Soprano Patricia Racette has appeared in the most acclaimed opera houses of the world including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Royal Opera House, La Scala, Paris Opera, and the Bayerische Staatsoper. Known as a great interpreter of Janáček and Puccini, she has gained particular acclaim for her portrayals of the title roles of Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Jenufa, Kátya Kabanová, and all three lead soprano roles in Il Trittico. Her performances of Madama Butterfly and Peter Grimes at the Metropolitan Opera were seen in movie theaters across the world as part of the The Met: Live in HD, with Madama Butterfly being one of the most successful broadcasts in the history of the series. Both were subsequently released on DVD.
A champion of new works, Ms. Racette has created roles in a number of world premieres. Among them are the role of Leslie Crosbie in Paul Moravec’s The Letter at the Santa Fe Opera, Roberta Alden in Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy at the Metropolitan Opera, the title role in Tobias Picker’s Emmeline at the Santa Fe Opera (broadcast on PBS/Albany Records audio), and Love Simpson in Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree at the Houston Grand Opera. With the release of Diva on Detour, her breakout first cabaret album, Ms., Racette officially adds the cabaret genre to her performance platform. Her cabaret show has been heard live in New York for the Michael Schimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Century Club, and the Neue Gallerie; in Washington D.C.’s Birchmere Theater, San Francisco’s Venetian Room, Dallas’ Winspear Theater, and also several venues in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This past season, Ms. Racette opened the Washington National Opera’s season as Tosca, returned to the Metropolitan Opera for Tosca and Madama Butterfly, and appeared at the Seattle Opera in Madama Butterfly. This summer she performs her cabaret show for the Santa Fe Desert Chorale Summer Festival and appears in concert with Patti Lupone at the Ravinia Festival; and next season she makes her debut at the Theater an der Wien in Il Tabarro and Suor Angelica and returns to the Washington National Opera for the title role in Manon Lescaut the San Francisco Opera for Tosca, and the Metropolitan Opera as Leonora Il Trovatore and Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites. She will also make her debut at the New York Philharmonic in performances of Dallapiccola’s Il Priogioniero.
A native of New Hampshire, Ms. Racette earned her Bachelor of Music degree from North Texas University before joining The Merola Opera Program and the Adler Fellowship at the San Francisco Opera. Among her honors are the Richard Tucker Award, the Marian Anderson Award, and most recently a 2010 Opera News Award.
A native of Tullahoma, Tennessee, pianist Craig Terry has launched an international career performing with some of the world’s leading singers and instrumentalists. Currently Mr. Terry is in his seventh season as Assistant Conductor at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Previously, he served as Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera after joining its Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Mr. Terry has performed with such esteemed vocalists as Sir Thomas Allen, Stephanie Blythe, Christine Brewer, Nicole Cabell, Sasha Cooke, Eric Cutler, Giuseppe Filianoti, Joseph Kaiser, Kate Lindsey, Danielle De Niese, Susanna Phillips, Patricia Racette, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Hugh Russell, Garrett Sorenson, and Amber Wagner. He has collaborated as a chamber musician with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Orchester, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Pro Arte String Quartet. Mr. Terry made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2000 and has also performed at Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Recent performances include recitals with Stephanie Blythe at the American Songbook series at “Jazz at Lincoln Center,” Patricia Racette at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Pace University and “Cabaret at Café Sabarsky” in New York, Giuseppe Filianoti in his American Recital Debut on the Harriman-Jewell Series in Kansas City, Susanna Phillips and Dimitri Pittas at the Tokyo City Opera House under the auspices of the Metropolitan Opera, Christine Brewer for the Celebrity Series of Boston and the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, Nicole Cabell in St, Petersburg, Russia, Kate Lindsey at both Rockefeller University and Smith College, and Ms. Phillips at Alice Tully Hall. In 2008, he was twice featured as soloist with the Chicago Philharmonic, performing piano concertos of Chopin and Mendelssohn.
In March 2010, he made his conducting debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago, leading student matinee performances of “L’Elisir d’Amore,” and in 2012 made his LOC stage debut as “Jake” in “Show Boat.” Mr. Terry’s 2011-2012 performance schedule includes recitals with Stephanie Blythe, Christine Brewer, Nicole Cabell, Sasha Cooke, Giuseppe Filianoti, Kate Lindsey, Patricia Racette, and Hugh Russell as well as chamber music concerts with members of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra.
Mr. Terry received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Tennessee Technological University, continued his studies at Florida State University and received a Masters of Music in Piano Performance/Accompanying from the Manhattan School of Music where he was a student of pianist Warren Jones.
