On Sunday, March 26, at 4 p.m., join MacArthur genius composer Matthew Aucoin, “the most promising operatic talent in a generation” (The New York Times Magazine), for a discussion of his new book, “The Impossible Art: Adventures in Opera.” Champagne reception to follow with light from Scarborough Fare Catering. Complementary signed copies of Aucoin’s book while supplies last.
PLUS: A performance by special guest soprano Magdalena Kuźma, currently in her first year of the prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera! This season she is appearing as Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at The Glimmerglass Festival, Giannetta in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore at the Metropolitan Opera, and Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at Opera Orlando, among others.
Aucoin’s book is a user’s guide to opera that examines 400 years of the art and its librettists. He describes the creation of his own groundbreaking new work, “Eurydice,” and shares his reflections on the past, present, and future of opera. The event will help celebrate the launch of plans for the new Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Exhibit and Performance Center, funded by a $1.5 million gift from the Wachenheim family.
In the Boston Globe, John Domini called Aucoin’s book “a magnificent blend of criticism and rapture.” Thomas Forrest Kelly, in Harvard Magazine, writes: “Like Stravinsky and Rosen before him, Aucoin displays a prose style, a thoughtfulness, a brazenness of opinion arising from expertise, that puts him in a league with those predecessors.”
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Official bio: Matthew Aucoin (b. 1990) is an American composer, conductor, writer, and pianist, and a MacArthur Fellow. He has worked as a composer and conductor with the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, American Repertory Theater, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Music Academy of the West. He was the Los Angeles Opera’s Artist in Residence from 2016 to 2020, and is a cofounder of the American Modern Opera Company.
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Official bio: Magdalena Kuźma: Polish-American soprano Magdalena Kuźma is promptly establishing a name for herself in both concert and operatic repertoire. She is currently in her first year in the prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. This season she is appearing as Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at The Glimmerglass Festival, Giannetta in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore at the Metropolitan Opera, Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at Opera Orlando, and solo recitals with LyricFest, Wigmore Hall, and Merkin Hall. In summer 2022, Magdalena sang Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen at Santa Fe Opera. Previous credits include the soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Richmond Symphony, Adina in L’elisir d’amore at Yale University, Lila in Cold Mountain with Music Academy of the West, both Blanche in Poulenc’s Dialogues de Carmélites and Anna in Die Sieben Todsünden with Oberlin Opera, in addition to several mainstage roles at the Chautauqua Institute and Teatro Petrarca. Magdalena recently won first place in the Butler International, SAS Performing Arts, ACPC Sembrich, Pasadena Opera, Mississippi Opera, and Concert Artists Guild competitions; placed second at the Metropolitan Opera Regionals and Shreveport Opera Competition, and third with Audience Favorite in the National Opera Association Competition. Magdalena is an alumna of the Santa Fe Opera Program, Merola Opera Program, Ravinia Festival, Music Academy of the West, Chautauqua Institute, Renée Fleming’s SongStudio at Carnegie Hall, Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists Vocal Academy, and The Bach Institute at Emmanuel Music. Magdalena holds degrees in music and psychology from Oberlin College & Conservatory, The Juilliard School, and Yale University where she received the Dean’s Award and was honored as recipient of The Harriet Gibbs Fox Memorial Prize, awarded to a first-year student who has achieved the highest grade-point average.
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The Jay Heritage Center (JHC) is an educational nonprofit and the steward of the Jay Estate in Rye, New York, a 23-acre National Historic Landmark site and public park. JHC hosts programs in American history, social justice, environmental stewardship, architecture, and preservation. Learn more at jayheritagecenter.org or email peraino.jhc@gmail.com for more information.