Metropolitan Opera veteran Janet Hopkins and

AKC Show Grand Champion dog  Ecco

to be featured in Pre-Westminster event

New York, NY – February 3^rd, 2012 - New York Metropolitan Opera star and animal lover Janet Hopkins will join AKC Show Grand Champion dog Grand Champion Sweetbriar’s Ecco D’Oro (Ecco) in New York for a musical good luck send off as he competes in the 2012 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.  At 1pm on Monday, February 13^th at the Hotel Pennsylvania in Midtown Manhattan,  Miss Hopkins will serenade opera loving Ecco with a favorite personalized Italian aria, “O Mio Babbino Cane”.  Ecco is a Spinone Italiano breed.

A long time advocate for animal rights, Janet Hopkins has donated her time and talents for many fund raising concerts.  She is teaming up with Ecco to raise awareness about proper care for animals and pet adoptions. For the month of February 2012, 15% of the sale of Miss Hopkins’ popular cd ARIA will be donated to benefit animal rescue.   www.JanetEHopkins.com

This year marks Ecco’s first visit to Madison Square Garden where he will be vying for the top spot against some of the most spectacular Spinoni in the United States to represent his breed  in the Sporting Group competition at Westminster. Ecco has developed an internet following of dog fans who are taken with his mischievous nature and frequent on-line musings.  Like his friend Janet Hopkins, he too uses his status to raise awareness about the importance of pet adoption and animal welfare.

“Opera has finally gone to the dogs,” laughs Hopkins. “Ecco is an opera loving dog, and I am a pet loving diva. Together, we can bring attention to two of the world’s greatest passions: music and pets. Both should be nurtured, appreciated, and enjoyed. This will be great fun!”

Amy Hines of Smithfield, VA, owner of Ecco, is excited about all that her New York visit will encompass. “This is a wonderful time for Ecco and us,” notes Hines.  “Appearing with a star like Janet Hopkins, competing in Westminster, helping to raise awareness for animal rescue, we are thrilled with it all. We are grateful to the Hotel Pennsylvania www.HotelPenn.com for their hospitality and to the talents of Everyday Opera Magazine www.EverydayOpera.com for bringing us all together.”

Diva and dog will be highlighted in the historic lobby of the Hotel Pennsylvania which was recently named the 2012 Pre-Westminster “Pet Friendly Hotel of the Year”.  To show his “dog-thusiasm” for opera and the event, Ecco will be formally attired,  sporting black tie, tails, and a top hat.

“This will be a lively event,” offers Janet Hopkins. “Any time the importance of supporting animal rescue is emphasized, we all win.  And anything involving opera is always a high note,” she suggests with a smile.

The 2012 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will take place in New York at Madison Square Garden on February 13^th and 14^th. It will air live on the USA Network.  For additional information, visit www.WestminsterKennelClub.org

About Janet Hopkins

For over 16 years, Janet Hopkins has thrilled audiences at the New York Metropolitan Opera and on stages around the world.  Recognized as one of the most gifted voices of the modern opera era, Miss Hopkins has performed a broad range of operas and concerts. Her numerous recordings have garnered critical acclaim in the United States and abroad.  www.JanetEHopkins.com

Follow Miss Hopkins on Twitter:   www.Twitter.com/TheMetDiva

About Ecco

Seemingly born to be a champion, Ecco has his paws in many dishes.  Known for his philanthropic ways,  this 95 pound Spinone Italiano lends his good natured self to a host of causes benefiting animal welfare and pet adoption. This canine philanthropist has contributed to over 50 charities in the past 6 months. Always on the go, Ecco is the new Canine Travel Consultant for Everyday Opera Magazine. With the able assistance of his devoted humans, Ecco’s vivacious personality can be enjoyed on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ecco-DOro/169898309731244 and his website www.EccoDoro.com

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CONTACT:

Laura Kirkham

The Laura Kirkham Agency

760.565.2425

Laura@LauraKirkham.com

New York Metropolitan Opera Star Janet Hopkins

to Perform at Kennedy Center

Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano to be featured in Defiant Requiem

Washington D.C. –  May 24^th, 2010 – New York Metropolitan Opera star Janet Hopkins will be featured on the Concert Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on October 6^th, 2010, at the performance of the historic Defiant Requiem. This production honors those who were interred in the World War II concentration camp at Terezin, sometimes called by its German name of Theresienstadt.

The Defiant Requiem is a powerful multi-media production which tells the story of the courageous and innovative prisoners who used their performances of the magnificent music of Verdi’s Requiem to show their defiance to their captors.  The work interweaves Verdi’s Requiem with video clip interviews of actual Terezin survivors, dramatic readings from inmate’s diaries, and Nazi film footage.

Famed conductor Murry Sidlin is the creative motivation behind the Defiant Requiem. Upon learning the story of the musical feats of the Terezin prisoners and their leader Raphael Schächter, Sidlin’s passion for telling it morphed into his production which he titled the Defiant Requiem.

