Emerson String Quartet and Renee Fleming

Philip Setzer, violin

Eugene Drucker, violin

Lawrence Dutton, viola

Paul Watkins, cello

Renée Fleming, soprano

Simone Dinnerstein, piano

Hailed as “America's leading string quartet” by the Washington Post, the Grammy Award®–winning Emerson String Quartet will surely end the Fortas season on a high note. The ensemble reunites with Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor at Large Renée Fleming for another “rapturous recital” (The Washington Post) after their successful collaboration on the 2015–2016 chamber music season. At the center of the evening is Penelope, a new monodrama inspired by Homer’s The Odyssey from the Academy Award®–winning composer André Previn and libretto by playwright Tom Stoppard.

ANDRÉ PREVIN 

Penelope (new commission)

Other repertoire TBD

A Note from Joseph “Yossi” Kalichstein, Artistic Director of Fortas Chamber Music

If chamber music is about bringing different voices together, then in this program we have the ultimate. Converging to tell the story of The Odyssey from Penelope’s point of view are the great Fleming, Emersons, and Previn, not to mention a libretto by Tom Stoppard. Surely an evening to remember.