Past events

Virtuosi - A Recital of Polish Songs by Alexandra Nowakowski, soprano

Thursday, October 3, 2019, at 7:30pm

Join us for the recital "Virtuosi" by a Polish- American soprano Alexandra Nowakowski and Brent Funderburk, piano marking the bicentenary of Stanislaw Moniuszko's birth. Alexandra Nowakowski is 2018 KF Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition winner and currently a Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists at the Washington National Opera. The recital will feature works by Moniuszko, Chopin, Chopin-Viardot and Poulenc.

Virtuosi

A recital honoring the bicentenary of Stanislaw Moniuszko's birth 

by

Alexandra Nowakowski, soprano 

& 

Brent Funderburk, piano

Wine reception will follow the recital. 

Thursday, October 3, 2019, 7:30 p.m.

The Kosciuszko Foundation: 15 E 65th Street, NYC

Lowered ticket prices: $10-$20

PROGRAM:

Poulenc

Huits chansons polonaises

 Chopin

Zyczenie

Wiosna

Smutna rzeka

Moja pieszczotka

Piosnka litewska

Chopin-Viardot

Seize Ans

La Danse

Moniuszko

Czy powroci 

Matko już nie ma cię 

Łza 

Prząśniczka 

Aria Ewy

(...) pure, splendid perfection - Broad Street Review

Praised for her "impassioned singing" by Opera News, coloratura soprano Alexandra Nowakowski recently won First Prize in the Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition with the Kosciuszko Foundation. A first generation Polish-American who trained at the Academy of Vocal Arts, Alexandra is currently a Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist at the Washington National Opera where she sings Papagena and the YA performance of the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute for the 2019/20 season. In the 2018/19 season, she sang Nannetta in scenes from Falstaff with the WNO Orchestraunder Joseph Colaneri. She joined the Apollo Orchestra in music by Richard Strauss, and debuted with the Columbus Symphony for Mozart's Requiem under the baton of Rossen Milanov. She also participated in the Joyce DiDonato Master Class at Carnegie Hall, broadcast live on medici.tv. Nowakowski was the First Prize winner of the Vocal Arts DC Art Song Discovery competition, presenting a solo recital at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. In the summer of 2019 she sings Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with Wolf Trap Opera. MORE

Excellent pianist - The New York Times

Praised for his sensitive and nuanced accompanying, Brent Funderburk is being hailed as one of the most promising collaborative pianists in the industry. Equally at home in opera, art song, instrumental repertoire, and vocal coaching, Funderburk is known across the country as a respected recitalist, coach, and music director. MORE

Stanisław Moniuszko, Polish composer, conductor and educator, generally regarded as "the father of Polish opera." His opera Halka, which premiered with great success in 1858 in Warsaw, became Poland's national treasure and is known today by many world listeners. Other notable operas by the composer include: Straszny dwór  (The Haunted Manor), Flis (The Raftsman), Hrabina (The Countess) and Verbum Nobile. Stanisław Moniuszko is also recognized as a leading Polish composer of art songs. He compiled a collection of over two hundred songs called Śpiewnik domowy (Songbook for Home Use), which is a valuable counterpoint to the Romantic legacy of Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann. The most popular song in the collection is Prząśniczka. Moniuszko also wrote chamber, ballet, piano, and organ music.   

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