tickets: 559-261-0600

When:
Saturday, March 6, 2010 - 8:00pm

Sunday, March 7, 2010 - 2:30pm

Location:
William Saroyan Theatre

Price:
Tickets starting at $15

Music Director and Conductor of the Fresno Philharmonic since 2002, Theodore Kuchar, one of the most prolifically recorded conductors of the past decade, appears on over 100 compact discs for the Naxos, Brilliant Classics, Ondine and Marco Polo labels. For the past sixteen years, he has served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of two of Europe's pre-eminent Orchestras, the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra (formerly the Czech Radio Orchestra) and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. He also serves as the Music Director of the Reno Chamber Orchestra in Nevada. Since 2004, he has served as Resident Conductor at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, the educational institution established by the late George Szell, in cooperation with The Cleveland Orchestra.

Highlights of Maestro Kuchar’s conducting activities over the past season have included appearances with the Israel Symphony, the Cape Town Philharmonic, and the Munich Philharmonic. Last winter he led his Janacek Philharmonic on a four-week, nineteen-city concert tour of the United States that included a stop in Fresno. This past summer, in addition to performances in the Czech Republic, South Africa, Israel, and his annual residency at the Kent/Blossom Festival, Maestro Kuchar also conducted the National Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela in Caracas.

In recent seasons, Maestro Kuchar’s guest conducting engagements have taken him to major musical centers including Amsterdam, Berlin, Chicago, Helsinki, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Prague, Seoul, and Sydney. In 2008, he was called upon with a single day’s notice to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra of Wales in Josef Suk's epic Asrael Symphony. Soloists with whom Kuchar has collaborated include James Galway, Jessye Norman, Lynn Harrell, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Frederica von Stade, among others.

As Principal Conductor of the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra since 2005, Kuchar and the orchestra have recorded 10 compact discs, devoted to the complete symphonies of Carl Nielsen, the complete overtures and tone poems of Dvorak and the complete orchestral works of Bedrich Smetana, all for the Brilliant Classics label. Also completed for Brilliant Classics, was a world premiere recording of Rachmaninoff’s Fifth Piano Concerto, a reconstruction of that composer’s Second Symphony based on the composer’s manuscripts. In addition to the 2009 USA Tour, Kuchar has conducted the orchestra in concert tours of Australia, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Switzerland.

During Maestro Kuchar’s tenure, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine became the most frequently recorded orchestra of the former Soviet Union. During the period 1994-2004, the orchestra recorded over 70 compact discs for the Naxos and Marco Polo labels, including the complete symphonies of Kalinnikov, Lyatoshynsky, Martinu and Prokofiev, as well as major works of Dvorak, Glazunov, Mozart, Shchedrin, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky and the symphonies and orchestral works of Ukraine’s leading contemporary symphonist, Yevhen Stankovych. The first of these recordings, devoted to Lyatoshynsky’s Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3, was awarded the ABC’s “Best International Recording of the Year” in 1994. Their recording of the complete works for violin and orchestra by Walter Piston for the Naxos label was hailed by Gramophone (January 2000) as a “Record of the Year” for 1999. Their complete symphonies of Prokofiev under Kuchar are regarded by many critics as the most accomplished recorded cycle available.

During the 1996-97 season, Kuchar and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine undertook a project devoted to the performance of the cycle of complete symphonies of Anton Bruckner, in their original versions. This historic project, commemorating the centenary of Bruckner’s death, was sponsored by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the 1997-98 season, they undertook a cycle of the complete symphonies of Franz Schubert, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

An enthusiastic frequent flyer and international traveler, Maestro Kuchar, during his tenure in the Ukraine, led the orchestra on eleven international tours, including Asia, Australia, Central Europe and the United Kingdom. During the 2003-04 season, he conducted the opening subscription weeks and a three-week European Tour with the Berliner Symphoniker (Berlin Symphony). In recent seasons, Maestro Kuchar has conducted nearly forty concerts with this distinguished orchestra. In February 2005, he conducted a three-week United States Tour with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie.

