Lyric Fest Presents Metamorphosis of Plants, A Lieder Celebration for Earth Day

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mallory McFarland | Morahan Arts and Media
mallory@morahanartsandmedia.com | 646-241-0899

Lyric Fest Presents Metamorphosis of Plants,
A Lieder Celebration for Earth Day

April 22, Earth Day, at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA
April 23 at Peabody Institute in Baltimore, MD

Featured Artists Include Kristina Bachrach, Kathryn Leemhuis,
Andrew Fuchs, and Randall Scarlata, with Laura Ward on Piano, and
Suzanne DuPlantis Providing Video Design and
Reading Goethe’s Poem, “The Metamorphosis of Plants”

“nothing short of miraculous” — Chestnut Hill Local

www.lyricfest.org 

Philadelphia, PA (March 21, 2023) — Lyric Fest continues its 2022-23 season with an Earth Day celebration entitled Metamorphosis of Plants, featuring German Lieder in a concert inspired by the great German poet, statesman, and botanist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and his poem “The Metamorphosis of Plants”. The first performance takes place in celebration of Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 8:00pm at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. A second iteration of the program takes place on Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 7:30pm at the Peabody Institute’s Goodwin Recital Hall in Baltimore, MD, which is free and open to the public.

The program, specifically created for presentation at Longwood Gardens, features soprano Kristina Bachrach, mezzo-soprano Kathryn Leemhuis, tenor Andrew Fuchs, baritone Randall Scarlata, and pianist Laura Ward (Lyric Fest co-founder and co-artistic director) in botanical songs from Schubert, Brahms, Beethoven, Wolf, Mahler, and others. Goethe’s majestic poem is interspersed throughout, read in English by Suzanne DuPlantis (Lyric Fest co-founder and co-artistic director). This intimate performance is modeled after the European salon experience, and includes accompanying botanical video animations and supertitles at the Longwood performance specifically.

DuPlantis shares, “This program has been great fun to put together. It has splendid variety and includes both chestnuts and little known gems of German Lieder from 16 composers. We’re thrilled to be presenting this special offering in honor of Earth Day at Longwood Gardens at the height of Spring! The audience can expect to be enchanted by wonderful music, all experienced in the grand ballroom of Longwood Gardens with fanciful video, supertitles, and with the floral, earthy scents from Longwood’s spectacular conservatory wafting in! This is quite a special program.”

Lyric Fest’s 22-23 season continues with the rescheduled dates of Ode to the Lost Song: Arne Dørumsgaard on Tuesday, March 28 at 7pm at the Moorestown Community House in Moorestown, New Jersey, and Wednesday, March 29 at 7pm at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Performance Details
Metamorphosis of Plants
Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 8:00pm
Longwood Gardens, Ballroom | 1001 Longwood Road | Kennett Square, PA 19348
Tickets: Reserved Seating: $30; Gardens Preferred, Gardens Premium Members, and Innovators: $26
Link: https://longwoodgardens.org/events-performances/events/lyric-fest-presents-metamorphoses-plants

Metamorphosis of Plants
Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 7:30pm
Peabody Institute, Goodwin Recital Hall | 1 E Mt Vernon Pl | Baltimore, MD 21202
Tickets: Free and open to the public
Link: https://lyricfest.org/concerts/metamorphoses-of-plants/

Program:
Gott im Frühling - Franz Schubert
Ich bin dein Baum, O Gärtner - Robert Schumann
Das Heldengrab am Pruth - Erich Korngold 
Mit einem gemalten Band - Ludwig van Beethoven
Der Frühling - Johannes Brahms 
Auf eine Christblume II - Hugo Wolf 
Nachtzauber - Hugo Wolf 
Der Frühling - Johannes Brahms
Die Grüne Hopfenranke - Johannes Brahms 
Frühzeitiger Frühling - Karl Friedrich Zelter 
Morgengruss - Fanny Mendelsohn 
Waldseligkeit - Alma Mahler
O kühler Wald - Johannes Brahms 
Im Garten unter der Linde - Franz Schreker 
Das schöne beet betracht ich mir im harren - Arnold Schoenberg 
Mohnblumen - Richard Strauss 
Ganymede - Franz Schubert 
Botschaft - Nelken wind ich und Jasmin - Robert Schumann
Der Nussbaum - Robert Schumann
Meine Rose - Robert Schumann 
Die stille Lotusblume - Clara Schumann 
Frühlingsmorgen - Gustav Mahler 
Das Ährenfeld - Felix Mendelssohn
Meine Liebe ist grün - Johannes Brahms
Nocturne - Joseph Marx

Artists:
Kristina Bachrach, soprano
Kathryn Leemhuis, mezzo-soprano
Andrew Fuchs, tenor
Randall Scarlata, baritone
Laura Ward, piano
Suzanne DuPlantis, narration and video creation

Tickets to the April 22 performance at Longwood Gardens include all-day Gardens Admission.

