It is with great pleasure that the Harriman-Jewell Series presents Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez on Sunday, May 11, 2008, at 3 p.m. in the downtown Kansas City Folly Theater (12th and Central Sts.). Remaining seats can be purchased without ordering a package for the new season. You may order tickets online or call (816) 415-5025.

According to Series artistic director Richard Harriman, who traveled to Lima, Peru, last month to attend Mr. Flórez’s wedding and performance of Rigoletto, the tenor’s voice has returned to top form following a throat infection that caused him to cancel his concert originally scheduled for February 4.

The Series first presented Mr. Flórez in his electric American recital debut in April 2002, and he returned in January 2004, with a dazzling sold-out performance.
In Juan Diego Flórez's current role at the Metropolitan Opera’s production of La Fille du Regiment, he has proven that the “new king of the high C’s” reigns supreme. A mes amis, the opera’s famous aria with nine high C’s, is one of several arias planned by Mr. Flórez for the concert. see the program list

The 35-year-old Peruvian singer’s fame continues to rise as critics compare him to the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who sang his professional recital debut for the Harriman-Jewell Series on February 1, 1973:

Clark Morris, Series executive director, agrees that superstar talent is evident in Juan Diego Flórez and that the comparison to Pavarotti has more substance than hype. “While there will never be another Luciano Pavarotti, it was the great tenor himself who named Juan Diego as his successor. I am honored by the Series’ longtime association and friendship with Mr. Pavarotti and I look forward to our continued journey with Mr. Flórez as he ascends toward further greatness,”
Morris said.

More than 800 performances have come to Kansas City by way of the Harriman-Jewell Series—including 18 American recital debuts by prominent vocalists and instrumentalists. The cumulative impact and enduring quality of its programming has earned the Series recognition as a premier contributor to the region’s
cultural landscape.