Hometown Hall

Brenau University will host a joint recital by mezzo-soprano Kitt Reuter-Foss and baritone Jeffrey Morrissey at Pearce Auditorium on Monday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 for the public, with free admission for faculty and students of Brenau University.

Wisconsin native Reuter-Foss appeared at Brenau in 2006 and, according to William Fred Scott, director of the International Opera Center at Brenau, "returns quite literally by popular demand." The Feb. 4 recital marks Virginia native Morrissey´s first appearance at Brenau, although he appeared frequently at The Atlanta Opera, including some performances with Reuter-Foss.

The joint recital features solos and duets in Italian, German and Polish by Mozart, Mahler, Rossini, Verdi, Paderewski and others. It also will have scenes from American theater classics "Annie Get Your Gun," "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel."

The pianist for the evening´s performance will be Craig Kier, music administrator and principal coach of The Atlanta Opera who has also served for many years on the musical staff of Seattle Opera. Kier has been featured as pianist in numerous recitals and opera performances at Brenau.

Following the recital, there will be a dessert and coffee reception in the Simmons Visual Arts Center. In addition to having an opportunity to meet the artists, Scott said those who attend will also get a "sneak peek" at a new exhibit of works by American artist Alexander Calder that is scheduled to open Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Reuter-Foss made her Metropolitan Opera debut under the baton of James Levine, and she has since returned to that company for performances in "La Traviata," "The Ghosts of Versailles," "Falstaff," "The Marriage of Figaro," "Rusalka" and "Death in Venice." She has also performed with opera companies around the United States, including more than a dozen productions with The Atlanta Opera. She is in demand as an orchestral soloist, and has appeared with Scott conducting in performances of Handel´s "Messiah" and Mozart´s "Requiem." Recently she performed with the New Japan Philharmonic conducted by Seiji Ozawa and appeared in the New York City Opera´s Japanese tour of Mark Adamo´s contemporary setting of "Little Women."

She also works as a voice teacher and maintains a studio in the winter months in Madison, Wisc., and in the summer at Colorado Springs, Colo.

Morrissey, who performs throughout the United States and in Europe, also is no stranger to north Georgia audiences; he´s appeared in 14 different Atlanta productions. He studied at Shenandoah Conservatory of Music, Converse College, The Juilliard School and Indiana University, where his teachers included the noted Wagnerian soprano Margaret Harshaw. Morrissey´s operatic repertoire includes such varied roles as Don Giovanni and Masetto in Mozart´s "Don Giovanni," Ford in Verdi´s "Falstaff," Figaro in Rossini´s "The Barber of Seville" and a number of roles in contemporary opera. His New York City Opera debut season included performances of "Don Giovanni," "Madame Butterfly" and von Einem´s "Visit of the Old Lady."

He made his European debut in Lisbon, Portugal, as Harlekin in Richard Strauss´s "Ariadne auf Naxos." In addition to Atlanta appearances, he has been repeatedly engaged by many of the country´s leading regional opera companies including Portland, Long Beach, Mobile, Birmingham, Nashville, Memphis and Sarasota, and he has appeared at American opera festivals of Chautauqua, Glimmerglass and Santa Fe. He is equally in demand for symphonic concerts and has appeared in Handel´s "Messiah," Mozart´s "Requiem" and Mendelssohn´s "Elijah" with the Colorado Music Festival, Caramoor Festival, West Virginia Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Denver Chamber Orchestra and Chattanooga Symphony.

When he performed as Papageno in "The Magic Flute," in Madison, Wisc., the local newspaper, The Capital Times, wrote that "It was difficult to tell which delighted the audience more, his playful characterization or his excellent singing."