“Die Schöne Müllerin,” January 9

Sunday, January 9, 7 p.m.

Great Hall at Trinity Cathedral, 121 West 12th Street, Davenport IA

Celebrating its return from a two-year hiatus, Opera Quad Cities rings in 2022 with a special presentation of Franz Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin, a January 9 recital being held at Davenport's Great Hall at Trinity Cathedral, and a song cycle performed by Davenport native Nicholas Fahrenkrug and Greek pianist Eleonora Apostoldi.

Composed in 1823, Die Schöne Müllerin is a set of 20 songs based on the poetry of Wilhelm Müller. The main character is a young wanderer who falls in love with the beautiful daughter of the local miller, yet throughout Schubert's song cycle, he keeps all his thoughts to himself. There is no interaction between characters other than the conversations that the wanderer has with the brook, and eventually, the wanderer realizes the miller’s daughter might be in love with a hunter, and not him. In his despair, the song cycle concludes with a dramatic and tragic final aria performed by baritone Fahrenkrug, who was recently awarded The American Prize's Acknowledgement for Artistic Achievement for his art film Dichterliebe: Within & Without.

Fahrenkrug is a second-year Masters student in Vocal Performance at the Louisiana State University School of Music in Baton Rouge, where he studies with baritone Dennis Jesse. While at LSU, he has performed multiple roles with the Turner-Fischer Center for Opera, including Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Giulio Cesare in Giulio Cesare, Marco in Gianni Schicchi, and Marquis de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites. Originally from Davenport, Fahrenkrug graduated from Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in 2020, and from Davenport Central High School in 2016.

Accompanying the baritone on piano, Apostolidi is a prize winner in many national and international competitions, as well as an active solo and collaborative performer who has appeared in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, and Wiener Saal. She is a doctoral candidate in Piano Performance with a minor in Collaborative Piano at the LSU School of Music, where she is graduate teaching assistant. Apostolidi previously earned her Master of Music degree at LSU, following her undergraduate degree from SUNY-Purchase. The artist is also an experienced piano teacher who has been on the faculty at Grace Notes School of Music in Baton Rouge since 2018, where her students have been awarded multiple prizes.

Opera Quad Cities was formed in September of 2001 to broaden the appreciation of artistic singing in the Quad Cities community, and has presented a variety of productions from children’s operas such as The Three Little Pigs a la Mozart to high drama such as Bizet’s Carmen, the latter performed at Davenport's Adler Theatre. Additional past productions have included Mozart's The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, and Cosi fan tutte; Puccini's La Boheme; Verdi's Rigoletto; and, most recently, Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance.

Opera Quad Cities' presentation of Die Schöne Müllerin will take place at the Trinity Cathedral on January 9 at 7 p.m., donations are encouraged for the free concert event, and more information is available by calling Kristin Bruchmann at (563)940-9015 or e-mailing Ron May at may2000@aol.com. For more on Opera Quad Cities, visit OperaQC.org.