The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra presents the concert version of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot, conducted by Conductor Laureate Alfred Savia, on Saturday, May 14 at 7 p.m. at the Victory Theatre.

Stage Director Jon Truitt returns to Evansville to work with three critically acclaimed main cast soloists, including Canadian-American soprano Othalie Graham as Turandot, Puerto Rican tenor Rafael Dávila as Calaf, and Greek soprano Eleni Calenos as Liu. Included in the supporting cast are baritone Warren Fremling as Timur, baritone Ian Murrell as Ping, tenor Joseph McBrayer as Pang, tenor Andy Flanagin as Pong, and tenor Nicholas Rhoades as the Emperor Altoum. Members of the Evansville Philharmonic Chorus complete the cast.

The three-act lyric drama is the exotic tale of three riddles that stand before any suitor wishing to marry Princess Turandot, and one wrong answer means death. A tour de force for orchestra and chorus, Giacomo Puccini’s opera of ancient China is told through extremely sumptuous and evocative music. Its impassioned “Nessun Dorma,” popularized by Luciano Pavarotti, is the most famous aria of all time. Turandot ranks among the top 20 operas in terms of its public presentations worldwide.

Giacomo Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming from the late-Baroque era. Though his early work was firmly rooted in traditional late-19th-century Romantic Italian opera he later developed his work in the realistic verismo style, of which he became one of the leading exponents. His most renowned works are La bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), Madama Butterfly (1904), and Turandot (1924), all of which are among the most frequently performed and recorded of all operas.

Soprano Othalie Graham continues to receive critical acclaim throughout North America and is widely known for her interpretations of the title roles in Turandot and Aida and her commitment to the Wagnerian repertoire. Recent performances have included the title role in Turandot with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; the title role in Aida with Opera Carolina, Toledo Opera, and at the Teatro Greco di Siracusa in Sicily; the title role in Ariadne Auf Naxos with Festival Opera; the role of Minnie in La Fanciulla del West with Nashville Opera and Indianapolis Opera.

Recent concert highlights include all-Wagner programs in Mexico City at Sala Nezahualcóyotl and the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Lima, Peru, and with the Washington Chorus at The Kennedy Center; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with The Philadelphia Orchestra; the Verdi Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Mississippi Symphony Orchestra; and the Britten War Requiem with the Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. 

Graham is featured on the Brampton Arts Walk of Fame in her hometown of Brampton, Ontario, honoring those who have achieved excellence in the arts and entertainment industry. She previously was the first-place winner of the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition in the Wagner Division, the first-place winner of the Joyce Dutka Competition, a first-place winner in the Wagner Division of the Liederkranz Competition, winner of the Jean Chalmers prize in the Canadian Music Competition, winner of the Edward Johnson Competition, and first place recipient of the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques Competition. 

Tenor Rafael Dávila's recent engagements include his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Don Jose in Carmen, as Des Grieux in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut for San Francisco Opera, with Lyric Opera of Chicago in the premiere of Jimmy Lopez’s Bel Canto, and his debut at the Mariinsky Theater in St. 

Petersburg last year in a Zarzuela Gala Concert. This season Rafael is back at the Metropolitan Opera for the fourth consecutive season after his debut in 2017 to be involved in the production of Tosca as well as a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlos. Apart from the Metropolitan Opera in NY, his emblematic role of Don Jose in Carmen has also been heard in Miami, Palm Beach, Naples, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Washington D.C., and New Zealand.

His operatic repertoire also includes Puccini’s Turandot, La fanciulla del West, Madama Butterfly, Il Trovatore, as well as the operas Lucia Di Lammermoor by Donizetti and Bellini’s Norma. He has performed the operas, Norma, Carmen, La forza del destino, and Don Carlo at the Kennedy Center for Washington National Opera.

Dávila has been nominated two times at The Grammy Awards for the recordings of Ariel Ram rez’s Misa Criolla and Rafael Hernández’s operetta Cofresi. 

Soprano Eleni Calenos is capturing admiration from critics and audiences for the clarity, warmth, and beauty of her voice, and her dignified characterizations. This season, Ms. Calenos appeared as a soloist in The Seven Deaths of Maria Callas, a Marina Abramovic project with the Greek National Opera singing Tosca. She also created the role of Crise Bozzari in the world premiere of the opera Marco Bozzari with the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra. Upcoming performances include Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Athens State Symphony and the role of Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth with Opera Idaho.

Ms. Calenos boasts a long list of awards including the Gerda Lissner Foundation award (2010), and the "Judges Award" from the Connecticut Opera Guild Competition (2009). She was a finalist in the Oratorio Society of NY competition (2010), the Renata Tebaldi International Vocal Competition in San Marino (2009), and the Concurso del Canto de Bilbao (2008).

Eleni was a member of Boston University's Opera Institute between the years 2006 and 2008 and holds a master’s degree in Vocal Performance from Queens College in New York, as well as a Diploma in Violoncello Performance from the Municipal Conservatory of Thessaloniki, Greece. 

Concert Sponsor is the Martha & Merritt DeJong Foundation. Guest Artists Sponsor is William E. Schmidt Foundation. Maestro Sponsor is Friends of the Maestro and Chorus Sponsor is Friends of the Chorus. Stage Director Sponsorship is in memory of Dorothy Parsons. 

Purchase tickets at www.evansvillephilharmonic.org, call the EPO Box Office at (812) 425-5050, Ext 300, or purchase at the door two hours before the concert.