Rodriguez Sings Puccini at UALR Opera Theatre Benefit
Rodriguez Sings Puccini at UALR Opera Theatre Benefit Feb. 19
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Jan. 12, 2009) – UALR presents “Puccini Paradiso,” featuring tenor Dominick Rodriguez, who studied at the University of Minnesota and is gaining attention as an international opera star, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 pm in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the UALR Fine Arts Building. The concert will benefit UALR’s Opera Theatre.
Tickets are $75, including a champagne reception following the concert. Funds raised will benefit the Opera Theatre production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, to be performed in April. For tickets or for more information, call the Music Department Box Office at 501-569-8993.
A native of Buffalo, New York, Rodriguez has performed a number of operatic roles, including Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohèmeand the title role in Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann. He is a frequent performer in Italy, where he has sung Ruggero in Puccini’s La Rondine and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor.
Rodriguez has been selected as a Young American Artist by Glimmerglass Opera for 2010 and has also performed with St. Louis Opera and Central City Opera in Denver. The tenor is also in demand in the concert field, where he has been a soloist in major works such as Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Edward Crafts, director of the UALR Opera Theatre, said of Rodriguez: “Dominick has the perfect combination of attributes for Puccini – beautiful sound, passionate delivery and exciting command of the vocal range. I believe he is going to be an operatic super-star, and I am so excited that we are able to introduce him to Little Rock. This should be the hottest opera ticket in town this year – a chance to hear him before he goes to the Met.”
Other performers include former Metropolitan Opera baritone Edward Crafts and former Chicago Lyric Opera soprano Susan Belcher, both of whom are on the faculty at UALR.
The UALR Concert Choir, directed by assistant professor of music Bevan Keating, and members of the voice and piano faculties will accompany the performers. The concert will include excerpts from popular Puccini operas including La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Turandot and Manon Lescaut.
