voices of our time
Join us for a thrilling concert featuring Marion Anderson Award winner, NBC’s The Voice finalist, and Metropolitan Opera performer, countertenor John Holiday! A multi-genre singer, Mr. Holiday has taken the vocal world by storm, performing at world-renowned venues across the globe.
Made possible in part by a generous gift from the estate of Patricia Edwards.
Saturday, April 15, 2023 | 7:30 PM
Maryland Hall | 801 Chase Street, Annapolis, MD
COVID-19 RESPONSE
The Annapolis Opera is currently following the COVID-19 safety policy of Maryland Hall. Masks are encouraged for all performances but are optional inside the building and theaters. Seating is at full capacity and not socially distanced unless otherwise specified in the event description. This policy is subject to change at any time based on current federal, state and local government mandates and public safety issues.
VOICES OF OUR TIME ARTISTS
JOHN HOLIDAY, COUNTERTENOR
Countertenor John Holiday has established himself as “one of the finest countertenors of his generation” (Los Angeles Times). His voice has been praised as “a thing of astonishing beauty” (New Yorker), “arrestingly powerful, secure and dramatically high” (Wall Street Journal), “exceptional [and] strong…even in its highest range” (The New York Times) and “timeless” (Washington Post). Holiday’s unique voice and powerful story have been the subject of profiles in The New Yorker, CNN’s Great Big Story, Los Angeles Times, and more.
2021-22 is a season of exciting debuts for Holiday, beginning with his debut at the Hollywood Bowl under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel in an all-Gershwin program with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; followed by his anticipated Metropolitan Opera debut in Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice as Orpheus’s Double under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin; as well as his debut with the New York Philharmonic in Handel’s Messiah under the baton of Jeannette Sorrell; and capping off the season with his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Barrie Kosky’s production of Agrippina in the role of Nerone. Holiday returns to The Barbican for a program of sacred and secular works by Vivaldi, and he will also reprise his signature role of the Refugee in Jonathan Dove’s Flight with Utah Opera and The Dallas Opera.
An acclaimed concert singer, Holiday has performed at world-renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, London’s Barbican Center, and the Philharmonie de Paris. His career highlights have included a tour with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the Sorceress in Barrie Kosky’s production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice as Orpheus’s Double at the Los Angeles Opera; the world premiere of Daniel Bernard Roumain’s We Shall Not Be Moved with Opera Philadelphia and the Dutch National Opera; title role in Xerxes at the Glimmerglass Festival; and Caesar in Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto at Wolf Trap Opera. In addition to the traditional concert performances and recitals, Holiday has curated The John Holiday Experience (JHE) to showcase his affinity and talent for many different genres that includes classical, pop, jazz, and R&B. He has performed the program on a national scale, bringing it to Dallas, Des Moines, and Dayton, with plans to continue the eclectic evening of song in his upcoming seasons.
JONATHAN KING, PIANIST
Celebrated as a “fresh presence,” and “fully alive” (Washington Post), Jonathan King is an artist “whose attention to textural detail and rhythmic precision leave nothing to be desired” (ArtsFuse). He is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland School of Music, where he has directed the University Chorale and serves as Assistant Conductor, Chorus Master, and Junior Lecturer with Maryland Opera Studio. King previously served as assistant conductor with Grammy® Award-winning ensemble University Musical Society Choral Union, and has prepared choirs to work with eminent conductors including Leonard Slatkin (Detroit Symphony Orchestra), Marin Alsop (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra), and Gianandrea Noseda (National Symphony Orchestra). He has also worked closely with American conductor John Nelson, assisting in several performances with the Chicago Bach Project, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, and the MasterWorks Festival in Winona Lake, Indiana.
As “a deft and sensitive accompanist” (Chicago Tribune), King has served as a répétiteur with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and at the Oregon Bach Festival, where he also served as assistant conductor during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. As a collaborative pianist, King has worked with celebrated singers including mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges and baritone Will Liverman, with whom he was a semi-finalist in the 2015 and 2017 Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competitions in London.
King holds two Master of Music degrees in piano chamber music and choral conducting from the University of Michigan, where he was the recipient of the Edward P. Frolich and Brehm Fellowship awards, and a Bachelor or Music degree from Wheaton College (IL). His mentors include Martin Katz, Julius Drake, John Nelson, Edward Maclary, Craig Kier, Michael Baitzer, Daniel Paul Horn, and Jerry Blackstone.
