Experience the 2015 Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala on PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center & WQXR 105.9 FM This Week
This week, music lovers have the opportunity to experience one of opera’s greatest nights on both radio and television, when PBS’s Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center and WQXR 105.9 FM, New York’s classical radio station, both broadcast the Richard Tucker Music Foundation’s 2015 gala. Held on November 1 at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall, the 2015 gala featured a starry lineup of singers, including 2015 Richard Tucker Award-winner Jamie Barton, past Tucker Award-winners Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Isabel Leonard, Lawrence Brownlee, and Stephen Costello; soprano Nadine Sierra, and tenors Piotr Beczala and Andrea Bocelli, all of whom generously donated their time and talent to raise funds for the Foundation, which provides support to young American opera singers. Joined by members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and New York Choral Society under Maestro Eugene Kohn, they performed works by Berlioz, Donizetti, Gounod, Puccini, Rossini, Verdi, and others. WQXR 105.9 FM airs the gala tonight, Monday, February 1 at 9pm EST and on Wednesday, February 3 at 10pm EST via terrestrial radio and live stream at WQXR.org, hosted by Deborah Voigt. Then, on Friday, February 5 at 9pm EST (check local listings), Live From Lincoln Center presents the national telecast of “From Bocelli to Barton: The Richard Tucker Opera Gala” on PBS, hosted by Audra McDonald. Click here for a video preview of the program.
Generous support for the telecast is provided by the Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation.
About the Richard Tucker Music Foundation
Founded in 1975, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation is a non-profit cultural organization dedicated to perpetuating the artistic legacy of the great Brooklyn-born tenor by nurturing the careers of talented young American opera singers. Through awards, grants for study, performance opportunities, and other activities, the Foundation provides professional development for singers at various stages of their careers. It also offers free performances in the New York metropolitan area and supports music education enrichment programs. Each year, the Foundation confers its most prestigious prize, the Richard Tucker Award, on an artist poised on the brink of a major international career. Often referred to as the “Heisman Trophy of Opera,” the award comes with a $50,000 cash prize as well as the ongoing support of the Tucker family and Foundation.
About WQXR 105.9 FM
WQXR 105.9 FM, which streams live at www.wqxr.org, is New York City’s only all-classical music station, immersing listeners in the city’s rich musical life. WQXR presents new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the New York Philharmonic, and others. WQXR also broadcasts essential destination programs including the Metropolitan Opera Radio Saturday Matinee Broadcasts, New York Philharmonic This Week, and The McGraw-Hill Financial Young Artists Showcase. For listeners in search of the new, WQXR operates Q2 Music, an online music stream dedicated to contemporary classical composers, cross-genre adventures, and performances from New York City’s edgier venues. Operavore is WQXR’s opera site featuring news, interviews, and commentaries from the world of opera, as well as a 24/7 all-opera stream. WQXR.org provides essential playlist information and online listening, as well as original content, host blogs, NYC cultural news, videos, and a free app that allows listeners to take WQXR with them wherever they go.
About Live From Lincoln Center
Live From Lincoln Center is a cornerstone of performing arts broadcasting, presenting the world’s greatest artists and performances in music, dance, and theater from Lincoln Center, the world’s leading performing arts center. Now in its 41st season on PBS, the pioneering series – produced by Lincoln Center – has been seen by hundreds of millions of viewers since its debut and celebrated with 14 Emmy Awards and other honors for its broadcasting excellence. It was recently awarded an Emmy Award for Best Outstanding Special Class Program for its 2014 broadcast of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street featuring Bryn Terfel, Emma Thompson, and the New York Philharmonic. Additional Live From Lincoln Center content, including past episodes and excerpts, is accessible online at PBS.org.
Live From Lincoln Center is made possible by a major grant from MetLife. In addition to underwriting from MetLife, the series is also made possible with generous support from the Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust, Thomas H. Lee and Ann Tenenbaum, The Robert and Renée Belfer Family Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
RICHARD TUCKER OPERA GALA:
Presented by WQXR 105.9 FM on Feb 1 at 9pm EST & Feb 3 at 10pm EST
Presented by Live From Lincoln Center on Feb 5 at 9pm EST (check local listings)
2015 Richard Tucker Award winner Jamie Barton
Winners of Richard Tucker Music Foundation grants and honored guests:
Piotr Beczala, tenor
Andrea Bocelli, tenor
Lawrence Brownlee, tenor
Stephen Costello, tenor
Renée Fleming, soprano
Angela Gheorghiu, soprano|
Christine Goerke, soprano
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano
Nadine Sierra, soprano
Eugene Kohn, conductor
Members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
New York Choral Society
facebook.com/RichardTuckerMusicFoundation
http://www.twitter.com//RTuckerMusicFdn
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© 21C Media Group, February 2016
Photo: Dario Acosta