Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories

Jackie Evancho performs Friday at Artpark in Lewiston.
Jackie Evancho performs Friday at Artpark in Lewiston.

Jackie Evancho is live at Artpark on Friday

by jmaloni

Press release

Thu, Jun 27th 2013 01:15 pm

"America's Got Talent" soprano prodigy to perform classical and pop favorites

Thirteen-year-old Jackie Evancho will perform for one night only at Artpark's Mainstage Theater on Friday, June 28, at 8 p.m. Tickets for the performance are available at www.artpark.net.

First appearing on the hit NBC TV show, "Americas Got Talent" at age 10, Jackie left audiences and judges astonished that such a beautiful and perfect soprano voice could come from a 10-year-old girl. It wasn't just her musical gift and her age that floored the "America's Got Talent" audience, but Jackie's presence, poise and charm that truly made them take notice.

One of the show's judges, Piers Morgan, explained, "You've got the whole package." The young and talented soprano from Pittsburgh won runner-up and launched her soon-to-be legendary career, signing with Columbia Records shortly thereafter.

Jackie's debut EP, "O Holy Night," was released in November 2010 and became the year's No. 1 best-selling debut recording with sales exceeding 1 million copies and earning her a platinum certification. In June 2011, Jackie released her first studio album, "Dream With Me." The mix of operatic arias, show tunes and pop standards debuted on the Billboard Top 200 chart at No. 2 and was certified Gold after only four weeks of release. "Heavenly Christmas" was released in November 2011 and became one of the top-selling holiday albums of the year.

"She is a prodigy; they break the rules by definition," wrote music critic Andrew Duckenbrod in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after seeing a then-11-year-old perform to a sold-out crowd in her hometown in October 2011. "(Her) voice mesmerizes. She has become one of the performers who has been defining the "crossover classic" category of singers - those who are equally comfortable with Puccini or pop."

Billboard Magazine added Jackie to its list of music movers-and-shakers under the age of 21 in 2011 and then again in 2012, because the soprano's "spellbinding, operatic vocals possess a power and poignancy that often moves listeners multiple times her age to tears."

Jackie has participated in the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C., where she sang to - and delighted - President Obama and his wife, Michelle. Two months later, she was again invited to perform for the president and congressional leaders during the National Prayer Breakfast.

She is also popular internationally. In early 2012, Jackie was selected to travel to Russia to perform in front of 100,000 people prior to the opening of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. Jackie, representing the U.S., was honored to sing with two opera stars, Dmitri Hvorostovsky of Russia and Sumi Jo of Korea. Jackie's fan base also extends to Japan, where she was invited to perform for the Royal Family at the Imperial Palace. She tours regularly with the Tokyo Philharmonic to sold-out venues.

She was asked to do another show for the "Great Performance" series in 2012: "Jackie Evancho: Music of the Movies," which featured Jackie singing classic songs from movies as diverse as "South Pacific" ("Some Enchanted Evening"), "Titanic" ("My Heart Will Go On") and "Cinema Paridiso ("Se"). It premiered in August on PBS stations.

Capping off an incredible year, Jackie released her third studio album, "Songs From The Silver Screen," on Oct. 2. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Classical charts and at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart.

Looking back, Jackie says her desire to perform was born after her family saw the film version of "The Phantom of the Opera" when she was just 7 years old. The film made such a lasting impression on Jackie that she selected "Music of the Night" for the first song on "Songs From The Silver Screen."

Tickets for Jackie's Artpark performance are available and range from $55-$75. Purchase them in person at the Artpark Box Office (450 S. Fourth St., Lewiston), by phone at 716-754-4375 or 1-888-223-6000, or online at www.artpark.net or www.tickets.com.

For more information, visit www.artpark.net.

Hometown News

View All News