Internationally-renowned tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, who has captured critical and popular acclaim for his appearances in operas, concerts and recitals around the world, will perform Sept. 29 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Internationally-renowned tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, who has captured critical and popular acclaim for his appearances in operas, concerts and recitals around the world, will perform Sept. 29 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Carolina Performing Arts will present Griffey, a High Point native and artist in residence in the UNC music department, at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall, 140 E. Cameron Ave. Classical works and American standards will be on the program.
“Griffey’s combination of a beautiful and powerful lyric tenor voice, gift of dramatic interpretation and superb musicianship have earned him the highest praise from critics and audiences alike,” said Emil Kang, director of Carolina Performing Arts. “In addition, he has coached dozens of students here at UNC and dramatically improved their vocal talents.”
Selections on Sept. 29 will include works by 16th-century composer John Dowland, early 20th-century American composer Charles Griffes and 20th-century English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, as well as such standards as “Anything You Can Do,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” and “Over the Rainbow.”
Terry Ellen Rhodes, D.M.A., soprano and music department professor and chair, will be among UNC faculty members performing with Griffey. Also on stage will be UNC professors Richard Luby, D.M.A., on violin and Brent Wissick on cello; UNC lecturers Hugh Partridge, viola, and Leah Peroutka, violin; and Warren Jones, principal pianist for a California-based chamber music group and Musical America magazine’s 2010 Collaborative Pianist of the Year.
Griffey has performed leading roles at international opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera and the Opera National de Paris and appeared with major international orchestras. He received Grammy Awards for recordings including Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem”with the London Philharmonic, André Previn’s “A Streetcar Named Desire”and live recordings of Richard Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” and Carlisle Floyd’s “Of Mice and Men.”
Tickets are $10 for UNC-Chapel Hill students and start at $19 for others. Seating is general admission. Go to www.carolinaperformingarts.com to purchase tickets or call or visit the box office at (919) 843-3333, open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and before performances.
Griffey will make several important role debuts during the 2011-2012 performance season, portraying Tichon in Janáček’s “Katya Kabanová” at the Dallas Opera; the male chorus in a new production of Britten’s “The Rape of Lucretia” at Houston Grand Opera; and Lensky in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” with Opera Carolina. He also will reprise the role of Lennie in Carlisle Floyd’s “Of Mice and Men” with Opera Australia.
Photo: http://uncnews.unc.edu/images/stories/news/arts/2009/griffey_anthony_dean.jpg
Carolina Performing Arts contact: Ellen James, (919) 843-0516, Ellen_James@unc.edu
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589