Robert Porco conducts The Cleveland Orchestra in Handel's Messiah at Severance Hall on December 10 and 12

Vocal soloists are soprano Mary Wilson, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, tenor Alek Shrader, and bass-baritone John Relyea

CLEVELAND, November 10, 2009 ’Äì Robert Porco, The Cleveland Orchestra’Äôs director of choruses, will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in performances of Handel’Äôs Messiah at Severance Hall on Thursday, December 10, and Saturday, December 12, at 8:00 p.m. The performances will be given in observance of the 250th anniversary of Handel’Äôs death (April 14, 1759). Vocal soloists for Messiah will be soprano Mary Wilson, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, tenor Alek Shrader, and bass-baritone John Relyea. With these performances, Ms. Wilson makes her Severance Hall debut and Mr. Costanzo makes his Cleveland Orchestra debut. The Cleveland Orchestra Chamber Chorus, prepared by Robert Porco, will also perform.

The program consists of a single work, Handel’Äôs Messiah, with an intermission between Parts I and II.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Soprano Mary Wilson is cultivating a wide-ranging career performing chamber music, oratorio, and operatic repertoire. As an interpreter of Baroque repertoire, especially works by Handel, she has appeared with American Bach Soloists, Bach Society of St. Louis, Baltimore Handel Choir, Boston Baroque, Carmel Bach Festival, Florida Bach Festival, and Musica Angelica. Her engagements this season include the role of Oriana in Handel’Äôs Amadigi di Gaula with Boston Baroque, Mahler’Äôs Symphony No. 4 with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Bach’Äôs Mass in B minor and the Mozart Requiem with Florida Baroque, Monteverdi’Äôs Vespers of 1610 with Boston Baroque, and Bach’Äôs St. John Passion with Musica Angelica. Ms. Wilson made her Cleveland Orchestra debut as a soloist in Mendelssohn’Äôs A Midsummer Night’Äôs Dream at the Blossom Festival in July 2008.
Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo began performing professionally at the age of 11 when he appeared in the Broadway touring production of Falsettos. In 2009, he was a Grand Finals Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. During the 2009-10 season, Mr. Costanzo makes his New York City Opera debut as Armindo in Handel’Äôs Partenope and his New York Philharmonic debut as Prince Go-Go in Ligeti’Äôs Le Grand Macabre. In the summer of 2010, he will sing the title role in Glimmerglass Opera’Äôs new production of Handel’Äôs Tolomeo. Following his debut performances with The Cleveland Orchestra at these concerts, he travels to Carnegie Hall for performances of Messiah with Musica Sacra.
Tenor Alek Shrader, a winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, made his San Francisco Opera mainstage debut during the 2008-09 season as Nemorino in L’ÄôElisir d’Äôamore. In March and April 2009, he sang the role of Count Almaviva in Opera Cleveland’Äôs production of The Barber of Seville. He was a featured soloist in the 2009 Metropolitan Opera Concert in the Park series. During the 2009-10 season, he makes his European debut as Tamino in The Magic Flute at the Grand Thˆ©ˆ¢tre de Bordeaux and appears in the Mozart Requiem with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. At the end of the season, he will make his Santa Fe Opera debut in the title role of Albert Herring. Mr. Shrader made his Cleveland Orchestra debut as a soloist in performances of Bach’Äôs Magnificat and excerpts from Handel’Äôs Messiah in December 2006.
Bass-baritone John Relyea has appeared in many of the world’Äôs most celebrated opera houses and remains in high demand throughout the concert world, performing with leading orchestras across the United States and in Europe. This season, he makes his debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Mephistopheles in The Damnation of Faust and returns to the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of The Marriage of Figaro. He also appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Dresden Staatskapelle. Mr. Relyea made his Cleveland Orchestra debut in January 1998 as a soloist in Bach’Äôs Mass in B minor and most recently appeared with the Orchestra at the Blossom Festival in July 2004.

TICKET PRICES (Add $5 for Saturday): Orchestra: $66, $44; Dress Circle: $87, $51; Balcony: $66, $51, $31.
TICKET SERVICES:
The Severance Hall Ticket Office is located in the Smith Lobby. The entrance and 15-minute Ticket Service parking are along East Boulevard. Single tickets for all concerts in the 2009-10 season are now on sale.
Severance Hall Ticket Office Hours:
M-F 9-6
Sat. 10-6
Closed Sundays and major holidays, except for those days with performances, when the Ticket Office opens three hours before the concert.
To charge tickets by telephone on American Express, Discover Card, MasterCard, and Visa, call Cleveland Orchestra Ticket Services at (216) 231-1111 (Cleveland) or 800-686-1141 during the regular ticket office hours listed above. Subscriptions and single tickets are also available through The Cleveland Orchestra’Äôs website at clevelandorchestra.com. The website offers secure ticket transactions with any major credit card and provides complete concert listings.

FREE CONCERT PREVIEWS:
Concert Previews will be given prior to the December 10 and 12 concerts, beginning at 7:00 p.m., in the Concert Hall. Hugh Floyd, director of choral activities at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, will give the Preview. Concert Previews are designed to enrich the concert-going experience by providing historical background and critical insight into the music performed at each concert. This series is funded by a generous endowment gift from Dorothy Humel Hovorka.

PARKING:
For evening subscription concerts at Severance Hall, parking can be purchased for $10 per vehicle, when space permits, in the Campus Center Garage (the underground garage located directly behind Severance Hall). Pre-paid parking for the Campus Center Garage can be purchased in advance through the Ticket Office at the cost of $14 per concert (this includes City of Cleveland parking tax and handling fee). The pre-paid parking ensures patrons a parking space. Availability of these pre-paid parking passes is limited.
For further information, or to order pre-paid parking, patrons should call the Cleveland Orchestra Ticket Office during regular office hours at (216) 231-1111 or 800-686-1141. Pre-paid parking passes are also available through The Cleveland Orchestra’Äôs website at clevelandorchestra.com.