Great article in Hello Canada about Mr. Barry Manilow

Susan Catto from Hello Canada interviewed the music legend Barry Manilow about various aspects of his career and fame. What does he do when he's not making music? "There’s a million different projects and it’s just thrilling. I make music all the time. It’s what I love."

To read the full chat with Barry Manilow download the PDF below.

ROBERTO ALAGNA MAKES HIS CANADIAN DEBUT AT THE BLACKCREEK SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31

Toronto, ON (May 4, 2011) —The BlackCreek Summer Music Festival proudly presents the Canadian debut of one of the world’s most thrilling tenors, the renowned ROBERTO ALAGNA, bringing to a close the inaugural season of the festival on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets will go on public sale on Saturday, May 7 at 10:00 a.m. and may be purchased online at www.blackcreekfestival.com or by calling 1-888-860-7888. Tickets are priced at $169.50, $141.25, $102.00, $96.50, $68.00, $51.00 (including HST; additional service charges will apply). The box office at the Rexall Centre, York University, 1 Shoreham Dr., opens for ticket sales on May 14.

Joining Mr. Alagna in a program of arias and duets from the Italian and French repertoire will be acclaimed soprano SVETLA VASSILEVA, also making her Canadian debut.  The two artists will perform with the BlackCreek Festival Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Leonardo Vordoni.

Born in France of Italian heritage, ROBERTO ALAGNA’s career was launched when he won the top prize in the Pavarotti Competition in Philadelphia at the age of 24.  His Italian lyric tenor voice opened doors to the top international stages, from New York’s Metropolitan Opera to Vienna’s and London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.  Today he is hailed as one of the foremost living tenors, celebrated in both the Italian and French repertoire.  A frequent headliner at the Metropolitan Opera, he has been seen by millions around the globe in HD transmissions to movie theaters, as Don Jose in Carmen and in the title role of Verdi’s Don Carlo.  Audiences love his passion, dashing good looks and ardently lyrical tenor voice.

Mr. Alagna’s program at BlackCreek will salute the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification as a nation-state in 1861 by including a many selections by Puccini – both solo arias and duets with Ms. Vassileva.

SVETLA VASSILEVA, a native of Bulgaria, has enjoyed great success on many of the world’s leading operatic stages, from La Scala to Vienna, and from London’s Covent Garden to San Francisco.  She has sung a wide range of leading roles encompassing Puccini, Verdi, Mozart, and many other composers, collaborating with some of the major conductors of our time, including Chailly, Dudamel, Maazel and Mehta.  

Mr. Alagna’s and Ms. Vassileva’s BlackCreek program includes beloved arias and duets by Puccini and Verdi, including some of the most popular selections from Puccini’s La boheme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Turandot, La Rondine and Gianni Schicchi; Verdi’s Otello; and operas by Halevy and Zandonai.  There will also be orchestral and choral selections by Bizet and Mascagni.

 
ABOUT THE BLACKCREEK SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL
 
Plácido Domingo kicks off the inaugural season of the new BlackCreek Summer Music Festival at the Rexall Centre on the campus of York University on June 4. The 2011 season spans 14 weeks, from June to September, and also includes such renowned artists as singer-songwriters James Taylor and Lionel Richie; jazz legends Tony Bennett and Diana Krall; country superstars Alan Jackson and Brad Paisley; pops conductor Marvin Hamlisch leading an evening of "The Very, Very Best of Broadway" starring Raul Esparza, Jane Krakowski, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Martin Short; world-renowned classical conductor, Lorin Maazel, and his Castleton Festival Orchestra and Chorus in a program of "Music Inspired by Shakespeare" starring Academy Award-winners,  Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons, as well as a three-night residency with the great Maestro conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, including an "All-American Program" featuring James Earl Jones; plus other artists and concerts still to be announced...all performing "under the stars."
 
Tickets for all BlackCreek Summer Music Festival events may be purchased online at www.blackcreekfestival.com or by calling 1-888-860-7888.
 
For general information, or to sign up for the BlackCreek Summer Music Festival alerts, please visit our website at www.blackcreekfestival.com.
 
