Come and enjoy beautiful songs and duets from all over Europe with our renowned trio: Irish Soprano Anne O'Byrne, Mexican tenor pablo Talamante, and the incomparable Dr. Charles Staples on Piano.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2023 | 3:00 PM
Saint Mary's Catholic Church
This concert is free, but we ask that you
REGISTER HERE.
The concert will last approximately 75 minutes without an intermission. A free reception will follow in the Commons. A free-will offering basket will be available for those who wish to help with the cost of this event.
Our performers:
Anne O'Byrne, soprano
Soprano Anne O’Byrne hails from Dublin, Ireland, where as a young singer, she joined the Irish Radio Choir, broadcasting weekly on national radio. She gained scholarships to attend the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, before embarking on a career in opera and concert which has taken her all over the world.
Anne has worked with renowned conductors, such as Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Andrew Davis; and famed producers, such as Sir Jonathan Miller and Sir Trevor Nunn. She has sung over twenty leading roles - including Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte; Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto; Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème; Suzanna in Le Nozze di Figaro; Leila in Bizet’s Pearlfishers, and Adina in Donizetti’s L'elisir d'amore to name a few. She has created roles in new operas for the Wexford and Covent Garden International Festivals, and recorded for Irish television, the BBC and NPR.
Ms. O’Byrne moved to the United States in 2002 with her husband David Fisk (former Executive Director of the Richmond Symphony, and now CEO and President of Charlotte Symphony) and their two children, Fionnuala and Oliver. Since then, Anne has performed for Virginia Opera, the Richmond Symphony, RVA Baroque, and many East Coast choral societies. Last summer, she sang the title role of Monteverdi’s opera, L’incoronazione di Poppea with Capitol Opera Richmond. She has sung for luminaries including President Barack Obama, Condoleezza Rice, Robert Redford, and the Royal families of England and Monaco.
Ms. O’Byrne has been teaching voice for over 25 years, including at University of Richmond and GreenSpring International Academy of Music, Richmond. Many of her students are top prizewinners in national competitions and have followed Anne’s lead by also performing in venues like Carnegie Hall.
Anne now divides her time between Charlotte and Richmond, and she is delighted to be back home at St Mary’s with so many friends!
Pablo Talamante, tenor
The Mexican-American tenor made his operatic debut with the Kentucky Opera in the role of the Third Jew in Strauss opera Salome, which led to many singing contracts on a variety of stages in both Concert and Opera in the United States and abroad. Pablo’s musical education comes from the University of Louisville and the Catholic University of America.
Mr. Talamante served in The United States Army for 27 years where he was requested to sing for her majesty Queen Sofia of Spain, Pope Benedict, Queen Eilzabeth of England, the last 5 Presidents of the United States and the Internment of Presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George Bush, amongst other high ranking military officials and heads of state.
A highly requested singer in our area, Mr. Talamante is currently on the board of the VCU Health Orchestra as a musical advisor, and as an Adjunct professor of Voice at the University of Richmond. Master Sergeant (ret) Talamante was Virgnia Governor Glenn Younkin’s National Anthem singer for his gubernatorial campaign.
Pablo recently retired from active duty and now resides in Midlothian VA with his wife, mother-in-law and his sheep-a-doodle dog.
Dr. Charles Staples, pianist
Charles Staples’ playing has been described in the Richmond Times-Dispatch as “forceful...but unforced, as natural as breathing.” A native of Alabama and honors graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts, Staples won the Van Cliburn full tuition scholarship to the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and went on to receive his master’s and doctoral degrees at Stony Brook University, training under David Bar-Illan, Martin Canin and Bernard Greenhouse. He won prizes in the MTNA Southern Division Competition, the Bryan Young Artist Competition, the Five Towns and Sunwood competitions, and has performed on public radio in Cincinnati, New York and Richmond.
Staples has been soloist in concerti with the the Richmond Symphony as well as the CCM Concert Orchestra, the Congress of Strings, the North Carolina Symphony and University of Richmond Orchestra and has been featured soloist with the Richmond Philharmonic in six concerti over the last 30 years. He has also performed recitals in New York's Town Hall and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. He has taught on the piano faculties of VCU and the University of Richmond and retired last year after 32 years as Director of Music Ministries at Trinity United Methodist Church. When not traveling, he keeps himself busy working with singers and instrumentalists throughout the region. Clarke Bustard of the Richmond Times Dispatch writes [He] “proved yesterday to be fully up to the technical and expressive demands of the Rachmaninoff concerto ... the pianist lifted more than 300 listeners out of their seats in a cheering ovation after a performance that was both bravura and lyrically sensitized.”