An Afternoon with MET Star Paul Plishka
Vero Beach Opera and the Majestic 11 Theatre proudly bring legendary MET opera star Paul Plishka to Vero Beach for An Afternoon with Paul Plishka on February 5, 2012 at 1 pm at the Majestic Theatre. He will be interviewed by renowned opera biographer Dr. James Drake.
Paul Plishka has been admired in many important roles since his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, where he sung well over 1,600 performances. The Met graduated him from Pimen and Varlaam to the part of Tsar Boris in 1983. But his voice is most often associated with Italian opera, especially Don Carlo, Ernani, Simon Boccanegra, Nabucco, Aida, I Vespri Siciliani, Luisa Miller and La Forza del Destino. During the 1992-1993 season, to mark his 25th anniversary as a principal member of the company, he sang the title role of Falstaff there for the first time. He is also renowned for his appearances in the title role of Boris Godunov.
Drake is the author of seven books and more than fifty articles. Two of his biographies, Ponselle: A Singer’s Life (Doubleday & Company), and Richard Tucker: A Biography (E. P. Dutton Company), with forewords by tenor Luciano Pavarotti, were selected as “Books of the Month” by the National Book Clubs of America. Some fifteen years after Ponselle: A Singer's Life was published, Drake returned to his first subject in Rosa Ponselle: A Centenary Biography (Amadeus Press), in which he employed a postmodern format to present and analyze conflicting accounts of the legendary American soprano's life and career. [3] His other books include Teaching Critical Thinking (1976), a textbook stemming from his doctoral research at Ohio State; Popular Culture and American Life (with M. W. Laforse, 1980); and "Lily Pons: A Centennial Portrait" (with K. B. Ludecke, 1999).
Tickets are $20 and may be purchased directly at the Majestic 11 Theatre by calling 772-770-0773 or online at cinemaworldonline.com. For information on Vero Beach Opera please visit www.verobeachopoera.org.