Theodore Kuchar, who is also a violist, continues to devote several periods annually to one of his most serious passions, the performance of chamber music. Kuchar was the Artistic Director of The Australian Festival of Chamber Music from 1990 until 2006. Since 2005, he serves as the Artistic Director of the Nevada Chamber Music Festival. His chamber music colleagues have included James Buswell, Martin Chalifour, Sarah Chang, Lamar Crowson, Leila Josefowicz, Oleg Kagan, Dong-Suk Kang, Isabelle van Keulen, Oleh Krysa, Mark Lubotsky, Truls Mork, Paul Neubauer, Irina Schnittke, Torleif Thedeen and Thomas Zehetmair. In 1994, he participated with colleagues Oleh Krysa and Alexander Ivashkin in the world premiere of Penderecki’s String Trio in New York City. In July of 1999, he appeared as violist in two recordings for the Naxos label, in works by Alfred Schnittke (with Irina Schnittke and Mark Lubotsky) and Walter Piston. Kuchar’s recording of works by Walter Piston was awarded the Chamber Music America/WQXR “Record of the Year” for 2001.

Kuchar remains as strong an advocate of composers of the present day as he does of the great composers of the past. He has conducted works, in the presence of the composers such as George Crumb, Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheli, Benjamin Lees, Alfred Schnittke, Rodion Shchedrin and Yevhen Stankovych, among others. In May 2000, Mr. Kuchar conducted the world premiere, at the invitation of Yo-Yo Ma, of the Capriccio for Cello and Orchestra, with Mr. Ma as soloist, by American composer Lukas Foss. During recent seasons in Fresno, Maestro Kuchar has conducted works by John Adams and Christopher Rouse, as well as music by Fresno composers Jack Fortner and George Warren.

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The elegant American soprano Linda Mabbs has been acclaimed for the excellence and versatility of her performances in oratorio, opera, recital and orchestral repertoire. The Chicago Tribune hailed her “stunning agility and control, purity and richness of tone,” while the leading Dutch newspaper NRC said that she “sang as if from heaven.” The San Francisco Chronicle praised her “gorgeously rounded tones and soaring top” and Opera News called her performances “not only beautifully sung, but intensely acted with passion and pathos. The Washington Post cited her 1997 world premiere recording of Argento’s Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night on Koch International as “the most brilliant opera recording” of the year.

Linda Mabbs’ 2009-10 season includes singing as soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra, which she recently performed with great successes in a return to the National Philharmonic, in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Her recent highlights include Messiah with the Pensacola Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem with the National Philharmonic, and Carmina Burana at the Grand Teton Music Festival, under Donald Runnicles.

Other recent engagements include performances of Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 in Munich and at the University of Maryland, Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with the Newton Symphony Orchestra, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the National Philharmonic, Mozart’s Requiem with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Florida Orchestra, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Flint Symphony Orchestra, and performances of Tippett’s A Child of Our Time and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Victoria Bach Festival.

Recognized internationally for her performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, she has sung the symphony with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw, Vancouver, and Bilbao. Also on international concert stages, Ms. Mabbs has sung Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Hiroshima Symphony; Carmina Burana with the Orquestra Sinfonica de Xalapa; Diepenbrock’s Hymne an die Nacht with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam; Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung and the Lord Nelson Mass with the Classical Music Festival of Austria; selections from Purcell’s The Fairy Queen with Tafelmusik; and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor for the Eisenstadt Classical Music Festival.

Other past concert highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Haydn’s Harmoniemesse with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Vivaldi’s Gloria and Magnificat, and “Sul fil d’un soffio etesio” from Falstaff with the National Symphony Orchestra; Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Houston Masterworks Chorus; Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Missa Brevis, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra; Mozart’s Requiem with the Flint Symphony Orchestra; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Maryland University Orchestra; Messiah with University Musical Society in Ann Arbor; and the Fauré Requiem and Haydn’s Kleine Orgelmesse with the Berkshire Choral Festival. In addition, she has sung Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder with both the Pasadena and Fairfax Symphonies; Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day with Music of the Baroque in Chicago; Carmina Burana with the Cleveland/San José Ballet; and numerous festival performances with the Baltimore and National Symphony Orchestras.