About Lyric Fest
Lyric Fest has been hailed in the press as “An irresistible mix of high art and humane feeling… As entertaining as a well-managed party” (Broad Street Review). Founded in 2003 with the goal of celebrating and revitalizing the art song tradition, it is the only performing arts organization in the Mid-Atlantic region with a primary focus on song in all its varied expression. 

Lyric Fest has produced and presented over 100 distinctly crafted and curated concert programs. Each has featured multiple artists of national and international stature sharing song through theme and story, together with the spoken word. The organization has defined commissioning new works as an integral part of its mission and programming philosophy. To date, Lyric Fest has commissioned an impressive body of more than 200 new American songs from many of the nation’s preeminent composers.

Lyric Fest is run by two of its founders, artistic directors Suzanne DuPlantis and Laura Ward. Known for their excellence and innovation in creating rich, thematic, accessible concerts, Lyric Fest performs throughout the Philadelphia region, and has brought programs to Washington DC; Moorestown, NJ; Wilmington, DE; New Orleans, LA; Pittsburgh, PA; Brooklyn and New York City, NY; and San Jose, CA. Learn more about Lyric Fest at lyricfest.org.

About Suzanne DuPlantis
Suzanne DuPlantis co-Founded Lyric Fest with a passionate commitment to song, and a belief in its power to reach all listeners. Serving as its Artistic Director, she enjoys sharing a new vision for song with Lyric Fest audiences through creative program building; writing scripts and program notes; graphic design; and most recently, by creating innovative song videos to accompany Lyric Fest’s live and virtual concert offerings. As a performer, Suzanne made her New York debut at Alice Tully Hall with Musica Sacra and her Kimmel Center debut in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Orchestra 2001. Her career in opera has spanned debuts with companies across America in roles from Rossini’s heroines Rosina and Isabella, Carmen to Waltraute. In oratorio, chamber music and song, Suzanne has appeared with many of Philadelphia’s premiere music organizations including The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble, Bucks County Choral Society, Singing City, The Wister Quartet, and Orchestra 2001. She has premiered new works written especially for her by Kile Smith, Andrea Clearfield, Robert Maggio, Roxanna Panufnik, Logan Skelton, Allen Krantz, and Benjamin C.S. Boyle. She is featured on several recordings, including Lyric Fest’s In This Blue Room by Kile Smith, and Daron Hagen - 21st Century Song Cycles; has recorded Brian Gaber’s Ancestral Waters for mezzo, orchestra and jazz trio; and has released a CD of American Songbook Standards, Lazy Afternoon – Songs of Love and the South, with Harold Evans and Ron Kerber.

About Laura Ward
Laura Ward is pianist and Artistic Director of Lyric Fest, www.lyricfest.org, a unique vocal recital series in Philadelphia. As a distinguished collaborative pianist she is known for both her technical ability and vast knowledge of repertoire and styles. Concert engagements have taken her to Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Spoleto Festival (Italy), and the Colmar International Music Festival and Saint Denis Festival in France. She has served on the faculty of The CoOPERAtive Program at Westminster Choir College, the Academy of Vocal Arts, Temple University, Ravinia Festival Steans Institute, Washington Opera, University of Maryland, and the Music Academy of the West. Laura’s discography includes Lineage with Grammy-nominated baritone, Randall Scarlata, In This Blue Room: Lyric Fest Performs Songs of Kile Smith, Daron Hagen 21st Century Song Cycles, Hat er mir Rosen Gebracht: Songs of Joseph Marx with soprano Kendra Colton, Songs of Innocence and The Raven with The Raven Consort, and, most recently, Spirits in Bondage: Songs of Benjamin C.S. Boyle. Laura is also a recording artist and editor of song accompaniments for publisher Hal Leonard having co-edited: Richard Strauss: 40 Songs, Gabriel Fauré: 50 Songs, and Johannes Brahms: 75 Songs, and recorded over 2,000 song accompaniments for Hal Leonard Publishing. These volumes help countless singers and pianists experience, learn and enjoy the art song repertoire, and help introduce a world of art song to many who have had little exposure to classical song. A native of Texas, Laura received her Bachelor in Music degree from Baylor University, holds a Masters in Collaborative Piano at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and a Doctorate In Collaborative Piano from the University of Michigan where she was a student of Martin Katz.

