Diva to sing, speak to campus community

Wednesday, October 1, 2003, By News Staff

Diva to sing, speak to campus communityOctober 01, 2003Patrick Farrellpmfarrel@syr.edu

Opera diva Denyce Graves will perform and lecture in Hendricks Chapel on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m in the first installment of Syracuse University’s 2003-04 University Lectures. Syracuse Opera Company director Richard McKee will join Graves on stage as she discusses her art and career as an opera singer. To involve the audience in her approach to musical performances, Graves will also sing parts of Camille Saint-Saens’ “Mon c?ur s’ouvre a ta voix” from “Samson et Dalila,” the traditional song “Everytime I Feel The Spirit” and Lee Musiker’s arrangement of “Can I Say Something?” The event is free and open to the public.

Opera lovers around the world have thrilled to Graves’s rich, expressive mezzo-soprano vocalizations. Widely regarded as an operatic “superstar” for the 21st century, she is particularly admired for her interpretations of the lead roles in “Carmen” and “Samson et Dalila.” A highly sought-after recitalist, Graves brings dynamic vocalism and a compelling stage presence to her repertoire, which includes German Lieder, French Melodie and English Art song, as well as the popular music of Broadway musicals, jazz, and American spirituals.

Graves made her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera during the 1995-96 season in the title role of “Carmen.” Since then, her career has taken her to the world’s great opera houses and concert halls, including Vienna’s Staatsoper, Royal Opera-Covent Garden, the San Francisco Opera, Opera Nationale de Paris, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

In addition to her concert appearances, Graves has performed on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Larry King Live” and “The Wayne Brady Show.”

Recording exclusively for RCA Red Seal, Graves’s best-selling debut album “Voce di Donna” was released in 1999. Last year’s “The Lost Days,” a recording of Latin songs in Spanish and Portuguese, blends the rich and varied musical strains of South America and the Caribbean into a combination of classic, jazz and Latin sounds.

The University Lectures is a cross-disciplinary lecture series that brings to the University individuals of exceptional accomplishment in the areas of architecture and design; the humanities and the sciences; and public policy, management and communications. The series is supported by the generosity of the University’s Trustees, alumni and friends. For more information, visit http://provost.syr.edu/lectures/future.asp.