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Internationally acclaimed Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and American soprano Renée Fleming have teamed with veteran Broadway conductor Paul Gemignani to record a superb selection of show-stopping Broadway songs. Performing solos and duets from contemporary productions such as "Ragtime," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Les Miserables," "Passion," and "The Secret Garden," as well as numbers from classic shows such as "The King and I" and "The Music Man," Terfel and Fleming are captured in concert at Terfel's annual Faenol Festival in north Wales. For one glorious summer evening, the beautiful Welsh countryside rings out with the sound of Broadway at its very best.
Founded by Bryn Terfel in 2000, the three-day Faenol Festival is held on the grounds of the Faenol estate near his hometown and presents works from a different musical genre each evening -- opera, musical theater, and contemporary Welsh music. MUSIC UNDER THE STARS showcases the festival's evening of musical theater, with Bryn Terfel joined by soprano Renée Fleming. Biographies of several of the composers and songwriters whose songs they perform can be found in the Encyclopedia of Composers & Songwriters. Also, browse the Q&A on American musicals with Thomas Hischak, author of numerous books on the subject and professor of theatre at S.U.N.Y. Cortland, in Ask the Expert, and watch extended video excerpts from the program in the Video Jukebox. See the list of songs featured in MUSIC UNDER THE STARS, and read an essay by writer Fred Plotkin that examines how artists like Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel can so successfully traverse both the opera and musical theater repertoire. Lastly, watch excerpts of interviews conducted with the two stars prior to the 2002 Faenol Festival in Dialogue.
Special funding for this program was provided by the Cornelius V. Starr Fund for Arts Programming at Thirteen/WNET New York, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, and the Irene Diamond Fund.
Many local PBS stations are offering the RENÉE FLEMING & BRYN TERFEL: MUSIC UNDER THE STARS videocassette, DVD, and its companion CD, RENÉE & BRYN: UNDER THE STARS, as Pledge gifts. To order these items,
pledge now. Or you may purchase any of these items from WNET Video Distribution.
Top banner photos: Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel. |
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Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel are accompanied by the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera. |
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Paul Gemignani is the guest conductor of the orchestra, which was founded in 1970. |
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