CAL PHIL PRESENTS ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER MEETS PUCCINI NOVEMBER 8

SAN MARINO, Calif. Throughout the summer, the California Philharmonic has long been a familiar sight at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia and Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. However, when Cal Phil opens its 2008-2009 series of winter concerts – "Adventures in Music" – on November 8, the adventure will begin even before the first note sounds at 8 p.m.

This season, for the first time since its founding in 1997, the orchestra will make its winter home at the historic Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena

The Opening Night Gala Program – entitled "Andrew Lloyd Webber Meets Puccini" – will present highlights from such musicals by Lloyd Webber as Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom of The Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Evita. Also on the program are semi-staged scenes from Puccini´s operas La Boheme, Turandot, and Madame Butterfly.

Stars from musical theatre and opera houses worldwide will lend their own special magic and glitter to the extravagant opening night celebration. Joining Cal Phil are mezzo soprano Valerie Perri, who starred in the Los Angeles production of Lloyd Webber´s Evita; Sam Harris, who has held leading roles in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar; Australian soprano and LA Opera resident artist Catherine Ireland; and tenor, Robert MacNeil, whose resume includes performances with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, L.A. Opera and the Pacific Symphony.

The cast will also include not one but two choruses –the new California Philharmonic Chorus and a children´s choir. Both are under the direction of singer and conductor Marya Basaraba, who recently joined the California Philharmonic team as Chorus Maestra. Basaraba also serves as Chorus Master of the Redlands Bowl Festival Opera and is the Founding Director of the Los Angeles Opera Ensemble. A highly renowned singer as well, she has performed both soprano and mezzo-soprano roles with such companies as Long Beach Opera, Bel Canto Opera, L'Opera du Chambre de Quebec and Toronto Operetta Theatre.

"Marya will be a tremendous asset to Cal Phil," says Victor Vener, Founder and Music Director of Cal Phil. "People are still complimenting us on her first performance with us last summer, when we presented excerpts from Bernstein´s Candide and the Ode to Joy from Beethoven´s ninth symphony and Marya directed our 120-voice choir."

As for this production of "Andrew Lloyd Webber Meets Puccini," Vener stresses that the program will vary dramatically from past Cal Phil performances that have also showcased the works of Lloyd Webber and Puccini. "Both composers wrote so many wonderful works of music that we haven´t begun to finish exploring their artistry with our audience," says Vener.

Semi-staged scenes Cal Phil will present on November 8 include the famous "Masquerade" sequence from Phantom of the Opera and excerpts from La Boheme, where the cast calls for soloists, a children´s chorus and even a marching band.

"That´s part of the reason we´re so pleased to be performing at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium," says Vener. "We´ll have the space we need to mount larger and more elaborate productions."

Singer and actress Valerie Perri, who appeared in last summer´s production of "Andrew Lloyd Webber Meets Puccini," is equally enthusiastic about the new venue. "The last time I performed at the Civic was when I came through with a National Tour of Evita," confides Perry, who was hailed as "electrifying and sensational" by The Boston Globe and as an Evita who "beats the Broadway original" by the Los Angeles Daily News.

The mezzo-soprano is also looking forward to her long-anticipated reunion with actor, singer, songwriter and director Sam Harris.

"Sam was wonderful in the role and his interpretation of ´Gethsemene´ is breathtaking," says Perry of her appearance with Harris in The Long Beach Civic Light Opera´s production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1989. Perri played Mary Magdalene; Harris played Jesus. "Sam will be singing ´Gethsemene´ with Cal Phil," Perri continues, "and I can't wait to hear him do it again."

Audiences and critics alike have shared Perri´s high opinion of Harris´ artistry. Sales records were broken nationwide when he starred in the Broadway national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. His appearance soon thereafter in Cy Coleman´s The Life earned him the Drama-League Award as well as Tony, Outer Critic´s Circle and Drama Desk nominations. Of Harris´ selection to play Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer, the New York Times wrote, " Who else could play this role? Sam Harris is the only performer today whose charisma and raw magnetism is absolutely Jolson-esque."

The tenor has also performed in concert at venues around the world, from Carnegie Hall (where tickets sold out in five hours) and the White House to London´s West End and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Television viewers may recognize Harris from appearances on The Tonight Show, The View, the Oprah Winfrey Show and Hard Copy, where he played six different characters visiting an all-night newsstand. Of his role as Perry Pearl on The Class, the New York Post wrote, "Sam Harris is the comic breakout of the television season!"

In the opera world, soprano Catherine Ireland is poised for a ´breakout´ of her own. After her performance as The Maid in the opera Powder Her Face by Thomas Ades, the Los Angeles Times praised Ireland as "the kind of fresh singer whose combination of musical skills and fearless acting ability encourage hope for opera´s future."

Ireland has also appeared with the San Diego Opera, The National Opera Studio in London, and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as well as with such orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of London, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Welsh National Opera Orchestra.

Tenor Robert MacNeil will step on stage at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium amply prepared to share the joys of Puccini with the Cal Phil audience, having appeared this past September in LA Opera´s production of Puccini´s Il Tabarro. Praised by the San Diego Union Tribune for "his vocal gusto to enthrall an audience," MacNeil has also recently performed with the San Francisco Opera and Opera Pacific and will appear later this season with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and San Diego Chamber Orchestra.

However, MacNeil has shared his artistry with audiences far beyond the U.S. He has sung with the Sydney Choral Festival in the Berlioz Requiem, the Orchestra Roma Symphonia in Verdi´s Requiem, and Orff´s Carmina Burana with the Central Union Philharmonic in Beijing.

"This is obviously a star-studded production, an Opening Night Gala you won´t want to miss," says Grace Thompson, Vice President of Marketing/Development for the California Philharmonic. "Better yet, you´ll have an opportunity to meet our stars and musicians as well as hear them at a post-concert, champagne reception." For more information about reservations for the Gala reception, call Jeremy Mo at 626.300.8200.

Tickets for "Andrew Lloyd Webber Meets Puccini" range from $23 to $88 and may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 213-365-3500 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com. The historic Pasadena Civic Auditorium, dedicated to "the citizens of Pasadena" in 1932, is located at 300 East Green Street in Pasadena.

Sponsors for the 2008/2009 Winter Season include the Zeilstra Foundation. For more information about the California Philharmonic and its upcoming season, call 626.300.8200 or visit www.calphil.org.

In 1995, Music Director and Conductor Victor Vener and a small group of enthusiastic, dedicated music lovers based in Pasadena, California founded the The CalPhil Foundation. The Foundation, a nonprofit community benefit organization, supports the California Philharmonic in its quest to expand awareness of classical music, thus increasing the interest and support for great timeless music with wide audience appeal, from the classical and operatic repertoire to diverse genres of jazz, pops, Hollywood and Broadway. Also, with a strong commitment to new music and to expanding the symphonic repertoire, the California Philharmonic has presented numerous world premieres of both orchestral and chamber works.

The California Philharmonic began regular programming in 1997 with a five-concert inaugural summer season of Cal Phil Festival on the Green on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden in Arcadia. Now, Cal Phil presents concerts at venues throughout Los Angeles County. These include Cal Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall (downtown Los Angeles), Cal Phil Festival on the Green at the Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanic Garden, and Cal Phil at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.