July 19, 2023 Natalie Mann, soprano Jeffery Panko, piano
PROGRAM
Summertime George Gershwin (1898-1937) From Porgy and Bess
The Girls of Summer Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021)
From Marry Me a Little New England Folk Songs Steve Danyew (b. 1983)
Wake, little sprout Bee! I’m Expecting You! Midsummer Night Autumn Fields A Country Boy in Winter Mai (Op. 1, No. 2)
Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) Chanson d’Amour (Op. 27, No. 1) Notre Amour (Op. 23, No. 2)
Knoxville: Summer of 1915 Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Song to the Moon Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) From Rusalka Natalie is an active recitalist and champion of contemporary music, which has allowed her to work with living composers on albums and sing on the world premiere opera recording of “The Mask in the Mirror” by Richard Thompson. Opera news wrote, “…Sarah, sung by Natalie Mann, whose ingratiating vibrato makes her character unmistakably seductive.” She is currently working on an album of music featuring multiple world premiere recordings by American composers titled “An Evening on the Mezzanine”
As a concert soloist, she has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the South Shore Orchestra during two New Year’s tours of China, and the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and the Ninth Symphony. Her operatic roles include Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth and Ameila in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, Mozart’s Donna Anna in Don Giovanniand the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen and Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust.
Critics praised of her portrayal of the title role in Suor Angelica: According to Peter Jacobi of the Herald-Times, “Her soprano soared with fullness of tone through the climaxes; no high note seemed to tax her.” Ms. Mann’s concert appearances have been equally well received. Of her Carnegie Hall recital, Abigail Wright of The
Opera Insider observed: “Ms. Mann does an excellent job of continuing her brilliantly sustained legato, undeniably stunning high notes, and impressive quality of pitch and tone center across the board.” Ms. Mann has received a Metropolitan Opera Encouragement Award and has been a finalist in both the Gerda Lissner Competition and the American Prize for Art Song. She has been a winner of the Audience Favorite Award in the David W. Scott Memorial Competition and the Hawaii Public Radio International Art Song Competition.
She holds advanced degrees from Indiana University and the University of Wollongong in Australia, funded through the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar program, as well as a Bachelor of Music from Butler University. https://www.nataliemann.com/ If you enjoyed this performance, please consider donating! Here’s the link: https://www.theoldchurch.org/support/ https://www.theoldchurch.org/ https://www.theoldchurch.org/lunchtim…
