Soprano Harolyn Blackwell here March 25 for Diehn Concert

Internationally acclaimed soprano Harolyn Blackwell will give a solo recital at 8 p.m. Monday, March 25, in Chandler Recital Hall of the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center as part of the F. Ludwig Diehn Concert Series. She will also conduct a master class at noon on March 26 in the recital hall.

The concert and master class are free and open to the public, but seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.

One of the brightest stars on stages in the United States and abroad, Blackwell has been hailed by audiences and critics alike as a "model of agility, spunk, charm and silvery tone." Recognized for her expressive and exuberant performances, as well as for her radiant voice, she is making a wide and varied career on opera, concert and recital stages throughout the world. She has performed with many of the major national and international opera companies and at festivals throughout the world.

Blackwell also has sung in several important concert series, including those at London's Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall and New York's Town Hall.

She began the 2001-02 season with her debut with the Tulsa Opera singing Gilda in Rigoletto. She then performed Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with Maestro Previn with the Munich Philharmonic, followed in the winter by a duo recital tour with mezzo-soprano Florence Quivar in which the artists exclusively performed American music. This tour is being followed by solo recitals in several cities, including a performance at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center and Blackwell's performance at Old Dominion.

The university's Diehn Concert Series was made possible by a grant from the F. Ludwig Diehn Music Fund of The Norfolk Foundation. For more information call 683-3020.