico in Lucia de Lammermoor) and include
particularly notable performances in the title role of a new
production of Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, which followed
a new production of Busoni's Doktor Faust, both conducted
by Christopher Keene.
Stone is one of the only American baritones
in recent years to have sung extensively in the major opera houses
of Italy, and he has also appeared in London, Paris, and Cologne.
He has recorded extensively for CBS, and most
recently, he appeared as soloist on the acclaimed Atlanta Symphony
recording of the Mahler Eighth Symphony released by Telarc,
and on a solo recording of Arias and Songs by Robert Ward
available on the Bay Cities label. He can also be heard with
the Atlanta Symphony and Robert Shaw on the 1988 Grammy Award-winning
Telarc recording of Hindemith's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard
Bloomed.
Tickets for Stone's Ithaca performance are
$8.00 for children, senior citizens, and Ithaca College students;
$14 for Ithaca College alumni, faculty, staff, and administrators,
Friends of Ithaca College, and other students; and $16 for the
general public. Season subscription packages are also available
from the School of Music. Call 607-274-3171 for more information. |
