BYSO Celebrates 10 Years of bringing exceptional opera to the lives of student musicians, the city of Boston and Beyond. Join us for a one time only performance of Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" on Sunday, January 29^th, 2017 at 3pm at Sanders Theatre at Harvard University

TCHAIKOVSKY’S EUGENE ONEGIN- One Performance Only November 15, 2016- Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) will bring to life a full opera once again! Celebrating 10 years of opera, on January 29^th, BYSO will perform its 10th consecutive, full-length opera and continues to be the only youth orchestra in America to do so. Under the leadership of BYSO Music Director, Federico Cortese, the rehearsal and performance of operatic repertoire at BYSO has become an integral part of its program and a critically-acclaimed cornerstone of the concert season. On January 29, 2017 at 3pm at Sanders Theatre at Harvard University, Boston Youth Symphony, BYSO’s premier orchestra, will perform Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, Eugene Onegin. Opera has quickly become essential part of the BYSO experience. Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) believes that performing opera repertoire provides a deep musical and intellectual experience for young musicians and audiences alike.  It is a critical element in the training, understanding and appreciation of the full range of classical repertoire that is often overlooked in the curriculum of young players, especially teenagers. In 2008, under the direction of BYSO Music Director, Federico Cortese, BYSO students performed their first semi-staged opera: Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. The response from the students and audiences was tremendous and since then, opera has become an integral part of BYSO’s season repertoire. On Sunday, January 29^th over one hundred young musicians from the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO), conducted by Music Director Federico Cortese, with stage direction by Edward Berkeley, will come center stage bringing to life a dark tale of drama, selfishness and rejection for a one-time only performance of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at Sanders Theatre at Harvard University. BYSO’s young musicians will have the unique opportunity to work alongside professional singers and a full chorus.  Eugene Onegin an opera in three acts, based on a novel of the same name by Alexander Pushkin, debuted on March 29^th 1879 at the Maly Theatre in Moscow. The Opera retains much of Pushkin’s poetry while also involving texts written by Tchaikovsky himself. This performance of Eugene Onegin will feature baritone Markus Werba in the role of Eugene Onegin, who has performed at the world’s finest opera houses and venue include the Lyon Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden and many more. He is a highly sought out musician performing recitals in Vienna, Tokyo, and many other locations.  Soprano Evelina Dobraceva will take on the role of Tatyana, and tenor Garrett Sorenson as Lensky. BYSO’s semi-staged production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin will be sung in Russian with English supertitles Said Cortese, "The performance of a full opera by a youth orchestra is an absolutely remarkable and rare accomplishment of which I am very proud.  Opera is a fantastic tool for the musical and personal growth of our students because of the rich and intricate musical and psychological storylines that weave in and out of the music in ways that are not seen in a standard symphony.” Sunday, January 29^th,2017 at 3:00pm at Sanders Theatre at Harvard University TCHAIKOVSKY   Eugene Onegin Boston Youth Symphony (BYS) Federico Cortese, Music Director and Conductor Edward Berkeley, Stage Director Tatyana, Evelina Dobraceva Olga, Renee Tatum Madame Larina, Vera Savage Filipyevna, Jill Grove Eugene Onegin, Markus Werba Lensky, Garrett Sorenson Prince Gremin, Sava Vemic Triquet, Mark Schowalter A captain, Andy Papas Zaretsky, Ryne Cherry With The BYSO Opera Chorus Lidiya Yankovskaya, Chorus Master This one time only opera performance takes place on Sunday, January 29, 2017 at 3pm at Sanders Theatre at Harvard University at 45 Quincy St. Cambridge, MA 02138. Tickets start at only $40 and discounted student and senior tickets are available; call Sanders Theatre Box Office at (617) 496-2222. Free parking is available at the Broadway Garage on Felton Street. This performance of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin contains sensitive subject matter for young children and the running time is nearly 3 hours.  Therefore, this performance is only recommended for children 10 years of age and older. About Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) The mission of BYSO is to encourage musical excellence in a professional and supportive environment by providing the highest quality orchestra training and performance opportunities to qualified musicians, grades K-12, while making its programs accessible to underrepresented communities through financial assistance and outreach. Widely regarded as one of the country’s finest youth orchestra programs, the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) is recognized as a model music and arts education organization. BYSO serves nearly 500 students from more than 120 communities from around New England.  Under the leadership of Music Director Federico Cortese, BYSO has become one of Boston’s most prestigious arts organizations with a programmatic scope that includes three full symphonic orchestras, two string training orchestras, a preparatory wind ensemble, six chamber orchestras, a chamber music program, and the Intensive Community Program, a rigorous string instrument training program within the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) that brings quality classical music instruction to underrepresented communities. Since 1958 BYSO has been in residence at Boston University. In 2012 BYSO and Boston Symphony Orchestra announced a new partnership for the future of classical music, BYSO/BSO: Partnering for the Future. For more information visit www.BYSOweb.org. Federico Cortese, Music Director Federico Cortese assumed the post of Music Director of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras in 1999. He has conducted throughout the United States, Australia, China, and Europe. He is also the Music Director of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and Senior Lecturer on Music at Harvard University. From 1998–2002, he served as Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa. In addition to his annual scheduled concerts, Mr. Cortese led the Boston Symphony several times in Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood, most notably performing Beethoven’s "Symphony No. 9" and Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”. Mr. Cortese has conducted several prominent symphony orchestras, including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, BBC Scottish Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and Oslo Philharmonic. Opera engagements have included Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Spoleto Festival in Italy and the United States, the Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Finnish National Opera, Opera Australia, and the Washington National Opera. Mr. Cortese has been Music Coordinator and Associate Conductor of the Spoleto Festival in Italy. He also served as Assistant Conductor to Robert Spano and to Daniele Gatti. Mr. Cortese, who was born in Rome, studied composition and conducting at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome and subsequently studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna. He also studied literature and humanities and holds a law degree from La Sapienza University in Rome.