Page 24 - The Noise November 2016

SHARING CLASSICAL MUSIC, BY SONG & STRING AT YAVAPAI COLLEGE THIS MONTH
BY MJ GRADY
Amy Shoremount-Obra fell in love with opera in high school, after turning her musi- cal theatre pipes loose on Mozart’s Magic Flute. Dian D’Avanzo was more cautious, taking her violin to college before gradually realizing she didn’t want to do anything else.
Along the way, both women became stellar performers and advocates for their music.
And both will be performing at Yavapai College this month.
In successive weeks, Mses. Shoremount-Obra and D’Avanzo will be showcasing classical
music’s best to Prescott-area audiences. As one of Opera’s Rising Stars, Ms. Shoremount- Obra will be one of five young Metropolitan Opera-seasoned performers rattling the rafters at Yavapai College Performing Arts Center on Saturday, November 5. Ms. D’Avanzo, a Phoenix Symphony violinist and assistant concertmaster, will join three accomplished com- rades on the YCPAC stage November 12, when her Pirazzi String Quartet serenades an intimate crowd over drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
“I do feel like an ambassador,” Ms. Shoremount-Obra laughs, via phone from her New Jersey home. A Juilliard soprano and semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera’s national au- ditions, Ms. Shoremount-Obra made her MET debut in 2014. She has sung Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Musetta in La Bohème and will perform in Verdi’s Nabucco at the MET this season. Singing at Yavapai College may be a different sort of gig, but she says it’s impor- tant because it serves opera’s mission. “Often, people don’t have the opportunity to find an opera house and give the music a try. That’s why events like these are nice, because we’re bringing opera to people in their own environment.”
“Opera’s Rising Stars,” she says, will also let audiences sample multiple works in the way no single performance would. “We’ll sing music from Mozart; then selections from several operas — Verdi, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky; and finally, four arias and a duet from Carmen.” This gives Ms. Shoremount-Obra and fellow vocalists Keith Harris, Samuel Levine and Jennifer Johnson Cano great material. But it also gives audiences a fuller appreciation of what opera can offer.
“People have pre-conceived notions about opera. I think a lot of it comes from the Bugs Bunny cartoons we saw as kids. Opera is a more diverse and innovative art form than people imagine. It is performed all over the world, in great halls, outdoor arenas and in
small spaces. Today, it reaches out to younger audiences using technologies that make it a visual experience as well as a musical one. It’s alive and growing as an art form.”
Ms. D’Avanzo finds classical music just as vibrant. In fact, the Phoenix Symphony violin- ist helped form the Pirazzi Quartet to embrace its range. “Chamber music is a very different experience,” she says. “All string players love to do both. In the symphony, we have 65-75 musicians and play great works backed by trumpets and all that wonderful sound. When the four of us play, it’s a different repertoire, more individual expression — and more pres- sure, too. It’s the best of both worlds.”
For more than ten years, the Pirazzi has allowed she and her husband, fellow cellist Mi- chael D’Avanzo, violist Matthieu Page-Bouchard and violinist Karen Sinclair to bring classic music into a variety of settings. “We play for PSO fundraisers, schools. We’re playing a golf club next week,” she laughs. “Our mission statement is to play quality music of every kind for everyone in the community who wants to listen.” On November 12, YCPAC audi- ences will be listening to an eclectic program. “A third light classical — Vivaldi, Bach; one third from the romantic repertoire: Dvorak and Borodin; the last third we’ll do something Broadway, almost pop. Maybe a tango. It’s a festive atmosphere — people will be dining — so it’s not a place to play Death and the Maiden.”
The playlist may still be in flux, but Ms. D’Avanzo says their fondness for Prescott remains rock-solid. “We come to Prescott eight times a year — more than anywhere else — because they take such good care of us,” she says. “It’s a very supportive community, and we’re look- ing forward to playing there again.”
“Opera’s Rising Stars” perform Saturday, November 5 at 7:30PM. Tickets are $33 to $48; The Pirazzi String Quartet plays Saturday, November 12 at 5:30PM. Tickets are $45. Both performances will be held at the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 East Sheldon Street, in Prescott. For tickets, or more information, contact the YCPAC Box Office at (928) 776-2000, or visit: www.ycpac.com .
PHOTOS, FROM LEFT: The Pirazzi String Quartet; operatic vocalist Amy Shoremount-Obra. PHOTOS BY HAUTE PHOTOGRAPHY & FAY FOX
24 • NOVEMBER 2016