Sag Harbor Song Festival 2025
The fourth Sag Harbor Song Festival in late September 2025, again presented in collaboration with The Church in Sag Harbor, was once again sold out. The Festival continued to attract new and attentive audiences who expressed their enthusiasm for the high musical standards reached over the three unique concert performances by the six young operatic stars detailed below. The Festival continued to increase the range of music presented, covering a musical panorama of operatic repertory, musical theatre, songs and lieder.
The 2025 Festival was led by Artistic Director Brad Woolbright and Music Director Robert Tweten, who also accompanied the extraordinary roster at the piano.
Our 2025 Talent
Amber Norelai
Soprano
Susanna Phillips
Soprano
Cecelia Hall
Mezzo-soprano
David Portillo
Tenor
Darren Lekeith Drone
Baritone
Le Bu
Bass-Baritone
Brad Woolbright
Artistic Director
Robert Tweten
Music Director
Musical Program
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Si può? (from Pagliacci) | Leoncavallo
— Darren Lekeith Drone, baritone
Cara speme (from Giulio Cesare) | Handel
— Cecelia Hall, mezzo-soprano
Parigi, o cara (from La Traviata) | Verdi
— Susanna Phillips, soprano & David Portillo, tenor
Four Serious Songs Op. 121 | Brahms
I. Denn es gehet dem Menschen
II. Ich wandte mich
III. O Tod, wie bitter bist du
IV. Wenn ich mit Menschen und mit Engelszungen redete— Le Bu, bass-baritone
Chants d’Auvergne | Canteloube
I. Baïlèro
II. Lo fiolairé
III. Brezairola
IV. L’aïo dè rotso— Amber Norelai, soprano
Four Lieder, Op. 12/13 | Clara Schumann
I. Liebst du um Schönheit
II. Warum willst du and’re fragen
III. Ich stand in dunklen Träumen
IV. Liebeszauber— Cecelia Hall
Ave Maria (from Otello) | Verdi
— Susanna Phillips
Di Provenza il mar, il suol (from La Traviata) | Verdi
— Darren Lekeith Drone
Quando m’en vo (from La bohème) | Puccini
— Amber Norelai
Soave sia il vento (from Così fan tutte) | Mozart
— Susanna Phillips, Cecelia Hall & Le Bu
I. Júrame (from Spanish Tango) | Maria Grever
II. Bella enamorada (from El último romántico) | R. Soutullo y J. Vert
III. No puede ser (from La Taberna del Puerto) | Pablo Sorozábal— David Portillo
The Champagne Song (from Die Fledermaus) | Johann Strauss
— Amber Norelai, Susanna Phillips, Cecelia Hall, David Portillo, Darren Lekeith Drone & Le Bu
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Where’er you walk (from Semele) | Handel
— David Portillo, tenor
Aprite un po’ quegli occhi (from Le Nozze di Figaro) | Mozart
— Le Bu, bass-baritone
Parto, parto ( from La Clemenza di Tito) | Mozart
— Cecelia Hall, mezzo-soprano
Hermit Songs | Samuel Barber
I. At St. Patrick’s Purgatory
II. Church Bell at Night
III. St. Ita’s Vision
IV. The Heavenly Banquet
V. The Crucifixion
VI. Sea-Snatch
VII. Promiscuity
VIII. The Monk and his Cat
IX. The Praises of God
X. The Desire for Hermitage— Susanna Phillips, soprano
The Bell Song (from Lakmé) | Delibes
— Amber Norelai, soprano
Suoni la tromba (from I Puritani) | Bellini
— Darren Lekeith Drone, baritone & Le Bu
Pst, pst, Nannetta (from Falstaff) | Verdi
— Amber Norelai & David Portillo
Vecchia zimarra, senti (from La bohème) | Puccini
— Le Bu
Am I In Your Light? (from Doctor Atomic) | John Adams
— Cecelia Hall
Canciones Clásicas Españolas | F. Obradors
I. Al Amor
II. Del cabello más sutil
III. Chiquitita la novia— David Portillo
Me llaman la primorosa (from El Barbero de Sevilla) | M. Nieto y G. Giménez
— Amber Norelai
I. A Red Headed Woman (from Porgy and Bess) | Gershwin
II. A Woman is a Sometime Thing
III. I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’— Darren Lekeith Drone
Speak Low (from One Touch of Venus) | Kurt Weill
— Cecelia Hall
Six Songs from “Do You Sing, Mr. Twain?” | Gordon Myers
— Susanna Phillips
Sure On This Shining Night | Morten Lauridsen
— Amber Norelai, Susanna Phillips, Cecelia Hall, David Portillo, Darren Lekeith Drone & Le Bu
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De España Vengo (from El Niño Judío) | Pablo Luna
— Amber Norelai, soprano
Granada | Agustín Lara
— David Portillo, tenor
Riez, allez! (from Don Quichotte) | Massenet
— Le Bu, bass-baritone
Seguidilla (from Carmen) | Bizet
— Cecelia Hall, mezzo-soprano
Old American Songs | Copland
I. The Boatmen’s Dance
II. The Dodger
III. Simple Gifts
IV. At the River
V. I Bought Me a Cat— Darren Lekeith Drone, baritone
Silent Noon | R. Vaughan Williams
— Le Bu
I. Autumn in New York (from Thumbs Up!) | Vernon Duke
II. Till there was you (from The Music Man) | Meredith Willson
III. Love is here to stay (from The Goldwyn Follies) | George Gershwin— Susanna Phillips, soprano
Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat (from Guys and Dolls) | Frank Loesser
— David Portillo and Amber Norelai, Susanna Phillips, Cecelia Hall, Darren Lekeith Drone & Le Bu
No One Is Alone (from Into the Woods) | Stephen Sondheim
— Amber Norelai, Cecelia Hall, David Portillo & Darren Lekeith Drone
Being Alive (from Company) | Stephen Sondheim
— David Portillo
Getting Married Today (from Company) | Stephen Sondheim
— Susanna Phillips, Amber Norelai & David Portillo
I. Waitin’ for my Dearie (from Brigadoon) | Lerner & Loewe
II. Somebody, somewhere (from Most Happy Fella) | Frank Loesser— Amber Norelai
It Never Was You (from Knickerbocker Holiday) | Kurt Weill
— Cecelia Hall & Darren Lekeith Drone
Some Enchanted Evening (from South Pacific) | Rodgers & Hammerstein
— Le Bu
I. I’d Rather be Sailing (from A New Brain) | William Finn
II. Friend Like Me (from Aladdin) | Alan Menken & Howard Ashman— Darren Lekeith Drone
Over the Rainbow (from The Wizard of Oz) | Arlen & Harburg
— Cecelia Hall
You’ll Never Walk Alone/Climb Every Mountain | Rodgers & Hammerstein (arr. Mark Hayes)
— Amber Norelai, Susanna Phillips, Cecelia Hall, David Portillo, Darren Lekeith Drone & Le Bu