For full bios of the artists named herein, please visit www.blackcreekfestival.com/events.
 
For high-resolution photos of the artists named herein, please visit www.blackcreekfestival.com/photos.

Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlackCreekFestival

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/blackcreekfest

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Media contacts:

Norman Zagier
Managing Director, Marketing and Communications
416-323-2333
nzagier@blackcreekfestival.com

Media interviews and event information:
Deborah Knight
dkpr public relations inc.
416-200-3577
dknight@dkpr.ca

BlackCreek Summer Music Festival To Go Social on Facebook® Platform

TORONTO, May 13 /CNW/ - The BlackCreek Summer Music Festival announced it will be going social on Facebook® Platform. 

The new annual summer music festival series will launch in Toronto on June 4 at the Rexall Centre at York University in Toronto with world renowned tenor, Plácido Domingo, in concert.  BlackCreek's inaugural season will feature Symphonic, Pop, Opera, Jazz, Broadway, Country and Gospel music concerts with renowned artists including James Taylor, Lionel Richie, Diana Krall, Tony Bennett, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, The London Symphony Orchestra, conductors Lorin Maazel and Marvin Hamlisch, and classical concerts featuring spoken performances by Dame Helen Mirren and  Jeremy Irons, with more artists still to be announced.

BlackCreek Summer Music Festival has incorporated social media at every level of the festival ensuring that fans have a truly social experience, whether they are attending the BlackCreek concerts in person or through the multiple online and mobile platforms available on a global basis.

The BlackCreek Summer Music Festival's social features include:

• Live Concert Streaming of the June 4th Plácido Domingo concert on his Facebook Page using Facebook Credits - a first.


• An application built on Facebook® Platform that will allow BlackCreek Summer Music Festival ticket buyers to group their friends and encourage them to join them at the BlackCreek concerts. The more friends on Facebook that buy tickets, the more they will be rewarded with ticket discounts, merchandise and exclusive content.


• When someone arrives at the BlackCreek Festival and checks in using Facebook Places, they are directed to a special VIP stadium entrance, and then they are invited to enjoy an exclusive VIP lounge that they can use before the concert, during intermission and post concert.  They will also have a chance to be upgraded to a Luxury Suite with all their friends that are attending the concert, as well as BlackCreek Festival virtual gift cards for free live streaming of the concert that they can send to friends that cannot attend live.


• Many more exclusive benefits will be announced throughout the summer.

"Facebook instilled in us the need to be 'Social by Design' from the very start of our business.  Social media has changed the way we live on a daily basis and our work on Facebook ensured that an enhanced social experience for our fans will be ubiquitous in everything we do." stated Kevin Albrecht, CEO, BlackCreek Summer Music Festival. "Let's face it; concerts are more fun when you are with your friends; in the era of social media, that means our fans have friends all around the world. We wanted to create an environment where you could share your passion for the music at BlackCreek with all of your friends no matter where they were."

The BlackCreek Summer Music Festival experience begins today, Friday, May 13 at 2:00 p.m. EST on www.Facebook.com/blackcreekfestival, with a Live Streaming Unplugged Interview with Plácido Domingo on the BlackCreek Summer Music Festival Facebook page. The interview will be conducted by Marvin Hamlisch- the multiple Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning composer and pops conductor - who serves as the Artistic Advisor for the Festival's Broadway and Pops concert presentations:

Plácido Domingo Live An Exclusive Interview by Marvin Hamlisch Live from The National Press Centre in Washington D.C. Friday May 13 @ 2:00 EST

About BlackCreek Summer Music Festival
BlackCreek's 2011 season will host concerts throughout the summer months featuring Symphonic, Pop, Opera, Jazz, Broadway, Country and Gospel music with renowned artists including Plácido Domingo, James Taylor, Lionel Richie, Tony Bennett and Diana Krall, John Fogerty and The Levon Helm Band, Chris Botti and Pink Martini, iconic country artists Brad Paisley and Allan Jackson, The London Symphony Orchestra, conductors Lorin Maazel and Marvin Hamlisch, and classical concerts featuring spoken performances by Dame Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons, and more to be announced , all performing "On a warm summer's night…Under a northern sky." 

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