Her chamber music performances have included Hindemith’s Die Serenaden with the Guarneri String Quartet, Argento’s Six Elizabethan Songs with the Rembrandt Chamber Players, and Shostakovich’s Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Block with the Twentieth Century Consort.

No stranger to the operatic stage, her repertoire includes roles ranging from Handel heroines and Dido in Dido and Aeneas to the Countess in both Le nozze di Figaro and Capriccio. Ms. Mabbs made her debut with New York City Opera as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier and with Washington Opera singing Madame de Rosemond in Susa’s Dangerous Liaisons. For Opera Carolina, she recreated her signature role of the Marschallin to critical acclaim (“her control and phrasing were impeccable” – Opera News).

Linda Mabbs has sung with such esteemed conductors as Riccardo Chailly, Sir Neville Marriner, Mstislav Rostropovich, Robert Shaw, Claus Peter Flor, Franz Welzer-Möst, Andrew Litton and Leonard Slatkin. She has presented recitals around the world and, while at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies in England, appeared in recital with Sir Peter Pears, with whom she prepared the American premiere of Britten’s Cabaret Songs. She has recorded these and other Britten songs for the Elan label. Robert Hanson composed his Songs of America for her.

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Mezzo-soprano Stacey Rishoi has garnered an international reputation for the beauty and power of her instrument. Following her debut as Adalgisa in Norma the Washington Post stated, “It was Rishoi’s Adalgisa, however, who nearly stole the show with a performance that was convincing and unwavering from start to finish… Rishoi commanded the stage with a lustrous voice graced with natural expression and a surprising clarion projection.”

Stacey Rishoi returns to the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in the 2009-10 season to sing Handel’s Messiah, JoAnn Falletta conducting, sings as soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with both the Fresno Philharmonic and Springfield Symphony orchestras, in Verdi’s Requiem with Bel Canto Chorus, and in an evening of opera highlights with Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. Her 2008-09 season included singing as soloist in Messiah with the Pacific and Jacksonville symphony orchestras; Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos with Calgary Opera; De Falla’s El Amor Brujo with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra; Mozart’s Requiem with the Jacksonville and Atlanta symphony orchestras; Verdi’s Requiem with the Choral Arts Society of Washington, DC; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Buffalo Philharmonic; Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with West Virginia Symphony; and an appearance with the South Dakota Chamber Orchestra in a vocal showcase concert, which included Berlioz’ Les Nuits d’ete, through Sounds of South Dakota.

Highlights of Ms. Rishoi’s recent seasons include two successful role debuts – Dalila in Samson et Dalila with Nashville Opera and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Orlando Opera; her return to Washington National Opera as Waltraute in Die Walküre; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Grant Llewellyn; Dvořák’s Stabat Mater and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Choral Arts Society of Washington, DC; de Falla’s The Three Cornered Hat with Columbus Symphony; joining the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for the world premiere of Tan Dun’s The First Emperor; Mozart’s Requiem with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; and performances of Vaughan Williams’ Five Tudor Portraits and Serenade to Music at the Washington National Cathedral.

Ms. Rishoi’s opera highlights include Adalgisa with Virginia Opera; Waltraute in Die Walküre with both Seattle Opera and Canadian Opera Company; Amneris in Aida with Orlando Opera; and Magdalene in Die Meistersinger with the Cincinnati May Festival, conducted by James Conlon. Ms. Rishoi also added the role of Waltraute in Götterdämmerung to her repertoire at Seattle Opera, as well as Fricka in Die Walküre with the Canadian Opera Company. She has performed both Sesto in La clemenza di Tito and Arsamene in Xerxes with Wolf Trap Opera; Jo in Little Women with both Central City Opera and Opera Omaha; Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus with Utah Opera; Mercedes in Carmen with Kentucky Opera, Meg Page in Falstaff with Opera Festival of New Jersey; Flora in La traviata with New Orleans Opera; and Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte with both Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the 2003 Macau International Music Festival.

