SYCO/Columbia Records Announce the Release of Dream With Me In Concert Starring 11-Year-Old Soprano Prodigy Jackie Evancho

NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SYCO/Columbia Records is proud to announce the upcoming release of Dream With Me In Concert, a live performance DVD from Jackie Evancho, the brilliant 11-year-old soprano who captivated the country with her breakout performances last summer on "America's Got Talent."

The concert includes the songs from Jackie's chart-topping first full-length studio album Dream With Me, produced by the legendary David Foster, plus two bonus tracks that were performed in concert, but not seen on the PBS Special which aired in June.

The Dream With Me album debuted on the Billboard Top 200 chart at #2 and was certified Gold after only four weeks of release. In addition, due to the huge success of the June PBS pledge, Jackie Evancho's "Dream With Me Live - Great Performances PBS Special" - continues to be a major PBS hit during the August pledge period.  Since its premiere in June, the program has received an unprecedented number of nearly 2,000 broadcasts to-date and with coverage in over 90% of all US TV households.  The program is airing coast-to-coast and in at least 45 states from all four corners: New York, Miami, to Seattle and Los Angeles and also everywhere in between, and even including Honolulu!  Nearly 75% of airings are in primetime or top time slots.  The Pledge Drive for PBS continues through August and into September. Check with your local PBS station or check local listings for broadcast dates and times. 

It's been a busy – and heady – year for Jackie: a holiday EP, O Holy Night, that sold 1.5 million copies; the debut release of her first full-length album, Dream With Me; a sold out tour of concert halls across the country, where she performed with well-known Symphonies and Orchestras; and the PBS "Great Performances" Special that is the basis of the new DVD.

August 10, 2011 marked the one year anniversary of Jackie's appearance on America's Got Talent.  As a contestant on the show, Evancho catapulted into the quarter finals round when her unaffectedly pure performance of Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" (one of Maria Callas's signature arias) handily won the show's YouTube round.  Jackie performed five times on the show over the summer. Her astonishing classical crossover soprano performances signaled the arrival of a major musical talent.

Both the Dream With Me album and DVD feature a repertoire of operatic arias and pop classics handpicked to suit Jackie's pitch-perfect voice. Her range is so great that she is comfortable singing the Disney classic "When You Wish Upon A Star," followed by a spine-chilling rendition of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma."  Equally as thrilling is Jackie's emotional interpretation of the classic Sarah McLachlan song, "Angel."

David Foster has worked with the biggest names in music, including Beyonce, Prince, Josh Groban and Celine Dion, but he admits that Jackie's talent astonished him. "Her natural ability and the depth of her understanding of the musical process left me speechless," he says. Foster has mentored Jackie and appears on Dream With Me In Concert as the show's host.

For the Dream With Me album, Foster brought in two equally-gifted performers to duet with Jackie – Barbra Streisand, whom he worked with on a version of the stunning Leonard Bernstein work, "Somewhere" (from West Side Story), and Susan Boyle, who teamed up with Jackie for a poignant rendition of "A Mother's Prayer."

The bonus tracks that were performed at the concert but not included in the PBS special are "Mi Mancherai" (I Miss You) from the Italian film Il Postino (The Postman) and a tune that is especially close to Jackie's heart, the inspirational "To Believe," written by her uncle Matthew Evancho.

The DVD was filmed inside and on the grounds of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida, which includes the stunning mansion Ca' d'Zan, known as the last of the Gilded Age mansions built in America. Ringling was the impresario behind the iconic Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. "This is a big, beautiful place," said Jackie after she toured the grounds. "My favorite part is the Peter Paul Rubens [art] gallery," where she performed the haunting song "Dark Waltz" accompanied only by Foster on piano and Tao on violin -- and surrounded by four of Rubens' largest, and most striking, canvases.

Jackie brought her music straight to her many fans this summer on her eagerly anticipated Dream With Me tour. She has been performing at SRO venues with highly regarded Symphony Orchestras, among them:

• Sun Valley, ID, July 31, with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony
• Atlanta, GA, Aug. 5, with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
• Highland Park, IL, Aug. 7, during the Ravinia Festival; Jackie performed with the Ravinia Festival Orchestra

and upcoming:

• Omaha, NE, Aug. 26, with the Omaha Symphony
• Dallas, TX, Aug. 31, with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
• Pittsburgh, PA, Oct. 16, with the Pittsburgh Opera, Antony Walker Conducting
• New York, NY, Nov. 7, at Avery Fisher Hall

SOURCE SYCO/Columbia Records