Artist Information

Denyce Graves
Recognized worldwide as one of today's most exciting vocal stars, Denyce Graves continues to gather unparalleled popular and critical acclaim in performances on four continents. USA Today identified her as one of the "singers most likely to be an operatic star of the 21st Century." The combination of her expressive, rich vocalism, elegant stage presence and exciting theatrical abilities allows her to pursue a wide breadth of operatic portrayals as well as delight audiences in concert and recital appearances. Graves has become particularly well known to operatic audiences for her portrayals of the title roles in Carmen and Samson et Dalila.

Graves began the 2003-04 season performing at Los Angeles Opera for a new production of La Damnation de Faust. After a gala concert appearance as Dalila with Opera de Puerto Rico, Graves appeared throughout the United States in recital, including performances in Santa Fe, Los Angeles and Baltimore. More operatic highlights of the season include a rare double-bill of El amor brujo and La vida breve specifically mounted for Graves by Dallas Opera, as well as her return to Munich for performances as Carmen with the Bayerische Staatsoper and London for performances as Dalila with Royal Opera, Covent Garden. In December, she appears on NBC's "Divas on Ice" in a performance of arias combined with world-class figure skating. Graves was recently appointed as a Cultural Ambassador for the United States, and she now travels around the world under the auspices of the State Department appearing in good-will missions of musical performances, lectures, and seminars.

Patti LaBelle
Grammy Award winner Patti LaBelle has been giving her all through her recordings and onstage performances since 1961 when she led The Bluebells to a million-selling hit with "I Sold My Heart To The Junkman." Since then, the Philadelphia native has been a chart staple through a half-dozen hits with the futuristic trio LaBelle and later a stunning solo career with over thirty charted singles including 1983's chart topper "If You Only Knew," the 1985 smash "New Attitude," a pop and R&B number one single "On My Own," which was a 1986 duet with Michael McDonald. Her ten albums have included 1986 platinum-selling Winner in You and three gold albums Burnin', Gems and Flame. LaBelle's high-octane concerts draw constant standing-room only crowds, including a record-breaking two-week concert run on Broadway in 1998.

Take 6 Grammy Award winning Take 6 performs in an all-voice, no instrument "a capella" format. Their complex jazz harmonies, original songs and vocal pyrotechnics represent some of the best a cappella ever recorded. The six-man group has built a style and catalog of songs that draw from gospel, jazz, doo-wop, R&B, pop, '60s soul and hip-hop. The group is currently composed of David Thomas, Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent, Mark and Joey Kibble, and Claude V. McKnight III.
Jessica Swink Jessica Swink, a 25-year-old soprano from Maryland, was an Operalia 2001 semi-finalist, and has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center as the winner of their Young Soloists Competition in 2003. She has sung twice at the White House, and has returned for a second season with The Washington Opera's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.