Italian Opera Star to Perform at University of Arkansas

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Anna Caterina Antonacci

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Italian soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci, who was recently featured on the cover of Opera News, will perform at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, at the University of Arkansas. The concert is part of a North American tour that includes performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York.

Antonacci is widely known as the Carmen of our time and is often compared to the legendary Maria Callas.

Her appearance at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Center is sponsored by the John Harrison Opera Foundation. The foundation was established by friends and family of the late John Harrison, a professor emeritus of University Libraries and an opera lover.

Following her performance in Fayetteville, Antonacci will continue with appearances at Cafe D'art Vocal in Montreal and points east. She will be performing the same program at all North American venues.

Antonacci's Arkansas visit is her first in the region. She has not performed in the United States in more than a decade. She will be accompanied by pianist and Kansas City native Donald Sulzen of Munich, Germany, who studied at the University of Arkansas.

Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall is intimate with 213 seats. Tickets for the concert are $100 and available through the Walton Arts Center box office by calling 479-443-5600. The John Harrison Opera Foundation has approved providing student tickets at a reduced price if seats are still available the night of the performance. Student tickets will be offered depending on availability, and will be $10. These tickets will be offered on a first come basis, and will be sold starting at 7:50 p.m. before the concert.

Additional information on Antonacci is available by calling Christopher Lacy at 479-841-2190.

The John Harrison Opera Foundation is a nonprofit foundation named for the late John Harrison, a resolute Opera fan and former director of Mullins Library at the University of Arkansas. The foundation promotes the celebration of opera and the arts in Northwest Arkansas, providing scholarships by audition and funding Opera and educational productions and recitals.