Southampton Cultural Center Presenting Shakespeare’s Legacy Through Music

The Southampton Cultural Center (SCC) will host a performance featuring world-renowned violinist, Junko Ohtsu, acclaimed soprano, Sarah Moulton Faux, and piano virtuoso Michael Fennelly on Saturday, July 16th at 5 p.m. The trio will showcase Summer Roses VI: Shakespeare’s Musical Legacy, and the evening will also feature excerpts of Shakespeare’s texts, performed by actors from the SCC’s production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

“Each of Shakespeare’s verses is written with a rhythm and passion that resonates as exquisite music to our ears. We believe such close rapport between music and words will open the audiences’ imagination and give them real joy of the appreciation,” notes violinist Junko Ohtsu, who chose the readings and the music that will be highlighted.

The New York Times has praised Ohtsu for her “superior performance” and “rhapsodic and delicate coloration.” Ohtsu is a graduate of the Juilliard School and the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and has been featured as a soloist with the St. Louis Symphony, the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, the Simon Bolivar National Orchestra of Venezuela and others, as well as in solo recitals throughout the United States, Asia and Europe.

Junko will be joined by acclaimed soprano, Sarah Moulton Faux, hailed by the Brooklyn Spectator as “absolutely mesmerizing” and praised by Opera News for her “full, silvery soprano.” Faux’s operatic debut was at the age of 12 as Amahl in Amahl in the Night Visitors with the Opera of the Hamptons at Southampton Intermediate School. The established performer made her professional debut in New York City Opera’s 2008 production of Candid and has gone on to appear as Gilda (Rigoletto), Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), and Musetta (La Bohème), with companies that include Regina Opera Company of Brooklyn, Amore Opera, Utopia Opera, Pocket Opera of New York, Chealsea Opera, and the Blue Hill Troupe.

Michael Fennelly will be making his Summer Roses debut. The pianist will bring his “flair and energy” to the event. As a Bösendorfer artist and United States winner of the Horowitz Competition, Fennelly has performed in many of the world’s great concert halls, including Avery Fisher Hall, Munich’s Prinzregenten Theatre, and Berlin’s Komische Opera.

Summer Roses VI: Shakespeare’s Musical Legacy lasts one hour and will be followed by a wine & cheese reception with the artists. Tickets are $40 for General Admission and free for children under 14. $10 of every ticket sold benefits the SCC’s Songs & Stories series, a cross-genre performance series that includes the Summer Roses concert as well as other performance events throughout the year. Tax-deductible receipts are available at the door.

Southampton Cultural Center is located at 25 Pond Lane in Southampton. For tickets, visit http://www.browpapertickets.com.