Located in Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic, Terezin concentration camp held as captive a large number of intellectuals, artists, and musicians. Among them was a talented young Jewish conductor, Raphael Schächter. Upon his arrival at Terezin in November of 1941, he immediately immersed himself into bringing music to the prisoners.  When not engaged in hard labor at the camp, he organized singers and musicians, producing operas and various musical productions. Schächter actually smuggled a make shift piano into the prison camp.

A chorus of 150 members initially performed the renown Verdi Requiem at Terezin.  Schächter had but a single worn copy of the score which he had smuggled into the prison camp. He taught the singers from it, all learning it in Latin.  The 16 performances of the Verdi Requiem at Terezin were gloriously performed accompanied only by a legless piano propped up on boxes.

The chorus assembled by Schächter was constantly having to be replenished with singers as members were frequently shipped to Auschwitz where they met their death.  Others died at Terezin, victims of the stark living conditions.  These setbacks never deterred Schächter, He persevered and used his vigilant spirit to lift up those around him.

The International Red Cross visited Terezin in June of 1944, accompanied by high ranking SS officers.  The Nazis staged a carefully arranged charade about how happy life was in the camp. Although reduced to only 60 singers, Schãchter performed the Requiem for the visitors. The Red Cross failed to see through the Nazi ruse.

Terezin camp member Bedrich Borges recalled: “Rafael Schächter literally poured spirit into people. I remember, for example, how he was working with choir in opera The Kiss. I didn’t sing and sat in the audience; I looked at Schächter and thought I was looking at Johann Sebastian Bach. The man was simply impregnated by music, a rock of a man.”

Schächter chose to have his fellow inmates perform the Verdi Requiem because of its message of overcoming evil and darkness and the eventual retributions of judgment day.  He was known to say, “What we can not say to them, we will sing to them”.  The power of the music and lyrics of the Verdi Requiem was chosen to inspire and uplift the downtrodden prisoners of Terezin as their unified act of defiance to their captors.

“Celebrating the courage and talents of the prisoners at Terezin makes this a very gratifying endeavor,” notes diva Janet Hopkins.  “This is one of the incredible stories in history that shines a light on the strength of the human spirit.  I have performed all over the world on some of the grandest stages, but taking part in the Defiant Requiem may be the most important performance of my career.  I am thrilled to be working with Murry Sidlin.  His vision and musical genius are unparalleled.”

“I must tell the story,” Sidlin declares, “of an unsung hero, Raphael Schächter, who was a passionate conductor, a risk taker, and a man motivated by music to serve humanity.”

Regarding the prisoners of Terezin, Sidlin notes, “Their desire for culture was indeed a match for their desire for life. For more than three years, Rafi Schächter inspired the Terezin population until his deportation to Auschwitz on October 16, 1944 , from which he did not return. And now, we honor his blessed memory.”

Janet Hopkins

For over 16 years, Janet Hopkins has thrilled audiences at the New York Metropolitan Opera and on stages around the world.  Recognized as one of the most gifted voices of the modern opera era, Miss Hopkins has performed a broad range of operas and concerts. Her numerous recordings have garnered critical acclaim in the United States and abroad.

www.JanetEHopkins.com

www.Twitter.com/TheMetDiva

Defiant Requiem at The Kennedy Center

The October 6^th performance of the Defiant Requiem will take place at 7:30pm in the Concert Hall at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The Concert Hall is the largest performance space in the Kennedy Center, seating 2,442. This state-of-the-art facility sets new standards for accessibility and sound. Tickets are on sale at the Center box office and are $30 – $85.00. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2700 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20566

Tickets and Information: 800-444-1324 or 202-467-4600

www.KennedyCenter.com

www.Twitter.com/KenCen

A Iimited number of complimentary tickets are available for Holocaust survivors. Sponsorship opportunities are available for gifts of $1000 and above.  Contact Louisa Hollman for details louisa@bhevents.com.

Defiant Requiem Sponsors

Sponsors for this production of the Defiant Requiem include:  the governments of the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Israel, and Sweden; American University; the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Alice and David Rubenstein, Chairman of the Kennedy Center; Ronald Lauder; The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee; The Annenberg Foundation; The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc., and Elie Wiesel.  The educational components are supported by a grant from the National Endowment for The Humanities. The performance is supported by the bipartisan leadership of the United States Congress.

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The Laura Kirkham Agency

Laura Kirkham

760.341.1410

Laura@LauraKirkham.com

• October 8th,  2010
  Beethoven’s 9th Symphony
  Charleston Symphony
  Charleston,  South Carolina

• November 14th, 2010
  Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen
  Columbia, South Carolina

• December 20th, 2010
  The Messiah

• April 8th, 2011
  Defiant Requiem performance  (Verdi Requiem)
  Tulsa, Oklahoma

• May 1st, 2011
  Defiant Requiem performance  (Verdi Requiem)
  Bemodko, Minnesota

• May 15th, 2010
  Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Lake Murry Symphony