Kiera Duffy Employs Gleaming High Soprano in Progressive Program of Second Viennese Composers

By DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

[About a 3 MIN read]

Kiera Duffy
Kiera Duffy

Kiera Duffy Employs Gleaming High Soprano in Progressive Program of Second Viennese Composers

By DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

[About a 3 MIN read]

Notre Dame, IN (October 31, 2017)— The DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Music proudly welcome American soprano Kiera Duffy for her Presenting Series debut. Recipient of a 2016 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, Duffy is recognized for her gleaming high soprano and insightful musicianship in a diverse repertoire ranging from Bach, Handel, and Mozart to the modern sounds of Carter, Feldman, and Mazzoli. Her Sunday, November 5 at 2 p.m. recital in the Leighton Concert Hall focuses on composers from the Second Viennese School, lieder Duffy has a special affinity for.

As a concert soloist Duffy has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic (2018), London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, New World Symphony, and Leipzig’s MDR Orchestra among others. In the fall of 2016, Duffy premiered the role of Bess McNeill in Missy Mazzoli’s new opera, Breaking the Waves, with Opera Philadelphia and the Prototype Festival in New York City. She received widespread acclaim, with critics calling her performance “one of the most riveting operatic performances of the year (New York Times),” “extraordinary (Wall Street Journal),” and the Top Female Operatic Performance of 2016 (WQXR Radio, New York City).

Opening with turn of the 20th century works by Anton Webern, Duffy steps back in the storied history of Second Viennese School composers to Schubert (where Duffy is joined on the Romantic lied Suleika I, D. 720 by J.J. Penna one of the top collaborative pianists today, Alban Berg’s “Lied der Lulu” before welcoming Notre Dame’s Quartet-in-Residence for Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Op. 10, and closing with Strauss masterpieces of the intimate form of the lied such as “Ich schwebe” (“I’m floating”)

J.J. Penna is widely recognized as one of the top collaborative pianists working today. He has performed in recital with such notable singers as Kathleen Battle, Harolyn Blackwell, Measha Brueggergosman, William Burden, David Daniels, and Denyce Graves. The New York City-based Solera Quartet is the Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame.

Get tickets to see Kiera Duffy on November 5!

Recital Pre-talk

Susan Youens

Musicologist Susan Youens, University of Notre Dame, Department of Music, is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on German song, and the music of Franz Schubert and Hugo Wolf. Join Dr. Youens at 1 p.m. prior to the recital for a lecture providing insights into the planned program. No tickets needed.


Planned Program

Anton Webern (1883–1945)
• Vorfrühling from 3 Gedichte (1900–1903) (Ferdinand Avenarius)
• Blumengruss from 8 frühe Lieder (1901–1904) (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
• 5 Lieder aus “Der siebente Ring” von Stefan George (1908–1909), Opus 3 (Stefan George)

1. Dies ist ein Lied

2. Im Windesweben

3. An Bachesranft

4. Im Morgentaun

5. Kahl reckt der Baum

Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
• An den Mond, D. 259 (1815) (Goethe)
• Die Liebende schreibt, D. 673, (1819) (Goethe)
• Rastlose Liebe, D. 138 (1815) (Goethe)
• Der Jüngling an der Quelle, D. 300 (1816) (Johann Gaudenz Freiherr von Salis-Seewis)
• Suleika I, D. 720 (1821) (Marianne von Willemer/Goethe)

Alban Berg (1885–1935)
“Lied der Lulu” from Lulu (1929–1935) (Libretto compiled by Berg, based on Frank Wedekind’s Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora)

Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951)
• String Quartet No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Opus 10 (1908) (Stefan George)
• Mäßig
• Sehr rasch
• Litanei, langsam
• Entrückung, sehr langsam

Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
• Frühlingsgedränge, Opus 26, No. 1 (1891) (Nikolaus Lenau)
• Ich schwebe, Opus 48, No. 2 (1900) (Karl Friedrich Henckell)
• Junghexenlied, Opus 39, No. 2 (1897) (Otto Julius Bierbaum)
• Als mir dein Lied erklang, Opus 68, (1918) No. 4 (Clemens Brentano)

The program is subject to change.

This performance is made possible by the Boehnen Fund for Excellence in the Arts and the Jill A. Fischer Endowment for Excellence in Opera. The Department of Music is co-sponsor.

Categories: Media Release, News + Announcements, Presenting Series