Ms. Rishoi has met with critical acclaim on concert stages across the U.S. and has garnered an extensive list of symphonic credits. Among her many successes are Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Syracuse symphony orchestras; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Virginia Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and Santa Rosa Symphony; her engagement by Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic for the world premiere of Michael Torke’s Four Seasons and Aaron Kernis’ Garden of Light, which was followed by an immediate re-engagement for the world premiere of Ades’ America: A Prophesy; and Mozart’s Requiem with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, and Portugal’s Festival dos 100 Dias. She has performed Bach’s Magnificat with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; B Minor Mass with the Bach Festival Society (FL); and St. Matthew Passion with the Choral Arts Society of Washington, D.C.; Handel’s Messiah with both the Phoenix and San Diego symphony orchestras; and Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Rishoi can be heard on the world premiere recording of Liszt’s St. Stanislaus, conducted by James Conlon, on the Telarc label. The Liszt also marked her debut performance at the Cincinnati May Festival.

Committed to the performance of song literature, Ms. Rishoi was singled out for her participation in the “Christa Ludwig Song Workshop: Brahms and Mahler,” sponsored by Carnegie Hall. She also gave the world premiere of John Musto’s song cycle for vocal quartet and piano titled The Book of Uncommon Prayer at Miller Theater, Colombia University.

Ms. Rishoi is a winner of the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Norman Treigle Award from New York City Opera. She has served as artist in residence at Festival Dos 100 Dias in Portugal and at the Beaumaris Festival in Wales. She is married to bass Gustav Andreassen.

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Described as “brilliant” by Opera News, tenor Matthew DiBattista has performed on both the operatic and concert stage with such conductors as James Conlon, Seiji Ozawa, Keith Lockhart, and Robert Shaw in the United States, Italy, France, and Portugal.

In the 2009-10 season, Mr. DiBattista will perform in a number of reengagements including the roles of Spoletta in Tosca and the Valet Tenors in Les Contes D’Hoffman with Opera Colorado, Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the cover role of Xu Xian in a return to Opera Boston for its world premiere production of Zhou Long’s Madame White Snake. He also performs the title role in The Good Soldier Schweik with Long Beach Opera, the role of Coleman in the world premiere of Larry Bell’s opera Holy Ghosts at the Berklee Performance Center, and appears as soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Assabet Valley Mastersingers, in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra, and in a Festival Concert performing music by Verdi, Puccini, and Bernstein with Great Waters Music Festival.

In the summer of 2009, Matthew DiBattista gave critically-acclaimed performances of Bégearss in The Ghosts of Versailles at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis where he debuted the previous summer as the Valet Tenors in The Tales of Hoffman. Other recent successes include the Valet Tenors at Boston Lyric Opera, Yarzhkin in The Nose at Opera Boston, appearances as soloist in Britten’s Nocturne with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with New Bedford Symphony, Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Brookline Chorus, and Handel’s Messiah with the Worcester Chorus.

Among Mr. DiBattista’s many successes on the operatic stage is his return to Opera Boston to sing Jack O’Brien in The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny after appearing with the company as Louis in the North American premiere of Eötvös’ Angels in America, Martin in The Tender Land with both Opera Omaha and Skylight Opera Theater and later broadcast on PBS’ “Great Performances”, as well the role of Wesley in Central Park at Glimmerglass Opera which was also broadcast on PBS’ “Great Performances”. He also performed Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, and Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore at Skylight Opera, Eisslinger in highlights from Die Meistersinger with Cincinnati May Festival, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado with both Mississippi Opera and Lyric Opera San Antonio, and added the roles of Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Curley in Of Mice and Men, Dr. Caius in Falstaff, and Andrew Johnson in The Mother of Us All to his repertoire while at Glimmerglass Opera.