About Kristina Bachrach
Soprano Kristina Bachrach is emerging as a young artist confident in an extensive range of styles and languages. Ms. Bachrach recently performed solo recitals through Dame Myra Hess and the Artist Presentation Society of Saint Louis and was set to reprise Shulamit Ran’s Moon Songs with the musicians of Marlboro on their fall tour. In winter of 2020, Ms. Bachrach made her Japanese debut in a series of opera galas and she joined the roster of Chicago Opera Theater covering the role of Mae in the world premiere of Freedom Ride. Ms. Bachrach holds degrees from Mannes College and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (summa cum laude). She is an award winner with the Artists Presentation Society of St. Louis, Ziering-Conlon Art Song Competition, American Prize Competition, the Philharmonic Society of Arlington’s Young Artist Competition, the Metrowest Opera Competition, and the Schuyler Foundation for Career Bridges. www.kristinabachrach.com.

About Kathryn Leemhuis
Mezzo-soprano Kathryn Leemhuis has performed with international opera companies such as the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Teatro Colón, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Chicago Opera Theater. On the concert stage, she has performed at the Ravinia Festival, the Grant Park Music Festival, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Music Festival. She is an alumna of the esteemed Ryan Opera Center, and has won several prizes, most notably with the New York Lyric Opera, the National Opera Association, the Florida Grand Opera, the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the George London Foundation, and the Giulio Gari Foundation. She was a National Semi-Finalist in the 2012 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. www.kathrynleemhuis.com.

Andrew Fuchs

Tenor Andrew Fuchs’ wide-ranging repertoire includes an abundance of early music, performing with such ensembles as Pegasus, ARTEK, TENET, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, and most recently as a new member of the GRAMMY-nominated quartet New York Polyphony, whose extensive touring takes the acclaimed ensemble to major concert series and festivals around the world. Andrew is an alumnus of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar and the Tanglewood Music Center, and holds degrees from the University of Kansas and Stony Brook University. www.andrew-fuchs.com.

About Randall Scarlata
Baritone Randall Scarlata has been praised by The New York Times as "an intelligent and communicative singer" with a "compelling desire to bring texts to life." He has also been acclaimed for his "extraordinary vocal range and colour palette" and "ability to traverse so many different singing styles" (MusicWeb International). The Daily Telegraph (London) adds "Randall Scarlata sings with the assurance of one with nothing to prove." Randall Scarlata has appeared on concert stages throughout Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and Asia. He has been a soloist with the Philadelphia and Minnesota Orchestras, and with the Pittsburgh, San Francisco, American, Sydney, Ulster, Tonkünstler, National, New World, and BBC Symphonies, as well as the early music groups Wiener Akademie, Grand Tour, Tempesta di Mare, and Musica Angelica, among others. Many of the world's great music festivals have sought him out as a soloist, including the Ravinia, Marlboro, Edinburgh, Norfolk, Vienna, Music at Menlo, Gilmore, Salzburg, Norfolk, Aspen, and Spoleto (Italy) festivals. Mr. Scarlata is co-artistic director of the Alpenkammermusik Chamber Music Festival in Carinthia, Austria during the summer, and gives masterclasses throughout the United States and abroad. In 2019, he joined the faculty of the Tanglewood Music Center, and the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. He has also served on the faculties of West Chester University and SUNY Stony Brook. He has given world premieres of works by George Crumb, Paul Moravec, Richard Danielpour, Ned Rorem, Benjamin CS Boyle, Lori Laitman, Thea Musgrave, and many others. His recording of Schubert's Winterreise with pianist Gilbert Kalish was honored with a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Vocal Solo. www.randallscarlata.com.

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