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DPAA presents Maria Callas: A Centennial Celebration 

Dayton Opera celebrates “La Divina” Maria Callas with a recital featuring four rising stars, plus Dayton native and UD alum Howard Watkins. 

Sunday, February 5 at 2:30 pm 

Schuster Center 

DAYTON, OH (Jan 23, 2023) – Dayton Performing Arts Alliance presents Dayton Opera’s Opera Star Recital honoring opera prima donna Maria Callas Sunday, February 5 at 2:30 pm in the Schuster Center. Dayton native and University of Dayton alum, pianist Howard Watkins joins four young rising opera stars as they honor the centennial celebration of Maria Callas’ birth. Tickets for Maria Callas: A Centennial Celebration start at $5 and are available at the Box Office in the Wintergarden of the Schuster Center, by phone at 937-228-3630, or online at daytonperformingarts.org/tickets/maria-callas. 

“Maria Callas was the epitome of an opera star,” says Opera Artistic Director Kathleen Clawson. “When I discovered this year was the centenary of her birth, it struck me that she should be the ‘star’ for our Opera Star Recital this season. The performers bringing the Callas legacy to the stage for this concert are excellent. The four young singers are rising stars in the world of opera and, like Callas, are exceptional musicians with unique voices and prodigious technical skills. The pianist, Dayton native Howard Watkins has collaborated with some of the world’s greatest singers. His knowledge and expertise are incomparable; we are thrilled to bring them to Dayton for this concert.” 

Dr. Howard Watkins, a graduate of the University of Dayton’s School of Music, joined by sopranos, Toni Marie Palmertree, Murrella Parton, Heather Phillips, and mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino in a concert of Maria Callas’ most famous arias. Callas is considered by many as the greatest opera singer of the 20th century. She performed in more than 600 performances of more than 40 different roles in many of the most famous opera houses worldwide. Recordings of her many opera roles and concerts have become classics and continue to be popular today.   

Audiences will recognize favorite Callas arias on the program, such as Puccini’s “Un bel di” from Madama Butterfly,  “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca (Toni Marie Palmertree), Bellini’s “Qui la voce” from I Puritani (Heather Phillips); “Casta diva” from Norma, “Addio del passato” from Verdi’s La Traviata (Murella Parton) and “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” from Bizet’s Carmen (Sarah Saturnino). 

Tickets for Maria Callas: A Centennial Celebration start at $5 and are on sale now at the Box Office in the Wintergarden of the Schuster Center by calling 937-228-3630 or online at daytonperformingarts.org/tickets/maria-callas