Frederica von Stade to appear at Phillips Center

January 23, 2007

GAINESVILLE, FL –– Frederica von Stade and Samuel Ramey will appear at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 10.

Frederica von Stade is one of the world’s most beloved performers. Described by The New York Times as “one of America’s finest artists and singers,” she has appeared with every leading American opera company, including the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Los Angeles Opera. Her career in Europe has been no less spectacular, with appearance at Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera and the Paris Opera.

Von Stade made her debut in 1970 at the Metropolitan Opera. Since then, she has sung nearly all of her great roles with them. The company celebrated her 30th anniversary in 2000 with “The Merry Widow,” a production specifically chosen for von Stade. Now in the fourth decade of her career, von Stade continues to create compelling new stage portrayals. In 2005, Los Angeles audiences saw her first performances of the title role in “La Grand Duchesse de Gerolstein,” a new production directed by famed movie director Garry Marshall for the Los Angeles Opera.

Besides her more than 70 recordings, von Stade has appeared in a number of specials for PBS and other networks. She holds honorary doctorates from Yale University, Boston University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Georgetown University School of Medicine and her alma mater, the Mannes School of Music. In 1998, von Stade was awarded France’s highest honor in the Arts when she was appointed as an officer of L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 1983 she was honored with an award given at The White House by President Reagan in recognition of her significant contribution to the arts.

Von Stade will be joined onstage by Samuel Ramey. For almost three decades, Ramey has reigned as one of the music world’s foremost interpreters of bass and bass-baritone operatic roles. While Ramey’s vocal talents have enabled him to portray a variety of characters – such as the capricious libertine in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and the troubled preacher Olin Blitch in Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah” – he is, perhaps, best known for his portrayals of devils and villains, including Berlioz’s devil in “La damnation de faust,” the sinister Nick Shadow in Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress” and the “tour de force of all villains” in Offenbach’s “Les contes d’Hoffman.” His most performed role, however, is Méphistophélès in Gounod’s “Faust” – he has performed this role over 200 times in more than 20 productions.

Tickets are available by calling the Phillips Center Box Office at (352) 392-ARTS (2787) or by calling Ticketmaster at (904) 353-3309. Orders may be faxed to (352) 846-1562. Tickets are also available in person at the Phillips Center Box Office, University Box Office at the University of Florida Reitz Student Union and all Ticketmaster outlets; and on the Web at www.ticketmaster.com.

The Phillips Center Box Office is open from noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and two hours before performances.