Acclaimed soprano Dame Felicity Lott to perform with pianist Graham Johnson at Union College on April 16

Schenectady, N.Y. (April 6, 1998) – Dame Felicity Lott, one of Britain's most successful and best-loved sopranos, will give one of only three concerts in the United States this season on Thursday, April 16, at 8 p.m. in Union College's Memorial Chapel. She will be performing with noted pianist Graham Johnson.

Lott comes to Union following a dazzling performance with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at New York's Avery Fisher Hall and just prior to her performance at Tully Hall at Lincoln Center.

The concert, part of the Schenectady Museum-Union College Concert Series, is to include Le Courte Paille by Poulenc, Six Lieder by Strauss, Five Songs by Barber and On this Island by Britten.

Felicity Lott has performed with some of the finest opera companies and conductors worldwide, including all the major British opera companies. She now appears regularly with the Royal Opera House where many of her performances have been recorded for television. As a concert artist, Lott has sung with many major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw and Chicago Symphony Orchestras.

Reviewing a recent concert Lott gave at Avery Fisher Hall, Allan Kozinn of the New York Times wrote: "Ms. Lott's voice has taken on a depth and warmth in the recent years that gives it an almost mezzo-like hue in the mid-range, and that effect was particularly striking in these autumnal works. Her accounts of 'September' and 'Im Abendrot,' particularly, had an irresistible glow." Pianist Graham Johnson studied at the Royal Academy of Music and subsequently with the late Geoffrey Parsons. After accompanying Elizabeth Schwarzkopf in 1975, Johnson formed the Songmakers' Almanac in order to further the cause of neglected areas of piano-accompanied vocal music and to place the staple repertoire of song in new and challenging contexts. Johnson has accompanied over 150 Songmakers' recitals and has written and presented programs for both BBC Radio and Television on the songs of Schubert, Poulenc, Liszt and Shostakovich.

This concert is made possible, in part, by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Schenectady County Initiative Program.

Tickets, at $20 ($8 for students), are available in advance at the Schenectady Museum (518)382-7890 and at the door at 7 p.m. For more information, call 372-3651.