Melissa Fogarty Soprano

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

BARBER AT THE BARGE- A Centennial Celebration
Marc Peloquin and Melissa present songs and piano works including Hermit Songs, Excursions, & Despite and Still to honor Samuel Barber's 100th Birthday year.
Friday, July 30, 2010, 8 pm
Bargemusic , Fulton Ferry Landing, 2 Old Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tickets, $35, Seniors $30, Students $15
For reservations call: 718-624-4061 or email music@bargemusic.org

Highlights from the 2009-2010 season

NOTES ON A SCANDAL: 17th century Italian Cantatas featuring A. Stradella
Soprano Melissa Fogarty explores the exploits of 17th century Italian composer Alessandro Stradella, (1644-1682) whose highly dramatic music reflected his colorful and scandalous life, which ended early in murder. His story inspired both an opera and a victorian romance novel. The program will weave snippets of the novel and his own music along with other 17th c. italian composers to create a portrait of his legend. With harpsichordist Jennifer Griesbach and baroque cellist Christine Gummere.
April 25, 2010, 2:30 PM. Freeport Memorial Library, 144 W. Merrick Road
Freeport, NY
Free.


SOPRANO SOLOIST
The Choir of St. Luke in the Fields performs Monterverdi's Vespers of 1610

The first truly large-scale masterpiece of Western music, Claudio Monteverdi’s monumental 1610 Vespers stands at the junction between Renaissance restraint and Baroque splendor. Sacred music but also high theatre, the dances and virtuosic vocal concerti, alternating with music in the ‘old style’, are performed with one singer per part accompanied by cornets, sackbuts, recorders, organs and strings.

Thursday, April 29 at 8 p.m., pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m.
Location: The Church of St. Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street, NYC.
General admission. $30. $20 students/seniors

 

Highlights from the 2009-2010 season

NOTES ON A SCANDAL: 17th century Italian Cantatas featuring A. Stradella
Soprano Melissa Fogarty explores the exploits of 17th century Italian composer Alessandro Stradella, (1644-1682) whose highly dramatic music reflected his colorful and scandalous life, which ended early in murder. His story inspired both an opera and a victorian romance novel. The program will weave snippets of the novel and his own music along with other 17th c. italian composers to create a portrait of his legend. With harpsichordist Jennifer Griesbach and baroque cellist Christine Gummere.
April 25, 2010, 2:30 PM. Freeport Memorial Library, 144 W. Merrick Road
Freeport, NY
Free.


SOPRANO SOLOIST
The Choir of St. Luke in the Fields performs Monterverdi's Vespers of 1610

The first truly large-scale masterpiece of Western music, Claudio Monteverdi’s monumental 1610 Vespers stands at the junction between Renaissance restraint and Baroque splendor. Sacred music but also high theatre, the dances and virtuosic vocal concerti, alternating with music in the ‘old style’, are performed with one singer per part accompanied by cornets, sackbuts, recorders, organs and strings.

Thursday, April 29 at 8 p.m., pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m.
Location: The Church of St. Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street, NYC.
General admission. $30. $20 students/seniors

 

Highlights from Summer 2009

THE MAGIC FLUTE (Mozart) NYCO at the River to River Festival, NYC
The Magic Flute is an ideal introductory opera, offering familiar tunes, colorful characters, rollicking comedy, and an upbeat message for audiences of all ages. This is a free outdoor one-hour version, sung in English with New York City Opera Orchestra. I'm singing First Lady.
June 25, 2009, 7 pm,
Rockefeller Park, River Terrace and Warren Street
Free Outdoor Performance
For more info, and a link for a map, click here.


DIDO & AENEAS (Purcell) YardArts! Opera, Martha's Vineyard, MA
YardArts! Opera returns after its hit 2008 premiere season. Continuing the creative collaboration between director/choreographer Wendy Taucher and Conductor Elizabeth Scott, The Yard presents Purcell’s heartbreakingly beautiful Dido & Aeneas, along with Queens, Witches & Kings, a short second act of opera show stoppers. I'm singing the role of Second Woman.
Friday, August 7th, 2009, 8 pm
Saturday, August 8th, 2009, 4 pm & 8 pm
Sunday, August 9th, 2009, 7 pm
Friday, August 14th, 2009, 8 pm
Saturday, August 15th, 2009, 4 pm & 8 pm
Sunday, August 16th, 2009, 7 pm