Equally in demand for concert engagements, Mr. DiBattista has appeared as soloist in Messiah with Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Concord Symphony Orchestra, and Bostons’ Masterwork’s Chorale. He has performed Mozart’s Requiem and Samuel’s Hyacinth from Apollo with the 100 Days Festival in Lisbon, Portugal, Rachmaninoff’s Vespers with Cincinnati May Festival, and Bach’s St. John Passion with Boston University Symphony. Mr. DiBattista has been a frequent performer with Masterworks Chorale in Schumann’s Mass and Requiem and Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, Bel Canto Chorus in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and Orff’s Catulli Carmina, and Knox Music Series in Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Christmas Oratorio, Haydn’s The Creation, and Berlioz’ L’Enfance du Christ. He has also appeared at the Tanglewood Music Festival as soloist in Shostakovich’s From Jewish Folk Poetry and Kurtag’s What is the word? as well as with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for its holiday concert series.

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Norwegian-American bass Gustav Andreassen has performed with major opera companies and orchestras throughout North American and Europe, to great acclaim. For his recent portrayal of Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Opera News stated: "The extraordinary potent bass of Gustav Andreassen was all black tone - sonorous, distinctive, with fine musicianship and dramatic flair."

In the 2009-10 season Gustav Andreassen sings Colline in La bohème with Portland Opera, also with Indianapolis Opera, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Green Mountain Opera Festival, sings as soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with both the Fresno Philharmonic and Springfield Symphony orchestras, and in Verdi's Requiem with Rochester Philharmonic, also with the Louisville Orchestra. His 2008-09 season included appearing as Leporello in Don Giovanni at Arizona Opera, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Opéra Atelier (Toronto), singing as soloist in Verdi's Requiem with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, in Mozart's Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony, in an appearance with the South Dakota Chamber Orchestra in a vocal showcase concert through Sounds of South Dakota, a concert appearance as Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin with the National Symphony Orchestra, the roles of Mercury and Ghost of Hector in Berlioz's Les Troyens with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under James Levine at Tanglewood, and performances of Schoenberg's Gurrelieder at the Aspen Music Festival. In summer 2009, he sang as soloist at the Aspen Music Festival in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13, "Babi Yar."

Mr. Andreassen's prolific opera career includes successes at leading opera houses throughout the world. He is a frequent presence at Utah Opera, having performed Daland in Der fliegende Holländer, Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos, and King in Aida; and has sung several roles at Arizona Opera, including Daland, Blitch in Susannah, and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. He has performed as Sourin in Pique Dame and as Prince Gremin with San Francisco Opera, Osmin with both Boston Lyric Opera and Glimmerglass Opera, Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Wolf Trap Opera, as well as Commendatore in Don Giovanni with Boston Baroque, Florida Grand Opera, and Cincinnati Opera, among others. Internationally Mr. Andreassen has appeared with Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Hamburgishe Staatsoper, De Vlaamse Opera, and in Lucca, Italy in such roles as Ferrando in Il trovatore, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, and King Philip II in Don Carlos.

An avid concert artist, Mr. Andreassen's extensive list of symphonic engagements include performances of Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Spano, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13 with Seattle Symphony under Gerard Schwarz, Bach's Magnificat with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere of Liszt's St. Stanislaus at the Cincinnati May Festival under James Conlon, and both Messiah and Mozart's Requiem with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared as soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at the Chautauqua Institution, Beethoven's Mass in C and Choral Fantasy with Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Mozart's Mass in C Minor with Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Verdi's Requiem with Black Hills Symphony, Schubert's Mass in G with Arizona State Chorus, and Mozart's Vesparae Solemnes with Masterworks Chorale of Tucson.

In addition to winning the Heinz Rehfuss Singing-Actor Award at Orlando Opera, Mr. Andreassen received three prestigious awards while a graduate student at Cincinnati Conservatory or Music: the Italo Tajo Award, the Norman Treigle/New York City Opera Award, and the Corbett Award. While an undergraduate at the University of Arizona he was awarded first place in the Amelia Rieman Competition and placed second in the Western Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

A native of Oregon, Gustav Andreassen is married to mezzo-soprano Stacey Rishoi.

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