SARASOTA CONCERT ASSOCIATION PRESENTS THOMAS HAMPSON

Sarasota Concert Association's "Great Performers" season continues with acclaimed American baritone Thomas Hampson on Monday, January 30, 2012, 8 p.m. A recitalist, opera singer and recording artist, Hampson is a star baritone of the Metropolitan Opera and other major opera houses and was a favorite soloist of Leonard Bernstein's.

Thomas Hampson enjoys a singular international career as a recitalist, opera singer, and recording artist, and maintains an active interest in teaching, research, and technology. He has performed in the world’s most important concert halls and opera houses with many of today’s most renowned singers, pianists, conductors, and orchestras. He is considered one of the most important interpreters of German romantic song.

Hampson began his 2011-12 season at the San Francisco Opera, where he created the central role in the world-premiere production of Christopher Theofanidis’s "Heart of a Soldier," commemorating the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Other operatic engagements this season include role debuts as Iago in Verdi’s " Otello," and the title role in Hindemith’s "Mathis der Maler" (both at the Zurich Opera), and his house debut as Verdi’s "Macbeth" at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Much of Hampson’s recent work has been devoted to the “Song of America” project, which commemorates the 250th anniversary of what is recognized as the first notable song written by an American,”My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free,” composed in 1759 by Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

“We’re thrilled to present this acclaimed artist to Sarasota audiences," says John Goodman, president of the Sarasota Concert Association. “Mr. Hampson will perform selections from his 'Song of America' project, which include songs by Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Charles Ives, and other prominent American composers."

The concert is at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, in Sarasota. Individual tickets are $35, $45, $55, and $60. Tickets and information for the "Great Performers" series are available by calling 941-955-0040 or visiting: www.sarasotaconcertassociation.org.