KAREN LEVITT SINGS SONGS FROM VIENNA TO BROADWAY
Soprano Karyn Levitt's new show, The Age of Romance: From Vienna to
Broadway, will be presented on Saturday, October 6th at 8:30 pm at
THE WEILL RECITAL HALL at CARNEGIE HALL (154 West 57th Street, NYC
- CarnegieCharge 1-212-247-7800 -
http://www.carnegiehall.org/
). She will be joined on stage by Tom LaMark at the piano. Musical
director is Terrence Montgomery. In the show Karen explores the romantic
sensibility, performing the music of her distant relative, Sigmund
Romberg, and other masters of operetta and early Broadway, including
Strauss, Lehar, Herbert, Kern, and Forrest & Wright. Her show combines
cabaret and classical theatre and includes pieces from early operettas
sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
Karyn Levittÿs music and theatre roots go back many
generations. Her most famous relative is composer Sigmund Romberg.
Karynÿs latest show, The Age of Romance is inspired by her connection
with this man and his music and by her life long love affair with
operetta and Broadway.
Karyn has been in love with music and theatre as long
as she can remember. She grew up in El Paso, Texas where, from the
time she was a baby, her parents played classical music for her.
When she was four years old, her parents started taking her to the
theatre and her father began giving her classical music lessons.
ÊHe taught me how to listen to music,¯ she recalls. ÊI remember
falling asleep in the living room listening to symphonies, chamber
music, and Broadway shows. I would force myself to stay awake as
long as I could. I didnÿt want to miss a beat!¯
When she was sixteen Karyn took her first voice lessons.
After graduating from Oberlin College, Karyn came to Boston and
continued her vocal studies privately and began studying acting.
With the encouragement of her teachers and friends, Levitt began
to combine dramatic dialogues with musical pieces in a way that
would become the basis of her experience as a performer. She also
began to study classical composition and swing/jazz singing. The
additional training resulted in performances that displayed versatility
almost unheard of, especially in their ability to deliver a wide
range of song styles.
Karyn is now known for her unique performance pieces
that interweave music and theatre from both the classical and modern
repertoire, such as Puccini and His Contemporaries and Lyrics by
Shakespeare. Karyn is now working on her next Shakespeare offering
with renowned Shakespearean actor/director Jonathan Epstein. The
two artists are collaborating on a concert-theatre piece about Shakespeare's
love affair with the Dark Lady of the Sonnets.
Terrence Montgomery is director of New York's Singing
Harp Group and Chairman of Visual and Performing Arts at The Dwight
School.
Tickets are $25.
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