THE ARTS: Ukrainian-born soprano Stefania Dovhan to perform in Washington (04/22/01)

THE ARTS

Ukrainian-born soprano Stefania Dovhan to perform in Washington

STEVENSON, Md. - Stefania Dovhan, a 21-year-old Ukrainian-born soprano, will perform in a series of recitals and memorial masses in Washington, and throughout Maryland to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of the legendary American soprano, Rosa Ponselle.

Ms. Dovhan was awarded the Rosa Ponselle Gold Medallion in the year 2000 "Young Classical Singers" competition. Her recital program has been prepared with Maestro Igor Chichagov, a Ponselle colleague of over 30 years and music director of the Rosa Ponselle Foundation. The program will include works by Handel, Mozart, Schubert, Bellini, Rossini, Glinka, Poulenc, Leoncavallo, as well as Ukrainian art songs. Ms. Dovhan's accompanist will be Pin-Huey Wang.

Ms. Dovhan joins the ranks of two previous Ponselle Gold Medalists, who now enjoy major international careers, American soprano Deborah Voight and Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina.

Ms. Dovhan was born in 1979 in Kyiv, into an artistic family. As a youngster she took piano lessons and was accepted to the Youth Choir at the Kyiv State Conservatory, where she sang for nearly 12 years. In 1991-1992 she lived and studied in Munich, Germany, and subsequently emigrated to the United States in 1995, where she attended the Baltimore School for the Arts studying vocal performance with Joyce Hubbard, and graduated as salutatorian.

Ms. Dovhan is a member of the Ukrainian National Association and in 1998, was crowned Miss Soyuzivka.

Currently she is a student at the University of Maryland College Park School of Music on a full performing arts scholarship. Her vocal teacher is Martha Randall, who received the Rosa Ponselle Teacher of the Year Award in 2000. Ms. Dovhan has been a recipient of various awards, including first prizes in the local and regional National Association of Teachers of Singing competitions in 1999 and 2000.

Ms. Dovhan will appear as guest recitalist in the following concerts and celebratory masses; the public is invited to attend each of the programs without charge.

Saturday, May 12, The Dumbarton Church, Dumbarton Avenue off Wisconsin Avenue, Washington, 7 p.m. The recital is jointly sponsored under the patronage of the Rosa Ponselle Foundation and The Washington Group Cultural Fund, and with the cooperation of the Embassy of Ukraine.
Thursday, May 17: The Baltimore School for the Arts, Recital Hall, 712 Cathedral St., 2:30 p.m.;
Sunday, May 20: The University of Maryland, College Park; Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Guildenhorn Recital Hall, 4 p.m.;
Sunday, May 27: special Memorial Weekend high mass to be held in the Basilica of the Assumption, Cathedral and Mulberry streets; celebrated by Msgr. James Hobbs, with the chorus of the basilica under the direction of Malinda Lachica, and guest soloists former Rosa Ponselle Competition Gold Medalist Kenneithia Mitchell and Ms. Dovhan.

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The Connecticut-born Rosa Ponselle made a historic operatic debut on November 15, 1918, at age 21 opposite Enrico Caruso in the Metropolitan Opera's premiere of Verdi's "La Forza del Destino." Although at her debut she had no previous formal vocal training nor operatic experience and had seen only one opera in her life, her unique, natural talent and unparalleled beautiful voice - described by critics as "molten gold" - established her instantly as "a Caruso in petticoats."

Ponselle was an acclaimed vaudevillian from age 16 and was appearing in a sister act at the Palace in New York City with her own real life sister, Carmela, when she was discovered by Caruso and brought to the Metropolitan Opera just five months later as his leading lady in his own debut in "La Forza del Destino." Because she became the first American opera singer to sing a major role at the Met without the benefit of European training or experience, she is credited with opening the doors of the Met to the American trained singer and, thereafter, was dubbed the foundress of our American operatic heritage.

Retiring at age 40, while still in her vocal prime, she married and moved to Baltimore's Green Spring Valley. Founding an opera company, she was to launch or coach generations of notable young talents in their careers. They included Beverly Sills, Spiro Malas, Sherrill Milnes, Placido Domingo, Leontyne Price, Samuel Ramey, William Warfield and Raina Kabaivanska.

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