LEWISTON — Mezzo-soprano Joelle Morris of Evian, France, will give an encore performance of French cabaret and jazz standards on Saturday, Aug. 28, at the Franco-American Heritage Center.

“The songs I’ll be performing resonate in all Frenchmen who witnessed the transformation of their country during the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s,” said Morris. She listed Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Charles Trenet and Sidney Bechet as a sampling of artists she will cover.

“The songs show the joie de vivre, as well as the melancholy and nostalgia found in the French repertoire,” the songstress added.

Morris uses her dramatic voice and musical understanding to bring passion, depth and clarity to her performances, whether singing opera’s darkest arias, jazz tunes or Broadway hits.

She graduated in 2003 with a master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Colorado’s Lamont Conservatory of Music in Denver. A finalist in the Metropolitan Opera audition in Denver that year, she has performed as Cherubino in “The Marriage of Figaro,” Dorabella in “Cosi fan Tutte” and Rosina in “The Barber of Seville” for a variety of theater companies.

Besides performing, Morris is a teacher and conductor. She is a member of the jazz group The Jean-Marie Reboul Trio, which performs throughout France, as well as in Geneva, Switzerland. She also conducts an established 60-person choir based in Thonon-les-Bains, as well as the 16-member choir Double Croche she formed in 2006.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $16, $14 for students and senior citizens. For reservations, call 689-2000. Crepes, wines and other beverages will be available at the concession during intermission. For more information, visit www.francoamericanheritage.org.

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