MACKEY MARIANIST series
Metropolitan Opera star Dolora Zajick (Photo courtesy of Dolora Zajick)
Metropolitan Opera star Dolora Zajick, who has been called “one of the greatest voices in the history of opera,” will be the presenter for the Mackey Marianist Lectures: Catholicism in Prophetic Dialogue series, 4 p.m., March 8, in the Mystical Rose Oratory on the campus of Chaminade University and Saint Louis School.
The renowned mezzo-soprano will share her understanding and experience of the depth of the spiritual experience of music.
The Mackey Lectures is marking its 20th anniversary this year.
In addition to her impressive career in the world of opera, Zajick has a strong spiritual background drawn from the Carmelite tradition. Zajick considers the Carmelite order a “part of her family.” When she’s not performing and touring internationally, she spends her time at her home in Reno, Nevada, and at the local Carmelite monastery.
In September, she announced she would be retiring from the opera stage early this year.
The Mackey Marianist event is free and no registration is required. For more information, contact Marianist Brother Dennis Schmitz at baldschmitz@aol.com or 232-6691. More information is also available on the Marianist Center’s website at www.marianisthawaii.com.
For decades Zajick has been regarded as the greatest singer of some of Verdi operas’ most difficult roles.
The San Francisco Chronicle called her a “vocal phenomenon of the first order … for sheer visceral thrills in this music she’s hard to beat.”
Variety has hailed her a “force of nature” for mastering Verdi’s most famous and demanding mezzo-soprano roles with an expressive vocal palette, a seamless technique and an ability to communicate even the most complex character. Zajick is particularly renowned for her interpretations of Azucena in “Il Trovatore,” Amneris in “Aida” and Eboli in “Don Carlo.”
She has appeared in opera and concert with some of today’s foremost conductors including James Levine, Anthony Pappano, James Conlon, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Lorin Maazel, Charles Mackerras, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti and Michael Tilson Thomas.
In recent years she has also turned to composing. Zajick’s first major composition, “Roads to Zion,” an “opera scene” for solo voice, women’s chorus and small orchestra, received its world premiere in 2014, at a celebration commemorating the 500th year of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila, presented in San Jose, California, by the Discalced Carmelite Family of the Western U.S.
Oregon-born but Nevada raised, Zajick studied voice with Ted Puffer, the conductor and former artistic director of the Nevada Opera, and a professor at the Manhattan School of Music. She graduated from the University of Nevada with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music before going to New York for further studies at the Manhattan School of Music.
After winning the Bronze Medal at the 7th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, she was accepted in the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program. She made her debut with the San Francisco Opera as Azucena in “Il Trovatore,” which launched her international stardom.
Zajick was one of the first recipients of the Opera News Award held in 2005 along with James Conlon, Regine Crespin, Susan Graham and Placido Domingo. In 2009 she was honored by the Giulio Gari Foundation in recognition of her extraordinary operatic career.
For a more complete look at Zajick’s accomplishments, go to the Marianist Center’s webpage at www.marianisthawaii.com or to her webpage at http://www.dolorazajick.com.
