Press Release

For Immediate Release:
January 10, 2006

Soprano Catherine Malfitano, acclaimed for her commanding vocalism and riveting dramatic presence, and French pianist Pierre Vallet, guest assistant conductor for the Metropolitan Opera, will lead public masterclasses for New England Conservatory singers February 1 and 9 at the Conservatory.

Malfitano has appeared at all of the world's leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and La Scala. Her stage repertoire of more than 70 roles spans the range of operatic history from Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, to Polly Peachum in Weill's Three Penny Opera, to Cleopatra in Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra. A champion of 20th century music, she has sung the world premieres of several works including Conrad Susa's Transformations, Thomas Pasatieri's Washington Square, and William Bolcom's A View from the Bridge. She has made several recordings on both the EMI and Decca/London labels, including a performance of Salome with Christoph von Dohnanyi and the Vienna Philharmonic. In the summer of 2005, Malfitano added another facet to her artistic profile when she stage directed a production of Madama Butterfly at the Central City Opera in Colorado.

Pierre Vallet has served as coach for the Bastille Opera in Paris, the New Israeli Opera, and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow where he made his unexpected debut as a conductor replacing at the last minute the ailing conductor in a production of Manon. He has worked with some of the world’s leading conductors, including James Levine, Alain Lombard, Gary Bertini, James Conlon, Julius Rudel, Mark Elder, and Bertrand de Billy. With Seiji Ozawa, he has collaborated on 12 productions including the three Mozart/ Da Ponte operas, Jenufa, and Peter Grimes. Vallet has also been named as Ozawa’s musical assistant for that conductor’s opera productions in Japan with repertory including Wozzeck, Falstaff, Moses und Aaron, and Elektra.

Vallet has assisted in the preparation of three recordings including a recent solo aria disc by Marcelo Alvarez for Sony Classical. As an accompanist, he has appeared with Ying Huang, Kyoko Saito, Marvis Martin, and with Denyce Graves at the White House. He has also performed at New York’s Lincoln Center, Fort Worth’s Van Cliburn Concert Series, and Boston’s Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum Concert Series. In addition to maintaining a private studio in New York City, he has served on the faculty of The Julliard School, the Tanglewood Music Center, the Ravinia Festival, and the International Vocal Arts Institute. He has also given regular masterclasses at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the University of Minnesota, the Houston Grand Opera Studio, and Studio MET Young Artists Program.

Both masterclasses are free and open to the public. The schedule follows:

February 1, 2006
Catherine Malfitano masterclass
St. Botolph Hall, 7 p.m.
241 St. Botolph St. (corner Gainsborough St. and St. Botolph)

Febraury 9, 2006
Pierre Vallet masterclass
Williams Hall, 7 p.m.
30 Gainborough St. Boston

For more information, call the NEC Concert Line at (617) 585-1122 or visit NEC on the web at www.newenglandconservatory.edu/concerts

ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY

Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 750 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.

The oldest independent school of music in the United States, NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee. Its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions. On the college level, it features training in classical, jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, world and early music. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Collaboration Programs, it provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, adults, and seniors. Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music and jazz.

NEC presents more than 600 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, 100-year old, beautifully restored concert hall. These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz and opera scenes. Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston.

NEC is co-founder and educational partner of “From the Top,” a weekly radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried by more than two hundred stations throughout the United States.