 

Highlights from the 2008-2009 season

 

VOX 2009 TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY! NEW YORK CITY OPERA
“A hip and adventurous event...A focus of the new music scene every year.”
The New York Times

Maybe you recall watching Anderson Cooper interviewing Senator Mary Landrieu on CNN shortly after Hurricane Katrina? If not, check out Ted Hearne's Katrina Ballads, with me as the senator. He sets the interview almost word for word, along with words of Kanye West, and George W. Bush. I'm also in Chandler Carter's No Easy Walk to Freedom, and David Bruce's A Bird in Your Ear.
May 1 & 2, 2009, NYU Skirball Center, New York City.

 

LOVE HAS NO BOUNDS - Musique a la Mode (featuring scenes from the opera Patience & Sarah
In response to Proposition 8, this chamber music concert will benefit The Hetrick–Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School, the largest and oldest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth-service provider supporting New York City’s most vulnerable and at-risk community. The concert will feature scenes from Patience & Sarah. Get out your hanky and watch terrific video coverage of the birth of this piece 10 years ago, learn more about this concert and the ensemble by clicking here.
Sunday, Feb 15, 2 pm St. Mark's Church in the Bowery, 131 E. 10th St., NYC
Tickets are $25 (online by clicking here or by calling 1-800-838-3006), or $30 at the door the day of the performance.

MIDTOWN CONCERT SERIES presented by ARTEK featuring
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Cantatas of Alessandro Stradella
17th century Italian pyrotechnics over swinging bass lines! Bizarre harmonic progressions! Over-the-top Drama! High notes! (Quite rare for the period.) My idea of musical heaven. Yet this is the first performance of this genre I've given in NY in FIVE YEARS so don't miss it! I'll be joined by harpsichordist Jennifer Griesbach and baroque cellist Christine Gummere, both of whom are featured on my award-winning Handel CD, Scorned & Betrayed.
Wednesday, Feb 18, 1:15 pm St. Bartholomew's Church, Park Ave at 51st St. NYC
Admission FREE

STRANGE FRUIT (Carter), HSA in association with New York City Opera
Betrayal. Murder. Revenge. Passion. All are coming to the stage at The Harlem School of the Arts during Black History Month in Strange Fruit, a new American opera adapted from Lillian Smith’s best-selling novel whose title was taken from the famous Billie Holiday song of the same name. Composed by Chandler Carter with libretto by Joan Ross Sorkin, Strange Fruit in Concert is being presented by The Harlem School of the Arts in association with New York City Opera The cast of the opera includes: Janinah Burnett, Daniel Neer, Robert Hughes, Tamara Haskin, Edward Pleasant, Djoré Nance, Heather Hill, Abby Fischer, Matthew Kreger, Dominic Inferrera, Daniel Yarzebinski, Karen Lehman, Abigail Brown and Lindsay O'Neil. I'll be portraying the role of Dorothy. Performances will be conducted by Steven Gross and accompanied by Marijo Newman on piano.
Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 at 8pm and Sunday, March 1 at 2pm.
HSA Gathering Space, 645 St. Nicholas Avenue (b/w W. 141 & 145 St), NYC
Admission $15. Tickets on sale now. Call 212-926-4100, ext.304.
For more information on the opera, click here for press release.

DESIRE: David Del Tredici's My Favorite Penis Poems
Thursday, December 4 at 7:30 pm, Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater,
Symphony Space, W. 95th Street & Broadway, NYC
Day of Show $30; Advance $25; Members $20
Part of the Adventures Series. I'm doing the former piece. What else can I say? You'll just have to come (ba-dum-bum) and see it.

Highlights from the 2008-2007 season

CORONATION OF POPPEA, Opera Omnia at Le Poisson Rouge
People are still talking about this production, Opera Omnia's first, which took place in a new hip village club. I auditioned for kicks, and was surprised to be cast as Ottavia, usually performed by mezzos. But that's what happens when I show up singing Purcell's The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation. You want drama? Here ya go--Ottavia! It was actually a good fit for my voice. I enjoyed the experience immensely and still can't get over all of the publicity and buzz it got. To see the nice mentions I got, click here.. As for pictures, I got the short shrift! Can't have everything.

