Bon Appétit! Julia Child, “The French Chef” (mezzo-soprano Hailey McAvoy), bakes a flourless chocolate cake before your very eyes in this truly special creation by the American composer, Lee Hoiby. Heralded as “funny and strangely adorable” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the opera was written for the actress Jean Stapleton, and premiered at the Kennedy Center. The recipe comes from Child herself, with a little help from librettist Mark Shulgasser, who transcribed two episodes of Child’s beloved television show. Pianist Bethany Pietroniro helps in the kitchen. A reception for lovers of chocolate follows.
This concert is made possible in part with the generous support of Ridgeway Garden Center, White Plains, and the Morano Group, LLC Mamaroneck.
Recognized as a "gorgeous-voiced mezzo-soprano," (Broadway World), Hailey McAvoy is a versatile performer of opera, song, and concert who uses her voice to connect with audiences and amplify voices of living and lesser-known composers. McAvoy’s recent operatic performances include appearing as Mem, the leading role in Paola Prestini’s newest opera, Sensorium Ex, which had its orchestral workshop at the Kennedy Center with Vision into Art and Beth Morrison Projects and will premiere at Opera Omaha in May 2025. Additional roles in her repertoire include Third Lady in MassOpera’s The Magic Flute: Retold, Third Woodsprite (Dvorak, Rusalka; Opera Ithaca), the Page of Herodias (Strauss, Salome; Fisher Center of Performing Arts), The Taller Daughter (Mazzoli, Proving Up; Aspen Music Festival), Zosha (Heggie, Out of Darkness; Eastman Opera Theater), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro; Aquilon Music Festival), and in select performances as a Young Artist with Cedar Rapids Opera and Opera Ithaca.
As a performer with the neurological condition Cerebral Palsy, McAvoy is committed to amplifying the discussion around disability in the arts in order to make the performing arts more inclusive for all. She recently published essays on accessibility in the arts in AGMAzine and Our Singing Bodies and she has appeared as a panelist on accessibility forums with such organizations as Opera Ithaca and Opera NexGen. She also recently appeared in conversation on the Now We Listen podcast through The IDEA Task Force of Early Music America. The episode will be released in spring 2024. To learn more about McAvoy’s singing and Cerebral Palsy, visit www.haileymcavoy.com
Bethany Pietroniro, piano, is a versatile collaborator who centers her work in a range of repertoire spanning from Baroque masterworks to world premieres, and nurtures close musical partnerships in the process. Highlights of her performing work include an appearance with The Orchestra Now at Alice Tully Hall, New York premieres of vocal works by emerging composers at the Morgan Library, and an Earth Day-themed song recital at the Baltimore War Memorial.