Kabarett Cast

MEDITERRANEAN

Tue, Mar 14, 8pm

Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center
129 W 67th St

Buy Tickets $20-70
Students $10 at 212-501-3330 or at the door

Complimentary post-concert wine reception with the artists included with admission.

Kabarett Cast

The concert features the 2023 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars, in the culmination of their weeklong immersive mentorship and training program focusing on the art of song at Caramoor. 

This year’s participants include soprano Shelén Hughes, mezzo-soprano Maggie Reneé, tenor Colin Aikins, bass-baritone Joseph Parrish, and pianist Yihao Zhou, who will perform songs framing a musical voyage around the Mediterranean Sea from Spain to Greece, with stops in France, Italy, Israel, Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia. Pianist Bénédicte Jourdois joins Steven Blier as co-director and pianist for the residency and performance. Prior to the concert at Merkin Hall, an additional performance is held at Caramoor on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.

“NYFOS’s annual residency at Caramoor is a Zen garden of song, a week of intense study in a pristine, calm environment,” said Artistic Director Steven Blier. “Leaving the stresses of the city behind, all of us re-connect to our musical souls. As one singer put, ‘My artistic life divides into two periods: Before Caramoor and After Caramoor.’ It has been satisfying to watch our graduates step onto the stages of the Met, Covent Garden, and the Salzburg Festival. For our 15th season, the Schwab Vocal Rising Stars will take a musical tour of the Mediterranean from Europe to the Middle East, with a wild assortment of songs in nine languages (a NYFOS record). This year’s artists are a superb group, bound for important careers. Come catch them in their first glory!” 

Now celebrating its fifteenth anniversary, the annual weeklong residency includes daily coaching, rehearsals and workshops with Steven Blier and guest teaching artists. Notable alumni of the program include soprano Julia Bullock, tenor Paul Appleby, soprano Corinne Winters, baritone John Brancy, soprano Joélle Harvey, baritone Theo Hoffman, and many more.