Opera Singers to Perform at Penn State
November 4 , 2005
Two world-renowned opera singers, tenor Robert Swensen and soprano Kathryn Cowdrick, will be joined by eminent accompanist Jean Barr in a concert at Penn State Friday, November 11. The program, at 8 P.M. in Esber Recital Hall of the School of Music, University Park, will feature operatic arias and duets as well as songs of Brahms, Schumann and others.
Swensen, winner of the Concert Artists‚ Guild International Competition, has sung leading tenor roles at the Vienna Staatsoper, Staatsoper unter-den-Linden of Berlin, the San Carlo Opera of Naples, Venice's La Fenice, and many other important houses. Cowdrick, recently honored with Penn State College of Arts and Architecture's Alumni Award, won the Liederkrantz Competition of New York and the Merola Opera Prize, and was a national finalist of the Metropolitan Opera Competition. She also has appeared in leading roles, including Rossini heroines Rosina and Cinderella, at the Amsterdam Opera, San Francisco Opera, and the New York City Opera, among others. Both singers performed in the Grammy-winning New World Records recording of Barber's Anthony and Cleopatra, recorded live at the Spoleto Festival. Jean Barr, considered a pioneer in the field of collaborative pianism, is noted for performances with many outstanding artists including Thomas Hampson, Mstislav Rostropovitch, and Eudice Shapiro. Swensen, Cowdrick and Barr all are members of the faculty of the Eastman School of Music.
Funding for this free concert is provided by the University Park Allocation Committee from student activity fees. The concert is also the headline event of the 2005 State Conference of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association, which is hosted by PSU's School of Music.
For a complete listing of all concerts and recitals, please visit http://www.events.psu.edu and choose music performance events.
Contact: Steven Smith 814-863-4401 or shs1@psu.edu.