Grammy Award winner Mark S. Doss to perform at Florentine Opera's 75th Anniversary Gala

Grammy Award winner Mark S. Doss to perform at Florentine Opera's 75th Anniversary Gala

MILWAUKEE, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Global opera star and Grammy Award winner Mark S. Doss will be a featured singer at the 75th anniversary gala of Milwaukee's Florentine Opera Company. Scheduled for May 23, 2009, this spectacular event includes a one-night-only concert of beloved operatic arias and ensembles at which Mr. Doss is scheduled to perform "Die Frist ist um" from The Flying Dutchman and the "Toreador Song" from Carmen, as well as selections from The Pearl Fishers and Cosi fan tutte.

Mr. Doss made his Florentine Opera debut in the role of Jochanaan (John the Baptist) in their February 2008 production of Salome. In its review, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal wrote, "Mark S. Doss' potent and steadfast bass-baritone sound and imposing physical presence made him a worthy foil for Sunnegardh. The opera found its pace and substance in their early duet, in which he held firm against her seductions and epithets."

Jochanaan is one of Mr. Doss' signature roles and he continues to be cast in this part by numerous opera companies around the world. The Metropolitan Opera in New York was fortunate to have Mr. Doss covering Jochanaan at the start of their 2008-2009 season. His upcoming performances as Jochanaan include a debut with the Berlin Staatsoper in October 2009, as well as debuts with Teatro Comunale di Bologna in January 2010 and Teatro Real (Madrid, Spain) in April 2010. With the latter two companies he repeats not only the role, but also the 2008 Robert Carsen production he previously did in Turin, Italy.

2008-2009 Season

Mr. Doss will arrive in Milwaukee after celebrated performances as Mephistopheles in a mid-April Opera Tampa production of Faust. The St. Petersburg Times review praised his work, saying, "Doss, with his sweetly expressive upper register and idiomatic French, dominated Friday's performance, playing the devil as a rakish man about town."

Earlier this season, Mr. Doss sang a concert of Aaron Copland's Old American Songs (Sets 1 & 2) with Florida's Ocala Symphony Orchestra and performed as Don Pedro in Donizetti's Maria Padilla with Washington Concert Opera. He also triumphantly performed, with just two days notice and having only sung the role once 10 years before, the High Priest of Dagon in Samson et Dalila with the Pittsburgh Opera.

Upcoming Performances

Mr. Doss is confirmed to star in several other celebrated productions in this and future seasons. On July 19 and 21, 2009 he will perform the role of Amonasro under the baton of Daniel Barenboim at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre in a touring production of Aida by Milan's famous Teatro alla Scala (La Scala). This will be Mr. Doss' eighth principal role in a La Scala production since 2004, where he most recently played Baron Jaroslav Prus in The Makropulos Case, Charrington in Lorin Maazel's "1984" and Jochanaan in Richard Strauss' Salome.

Other upcoming roles for Mr. Doss include Premysl in Sarka at Teatro La Fenice (Venice, Italy) and Balstrode in Peter Grimes at Teatro Regio Torino (Turin, Italy).

ABOUT MARK S. DOSS:

Mark S. Doss is a celebrated bass-baritone whose accomplishments include a Grammy Award (1993) for his work on the recording of Semele (Handel), and numerous engagements with the famous Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. Mr. Doss began his musical studies to aid in his ambitions to become a Catholic priest, but was seduced by the opera world and has since emerged as one of the world's leading singers.

   Further information and interview requests:    Christine Payne or Amy Aravantinos   Publicity office for Mark S. Doss   (416) 489-0092   media@msdoss.com    Mark S. Doss   (847) 826-4530   marksteven@msdoss.com  

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CONTACT: and interview requests: Christine Payne or Amy Aravantinos,
Publicity office for Mark S. Doss, (416) 489-0092, media@msdoss.com; Mark S.
Doss, (847) 826-4530, marksteven@msdoss.com

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Profile: International Entertainment