8 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Soprano Angela Meade
invites opera novices
to sample ‘Il Trovatore’
Astoria Music Festival midpoint
features voices, piano and strings
By PATRICK WEBB
FOR COAST WEEKEND
The Astoria Music Fes-
tival moves into its second
weekend with the world’s
hottest soprano returning —
scheduling her North Coast
appearance between opera
performances in Berlin,
Paris and Moscow.
Angela Meade will sing
Leonora in Verdi’s “Il Trova-
tore,” Sunday, June 26, the
role she sang in her debut at
the festival in 2011.
She has just completed
ive performances of the
work at the Berlin Opera
after enjoying sparkling re-
views as Leonora at the New
York Metropolitan Opera.
A bonus for Astoria au-
diences will be fellow New
York professionals joining
her on stage at the Liberty
Theater.
“I’m especially excited
this year because I have
brought a cast of my friends
and colleagues who are all
Met singers with me to per-
form ‘Il Trovatore,’ which is
one of my favorite operas,”
said Meade.
While pleased that opera
lovers will be buying tickets,
Meade invites newcomers
to the art form to enjoy the
show.
“‘Trovatore’ is a perfect
opera for someone looking
to try opera out, because
there are so many humma-
ble tunes, as well as lots of
visceral singing.”
The concert performance
will be sung in Italian with
English titles.
Keith Clark, artistic
director of the festival, is de-
lighted. “We are all honored
that she interrupts one of the
biggest international careers
to come here,” he said.
Years ago, he and Ruth
Dobson, fellow founder of
the Astoria festival, brought
Meade to the Portland
SummerFest Opera in the
Park where she sang for an
audience of 5,000.
“She came to us as a
young person and we hit it
off immediately as col-
leagues, so we have sought
out opportunities to perform
together,” Clark said.
“She fell in love with
what we are trying to do,
and she has set aside time,”
added Clark, noting they are
talking about further collab-
orations two to three years
from now.
Meade’s often-told story
began in Centralia, Washing-
ton, where she attended high
school and began singing
seriously at community col-
lege, then attended Paciic
Lutheran University in Taco-
ma, Washington. Advanced
studies in California and
Philadelphia, plus success
in 50 musical competitions,
propelled her to a profes-
sional career.
Olivia Tsui, the Cali-
fornia-based violinist and
conductor, recalls working
at a contest in Los Ange-
les about 10 years ago and
hearing Meade’s soprano.
“That young lady came in,
opened her mouth and I was
amazed,” she said. “What a
voice! It was the only time
I said, ‘Guys, this is the
one to watch.’ It is the only
time I have said that about
anybody.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Portland pianist Cary Lewis
will lead a chamber music
concert Friday, June 24 with
festival all-stars violinist Jef-
frey Thayer, violist James Van
Valkenburg, clarinetist David
Hattner and horn player Su-
san Welty.
Meade was one of the
winners of the 2007 Met-
ropolitan Opera National
Council Auditions, a process
documented in the ilm “The
Audition.” Her professional
operatic debut was in 2008
at the Met, substituting for
an ill colleague as Elvira,
the lead in Verdi’s “Ernani,”
a role she twice reprised in
New York.
Despite a world-traveling
lifestyle, performing, giving
interviews and appearing on
magazine covers, Meade is
happy to keep Astoria on her
schedule as a way of giving
back to her home region.
“I always love coming
back to the Northwest to
bring a bit of the world of
grand opera and classical
music to those who don’t
necessarily get to go to the
Metropolitan Opera or the
other great opera houses of
the world,” she said.
Meade won’t be slowing
down once Sunday’s show
is over.
“I’ll be heading off after
WEEK TWO CONCERTS
ASTORIA
MUSIC FESTIVAL
At Liberty Theater, Astoria, unless
indicated
THURSDAY, JUNE 23
7:30 p.m. “City Girl,” 1930 silent mov-
ie, shot in Oregon, with live music
by Astoria Music Festival Orchestra
members, conducted by Oregon
composer John Paul. Post-show,
meet the composer.
Friday, June 24
7:30 p.m. Chamber Music with Cary
Lewis, piano; Jefrey Thayer, violin;
James Van Valkenburg, viola; David
Hattner, clarinet; and Susan Welty,
horn.
Saturday, June 25
4 p.m. Happy Hour with cellist
Sergey Antonov
7:30 p.m. Symphonic Showcase with
Festival Orchestra: Ilya Kazantsev,
Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2;
mezzo soprano MaryAnn McCor-
mick, Mahler’s “Three songs to texts
by Friedrich Ruckert;” and Mozart’s
Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola
and orchestra, with Thayer and Van
Valkenburg.
Sunday, June 26
4 p.m. “Il Trovatore,” concert version
of Verdi’s opera, with soloists Angela
Meade, Cameron Schutza, McCor-
mick, Richard Zeller and DeAndre
Simmons. Sung in Italian with
English titles.
Wednesday, June 29
7:30 p.m. Young Artists Fellowship
Chamber Orchestra, conducted
by Olivia Tsui, at Astoria Masonic
Lodge, 1572 Franklin Ave., Astoria.
For ticket information and details
of remaining concerts, visit www.
astoriamusicfestival.org or call the
Astoria Music Festival Oice at 503-
325 9896.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Cameron Schutza, a tenor,
will sing as Manrico in “Il Tro-
vatore” Sunday.
the Astoria Music Festival
to make my debut at Teatro
Real in Madrid opposite
Plácido Domingo in Verdi’s
“I Due Foscari,” where I’ll
return in the fall to sing
‘Norma,’” said Meade,
whose rendition of the “Cas-
ta diva” aria from “Norma”
has been heralded by opera
critics as among the best of
her generation. She per-
formed the Bellini piece in
SUBMITTED PHOTO
James VanValkenburg, assistant principal viola of the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra, will perform Friday, June 24 and Satur-
day, June 25.
Astoria in 2012, her second
of four appearances at the
festival.
“Later in the fall, I’ll be
making my debuts in Paris,
Lyon and Moscow with
renowned Rossini conductor
Alberto Zedda in the title
role of Rossini’s “Ermione,”
and then inally to round out
the year I’ll be making my
debut in Seville, Spain, at