Acclaimed mezzo-soprano D’Anna Fortunato will visit Syracuse University Dec. 3-4 to perform a concert and give a master class. Both events are free and open to the public.
On Friday, Dec. 3, at 8 p.m., Fortunato and pianist Mary Jane Rupert will present the concert “Three Centuries of Songs” in the Rose and Jules R. Setnor Auditorium, Crouse College. The master class will be held on Saturday, Dec. 4, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in Setnor Auditorium. Parking for both events is available in the Irving Garage.
The concert will feature English and American songs spanning three centuries, including Purcell works in praise of music, the romantic songs of Amy Beach, a variety of modern American songs, work by Schubert and Manuel de Falla’s “Seven Spanish Songs.” The American song set will highlight composers Lee Hoiby and Richard Hundley, both of whom write exclusively for the voice.
Fortunato has appeared as a soloist with leading American orchestras, including the Philadelphia, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco, Houston, Cleveland, Boston, Dallas and Minnesota orchestras, as well as St. Luke’s Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. She has performed major operatic roles with such companies as Glimmerglass, Kentucky Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Opera San José and Boston Lyric Opera.
Acclaimed as “a Handelian of crisp accomplishment” (The New Yorker), Fortunato has performed Handel’s operas in such venues as Merkin Hall, Carnegie Hall and Monadnock Music, while singing major roles on eight premiere Handel CDs for Albany, Newport Classic and Vox. Among her many repeat festival appearances are Vaison-la-Romaine, Berlin’s Spectrum Concerts, the Rome Bach Festival, Marlboro, Casals, Tanglewood, Blossom and Newport.
In 2006, Fortunato was a Grammy Award nominee in three categories, including best classical vocal recording. She has recorded 40 CDs for Harmonia Mundi, London/Decca, Sony Classical, Nonesuch, Koch International, Naxos and Albany. A regional Met Winner, she also received the Naumburg Prize and the Jacopo Peri Award. She serves on the faculty of the New England Conservatory College Division.
Rupert began her piano studies at the age of 5 in Syracuse with Sister Eloise Emm, OSF, continued in high school with SU Professor Kirk Ridge and gave her first public recital in Setnor Auditorium. She continued piano studies at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart; Oberlin College; Indiana University, from which she holds a doctoral degree in piano performance and literature; and the American School in Fontainebleau, France. Her teachers have included William Harms, Gyorgy Sebok and Lily Dumont.
Rupert has performed as a concert pianist and harpist with flutist Peter H. Bloom (as the duo “2”), appearing in venues from Boston to Bangkok. She has concertized from Carnegie Hall to Beijing Concert Hall and across the United States with such groups as the Record Players, the Griffin Ensemble, the Boston Classical Orchestra and the New Philharmonia. Her recordings of piano music from the Cornish Colony in New Hampshire can be found on the Harmony Hill label.
The concert and master class are sponsored by the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA). For more information, contact Janet Brown at (315) 443-5899 or janbrown@syr.edu.