KING ARTHUR (Purcell), New York City Opera
I was covering in Mark Morris's production of King Arthur with Jane Glover conducting. The part? What was known as Cupid/Venus/Honour now has the illustrious name of Soprano I. Got to perform 2 shows, on March 8 & 9, officially making my City Opera debut! Here's a short and very sweet opinion about it on opera expert James Camner's blog.

LA SERVA PADRONA (Pergolesi), Seattle Baroque Orchestra
It's always great to perform with Seattle Baroque and I really enjoyed playing Serpina, a perfect role for me. There's a video clip of "A Serpina penserete" here.
Musical Direction - Ingrid Matthews, Stage Direction -
Jennifer Griesbach.
April 12 & 13, 2008. For full details, click here.

NEW YORK CITY OPERA - VOX 2008
“A hip and adventurous event...A focus of the new music scene every year.”
The New York Times


Determinate, indeterminate, and spontaneous. is how composer John King's music has been described. I had the amazing opportunity to be asked to his one-woman showcase called Dice Thrown. It turned out to be the sleeper hit - check my review page. Better yet, LISTEN to this "striking aleatoric soundscape built from chance operations" by clicking here. (scroll down to AUDIO EXCERPT)
Then, read about what King was seeking to acheive by clicking here.
May 10, 2008, NYU Skirball Center, New York City.

DAVID DEL TREDICI WORLD PREMIERE!! A Field Manual
It was really exciting to perform a piece that was written with me in mind. Commissioned for the vibrant, cutting-edge Fireworks Ensemble , Chris Trakas joined me for this wild and risqué piece, A Field Manual. Compared to the upcoming My Favorite Penis Poems, the lesbian s/m rape scene, once shocking to me, seems more like a walk in the park. Okay, in Central Park at night. Alone.
May 31, 2008 at 7:30, Symphony Space, New York City.

NORTH/SOUTH CONSONANCE
I made my debut with this group performing another world premiere-Five Sappho Fragments by Christopher James for chamber orchestra. I was going to do it in Greek, but since there was an option to do it in English, I decided to do that. Rich with erotic longing and soaring melodies, I found it to be quite a moving experience, and hope that James' plans to record it will materialize.
June 24, 2008 at 8 pm, Christ and St. Stephen's Church, 120 West 69th St., NYC.

Highlights from the 2006-2007 season

Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 8 pm
DRACULA – David Del Tredici
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
In celebration of David Del Tredici’s 70th
Birthday, the fabulous theatrical piece, DRACULA, for amplified soprano (yours truly, although I'm not sure that I'll be amplified) and 13 instruments will be presented.
Conducted by David Del Tredici and
directed by Jennifer Griesbach.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 7 pm
David Del Tredici’s Birthday Celebration Continues! and Melissa and David perform his over-the-top song cycle “Miz Inez Sez.” (texts by Colette Inez)
Sarah Lawrence College, Reisinger Concert Hall
$10/$8 for seniors and non-SLC students

Monday, April 16 at 8 pm
Melissa performs music of Louis Andriessen with Sequitur
Merkin Concert Hall, Kaufman Center
129 West 67th Street
Tickets $15/10
Box Office: (212) 501-3330

Saturday, May 5, 2007, 8 pm
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 200th Birthday Tribute
The Canticum Novum Singers, Harold Rosenbaum, dir.
The Great Hall at Cooper Union, New York City

Hear 5 great choral works, inspired by his poetry, composed by Sir Arthur Sullivan, Sir Edward Elgar, David Del Tredici, Ned Rorem, and Stephen Schwartz (New York Premiere).
Surprise, surprise! Melissa's singing the Del Tredici. It's called Paul Revere's Ride, and it's so awesome that it was nominated for a 2007 Grammy in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category (Category 105, if you want to see it on the Grammy's website.)
http://nyvirtuoso.org/html/schedule.html

Sunday, May 13, 2007, 2 pm
New York City Opera Vox 2007 - A program showcasing American composers.
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at NYU
566 LaGuardia Place (Washington Square South)
FREE!

As part of a weekend festival of new opera excerpts by American composers, I will be appearing as Agafya in With Such Friends by Tom Schnauber& Lucy in The Fisher King by Marc Lowenstein.
For descriptions of the excerpts, full festival schedule and more information about Vox 2007, click here: More about NYCO Vox 2007

Hear an excerpt of "Is there a man?" from With Such Friends from VOX 2007.
For all other info about VOX including performance times, click here.

 

Last update July 10, 2001

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