Baritone Keith Phares to Sing Mahler, Mercer and More at Schwab

February 8, 2006

Baritone Keith Phares, who has a growing body of credits on major opera and concert stages throughout the country, performs a recital at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, in Schwab Auditorium on the Penn State University Park campus.

The scheduled program includes works by Gustav Mahler, Francis Poulenc, Charles Ives, Hugo Wolf and Johnny Mercer.

Tickets are on sale now at $11 for an adult; $7 for a University Park student; and $9 for a person 18 and younger. For tickets and information, visit www.cpa.psu.edu or phone (814) 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at Eisenhower Auditorium, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; Penn State Tickets Downtown, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays; HUB-Robeson Center Information Desk, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays; and Bryce Jordan Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

This season Phares, who has previously performed with the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic, returns to New York City Opera in The Little Prince and sings with the Arizona, Dallas, Portland and Santa Fe operas. He‚ll also return to Spoleto Festival USA in Don Giovanni.

Pianist Michael Baitzer accompanies Phares in concert. Baitzer, a faculty member at The Juilliard School of Music in New York City, is on the music staff of Washington National Opera, Spoleto Festival USA and Aspen Music Festival.

Phares‚ Penn State appearance, which includes three days of residency activities, is presented by the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State in association with The Marilyn Horne Foundation.

Artistic Viewpoints, sponsored by the Center for the Performing Arts Community Advisory Council, provides insight from Keith Phares and is offered free to interested ticket holders at Schwab Auditorium one hour before the performance.

Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814-863-6379