New Philharmonic Opens 2014–2015 Season Puccini’s Seminal “Tosca”

GLEN ELLYN, IL – New Philharmonic (NP), under the direction of Maestro Kirk Muspratt, opens its 2014–2015 season at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, with two concert performances of Giacomo Puccini’s famed opera, “Tosca,” Saturday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. “Tosca” will be performed in Italian with English supertitles. For tickets or more information visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000.

“Tosca,” an opera in three acts, tells the tale of the singer Floria Tosca, the painter Mario Cavaradossi whom she loves, and their betrayal at the hands of jealous Baron Scarpia. “‘Tosca’ has the perfect fire and spirit to begin our exciting 2014-2015 season,” said Maestro Muspratt. “It is a tale full of love, jealousy and intrigue and we have a chance to tell the story in such a unique, vibrant way through these concert performances.”

The Sept. 20-21 performances will feature guest soprano Karen Slack in the title role.  Slack’s voice has been lauded as a “voluptuous soprano voice with silvery top notes and a formidable chest register” by Opera Today; and San Francisco Classical Voice has noted the “great high notes she can spin back into a gorgeous piano, the kind of voice that can sing anything beautifully engaging the heart brilliantly.” Slack’s performance as Tosca precedes her upcoming November performance as Serena in “Porgy and Bess” at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Other guest vocalists featured in the production include the award-winning Dominic Armstrong, hailed by The New York Times as a “clarion-voiced tenor,” as Cavaradossi, and Corey Crider, lauded by Opera News for his, “rich, dark baritone,” as Scarpia. The Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus, under the direction of Director Dr. Nancy Menk, will be on stage to bring this dramatic and powerful story of longing to life.

Tickets for “Tosca” are $55. Attendees to the Sunday 3 p.m. matinee can enjoy a free pre-show MAC Chat beginning at 2 p.m. For tickets or more information about “Tosca,” visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000.New Philharmonic is a professional orchestra in residence of the MAC that has inspired classical music enthusiasts in Chicago and the suburbs for three decades. Under the direction of Conductor and Music Director Kirk Muspratt, named a 2006 Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, the group gives innovative treatment to both classic compositions and modern works and strives to make music accessible to new audiences and youth through a variety of educational efforts.

New Philharmonic is supported in part by the College of DuPage Foundation through its New Philharmonic Fund. Established as a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation and the New Philharmonic Fund, visit.cod.edu/foundation or call 630.942.2462.

New Philharmonic’s 2014-2015 performances are funded in part by a grant by The DuPage Community Foundation’s JCS Fund for Arts and Education and the Illinois Arts Council.

McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago nearI-88 and I-355,  and houses three performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), plus the Cleve Carney Art Gallery, classrooms for the college’s academic programming and the Lakeside Pavilion. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 75,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.

The MAC began major renovations in fall 2012 to update its three performance spaces, construct a new art gallery and outdoor pavilion, and make improvements to the infrastructure, teaching and learning spaces and patron service areas. The MAC renovation was funded as part of the $168 million referendum that voters of District 502 passed in November 2010. The MAC completed its 14-month, $35 million renovation in December 2013 and officially opened its doors to the public with the MAC Madness Celebration on March 8. The MAC’s 2014-2015 Season is its first full season following the landmark renovations.

The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit AtTheMAC.org. You can also learn more about the MAC on Facebook at facebook.com/AtTheMAC or on twitter at twitter.com/AtTheMAC.

Programs at the MAC are partially supported through funding from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.