Come for a delightful hour of music as mezzo-soprano Patty Donohue Burns and Westminster’s own Jim Burns present a recital of songs by Schubert and Poulenc plus Samuel Barber’s masterful take on the simple life of a century ago. Set to a text by James Agee, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 evokes family on a summer evening from the eyes of a young child. The combination of story and music presents a memorable portrait of a time gone by.
Patty Donohue Burns is a versatile singing actress and comedienne whose roles have run the gamut from the matronly Mother Abbess to young boys such as Hansel and Cherubino. Although her powerful voice is well-suited to opera, her first love is art song, especially the German lieder of Schubert and Brahms. Her acting skills combined with her ability to connect with an audience make her ideal for the song recital, where one must create a character and tell a story within the space of a few minutes. She has studied song literature with two of the foremost song specialists, the late Helen Hodam and Metropolitan Opera star Mildred Miller.
