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USC Thornton Opera performs a double bill of miniature comic masterpieces - Mozart's The Impressario and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi.
Mozart’s The Impresario and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, provide an evening’s worth of entertainment in this performance by the USC Thornton Opera.
Jorge Mester, music director of the Pasadena Symphony, conducts the orchestra, chorus and singers in this new production directed by David Cox.
An internationally sought after guest conductor, Mester has led such orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, the Boston Symphony, the New York City Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Cincinnati Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Capetown Symphony Orchestra and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. He commanded world-wide attention when he conducted the opening ceremonies for the Getty Center in Los Angeles in 1997 and subsequently served as artistic director of the Center’s first classical music series, “Beyond Beauty: Antiquities as Evidence.”
Highlights from Mester’s recent seasons include guest conducting the Buffalo Philharmonic as well as the final concert of the 50th anniversary season of the Aspen Music Festival. He also conducted a series of archival recordings for the Milken Family Foundation in Barcelona, Spain, and returned to the New York City Opera to conduct acclaimed performances of Madama Butterfly. Additionally, he guest conducted the Edmonton Symphony in Canada and the Florida Philharmonic. With The Pasadena Symphony, Mester conducted the critically acclaimed world premieres of Peter Schickele’s cello concerto In Memoriam FDR and an original semi-staged production of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream adapted by Korngold for Max Reinhardt’s 1935 film. Mester also conducted the West Coast premiere of Philip Glass’s Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and presented the United States debut of 14-year-old violin virtuoso Mayuko Kamio.
The list of distinguished accomplishments Mester has amassed during his noteworthy career includes serving as artistic director of the National Orchestral Association’s New Music Project and as music director for seven years of Puerto Rico’s Festival Casals. He was music director of the Louisville Orchestra for 12 years, during which time he made 72 recordings, a prolific achievement for both conductor and orchestra. In addition, he served as chief conductor of the West Australia Symphony Orchestra in Perth and was principal guest conductor of both the Adelaide Symphony and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. A noted opera conductor as well, Mester has led numerous productions for the New York City Opera, the Sidney Opera, the Philadelphia Opera and the Washington Opera, including Der Rosenkavalier, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, La Boheme and Marriage of Figaro.
Throughout his career, Mester has given more than 60 world-premiere performances. These include several with The Pasadena Symphony, with whom he has also made two recordings for the AUracle label. The first, a numbered limited edition, was released in 1994 and features Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra! and Saint-Saëns's Symphony No. 3 in C Minor. The second, in 1997, features Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps and Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances.
Also considered a noted educator, Mester served as director of The Juilliard School’s Conducting Department during the early 1980’s. He has taught some of the most gifted conductors working today, including James Conlon, Dennis Russell Davies, Andreas Delfs, JoAnn Falletta and John Nelson. In addition, he has championed early in their careers such artists as Midori, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Matt Haimovitz, Renee Fleming, Cho-Liang Lin and Robert McDuffie.
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