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Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian Celebrates Music of Gomidas, 10/20/08
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Carnegie Hall News
Back to Press Release List > 09/15/2008 - Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian Celebrates Music of Gomidas, 10/20/08
Most current program information 
SOPRANO ISABEL BAYRAKDARIAN AND THE MANITOBA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
CELEBRATE THE MUSIC OF GOMIDAS
ON OCTOBER 20 AT 7:30 P.M. IN ZANKEL HALL
Anne Manson Conducts Program Also Featuring
Pianist Serouj Kradjian and Duduk Player Hampic Djabourian
On Monday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall presents Armenian-Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra under the direction of conductor Anne Manson performing a program celebrating the works of Armenia’s national composer and ethnomusicologist Reverend Gomidas. Inspired by her first trip to her ancestral home of Armenia, Ms. Bayrakdarian will sing rarely performed Gomidas songs in the original Armenian, joined by pianist Serouj Kradjian and Duduk player Hampic Djabourian. The program includes instrumental works by Bartók, Ravel, Nikos Skalkottas, and Gideon Klein, also inspired by various folk music traditions. Complete program information is listed below.
Reverend Gomidas (born Soghomon Soghomonian) was born in 1869 in Kütahya (a city in what is now Western Turkey) and died on October 22, 1935 in Paris, France. Gomidas was an Armenian priest, composer, choir leader, singer, ethnomusicologist, and music pedagogue. He is considered to be the founder of modern Armenian classical music. In conjunction with a North American tour with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra of works by Gomidas, Ms. Bayrakdarian will release her first album for Nonesuch Records entitled Gomidas Songs on September 23. The album examines the legacy of Gomidas, a well-traveled composer who made it his life’s work to seek out, transcribe, and re-interpret the ancient liturgy, songs, lullabies, hymns, and folk dances of his Armenian homeland.
Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian arrived on the international opera scene after winning first prize in the 2000 Operalia competition founded by Plácido Domingo. Since then she has performed in many of the world's major opera houses and concert halls and is admired for her stunning stage presence and exceptional musicality. During the 2008–09 season, Ms. Bayrakdarian will tour with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra performing the works of Armenian composer Gomidas in San Francisco, Orange County, Vancouver, Boston, and New York. Upcoming operatic engagements include debuts at the Teatro del Liceu in the title role of L’incoronazione di Poppea and with Opéra Français de New York performing the title role of Kurt Weill’s Marie Galante, as well as a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Ms. Bayrakdarian will also appear in recital with her husband, pianist Serouj Kradjian, in Minnesota, Virginia, and Calgary. Ms. Bayrakdarian sings on the Grammy award-winning soundtrack of The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers, and her voice can also be heard in the award-winning Canadian film Ararat. She has been honored with four Juno awards and is the subject of a CBC-TV film entitled A Long Journey Home that documents her first trip to Armenia. During a subsequent trip there she recorded a disc of songs by Gomidas with her husband and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra which will be released on the Nonesuch label on September 23. Born in Lebanon of proud Armenian heritage and now a citizen of Canada, Ms. Bayrakdarian moved with her family to Toronto as a teenager and she went on to earn an honors degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
Conductor Anne Manson was the first woman to conduct at the Salzburg Festival, where she led the Vienna Philharmonic in a production of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov which met with critical acclaim. Ms. Manson launched her career in 1988 as Music Director of the London-based Mecklenburgh Opera and made her debut with New York City Opera in the company’s premiere of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa in November 2007. In April 2008, Ms. Manson was awarded the Richard F. Gold Debut Award for the best debut artist of the New York City Opera 2007–08 season. Upcoming engagements for the 2008–09 season include conducting the Canadian Opera Company in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the Minnesota Opera Company in the US premiere of Jonathan Dove’s new opera The Adventures of Pinocchio. Ms. Manson has performed in Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and has conducted leading ensembles, including Ensemble Intercontemporain, the London Philharmonic, the Royal National Scottish Orchestra, and the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague. She has also conducted at festivals, including the BBC Proms and the Berlin Biennale. In the US her engagements have included concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Houston, New Jersey, and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras as well as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Manson’s opera work is diverse, from Mozart and Mussorgsky to works of Kurt Weill and Carlisle Floyd, to such little-known 20th century works as Viktor Ullman’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis and Judith Weir’s Missa del Cid. Major productions include Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah with Samuel Ramey and Nancy Gustafson for the Grand Theatre, Geneva. In April 2008, she led the Juilliard Opera Center in the New York premiere of Ned Rorem’s Our Town.
The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) explores repertoire rarely touched by large symphony orchestras and regularly commissions new works. Established in 1972, the MCO presents an annual nine-concert subscription series in Winnipeg, Canada. Co-presentations with CBC Radio began in 1984, and Canadians across the country as well as fans around the world enjoy the Orchestra in frequent broadcasts. Roy Goodman served as Music Director from 2000 to 2005, succeeding Simon Streatfeild, who led the orchestra for 18 years. In 1995, the MCO released its first compact disc on Sweden’s BIS label; Canadian Music for Chamber Orchestra with works by Andrew MacDonald, Michael Matthews, and Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté. The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra has toured to Italy, Ontario, and British Columbia. In 2005 it appeared on the live national broadcast of the Canadian Juno Awards with recording artist k.d. lang.
Program Information
Monday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
ISABEL BAYRAKDARIAN, Soprano
MANITOBA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Anne Manson, Conductor
Serouj Kradjian, Piano
Hampic Djabourian, Duduk
GOMIDAS
BÉLA BARTÓK (arr. Arthur Willner) Romanian Folk Dances, BB 68
MAURICE RAVEL (arr. Serouj Kradjian) Deux mélodies hébraïques
REVEREND GOMIDAS (arr. Serouj Kradjian)
"Without a Home"
"The Crane"
NIKOS SKALKOTTAS Greek Dances
Epirus, AK 11, Set 1, No. 3
Crete, AK 11, Set 1 No. 2
Samos, AK 11, Set 1, No. 1
Dance of the Guerillas, AK 11, Set 3, No. 3
GIDEON KLEIN (arr. Vojtech Saudek) Variations on a Moravian Folksong from Partita for String Orchestra
REVEREND GOMIDAS (arr. Serouj Kradjian)
"The Cloudy Sky - It's Raining"
"Apricot Tree"
"Oh Nazan-Jingle-Jangle"
"Lament"
REVEREND GOMIDAS
Dance from Yerevan
Back and Forth
Dance from Shusi
Maral's Dance
Dance from Vagharshapat
REVEREND GOMIDAS (arr. Serouj Kradjian)
"Lullaby"
"Song of the Partridge"
"Children's Prayer"
"I'm Burning with Love - Dear Shoger"
Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.
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