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**a non-subscription event** *Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, permit #00001410 We had a great line-up of knockout
numbers! Then
on to our first set! Here
are some candid shots: Thanks to everyone for a wonderful evening! A Garland of Holiday Music We hope you joined
us as we performed on The first concert of our season, on December 11, 1999, "A Garland of Holiday Music", featured two Coronation Anthems by George Frideric Handel: "The King Shall Rejoice" and "Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened", Mozart's "Dixit et Magnificat", and Arvo Pärt's "Magnificat". And, as we brought the 1900s to a close, we honored a number of 20th century composers with a selection of carols written or arranged by some of the most distinguished and prolific composers of our time, including Herbert Howells, Morten Lauridsen, William Walton, Hugo Distler and David Willcocks. The Chorale was accompanied by chamber orchestra.
~INTERMISSION ~
OUR PROGRAM INCLUDED:
The second concert of our season, “Return to the Opera,” featured the rarely performed "Messa da Requiem", by Gaetano Donizetti. Though best known for his operatic works such as "Lucia di Lammermoor", "Don Pasquale", and "L'elisir d'amore", Donizetti was trained as a church musician and his dual musical personality is evident in his "Messa da Requiem." Completed in Paris in 1835, "Requiem" was written for his friend and musical rival, Vincenzo Bellini, with the earliest documented performance to have taken place in April 1870. The work remained unpublished until the 20th century. The Chorale will perform a newly edited version (1975) by Volmos Leskó based on the autograph preserved in the library of the Conservatory in Naples. The concert
also featured favorite opera arias, duets, and choruses, including
Gaetano Donizetti's "Chorus of wedding guests" from "Lucia
di Lammermoor", Giuseppe Verdi's "Chorus
of Scottish refugees" from "Macbeth",
Richard Wagner's "Bridal Chorus" from "Lohengrin",
Piotr Tchaikovsky's "Waltz Scene" from "Eugene
Onegin", the "Coronation scene" from
Modeste Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov", "Sous
le dôme épais" from "Lakme"
by Leo Delibes and "Sull' aria/Che soave zeffiretto"
Stephan Kirchgraber, Bass, after studies at the University of Illinois, and in Munich, Germany, made his professional debut with the Greater Miami Opera in La Gioconda, and has returned there for roles in Macbeth, Norma, Turandot, and the American premiere of Franchetti's Cristoforo Colombo. Mr. Kirchgraber has toured frequently with the New York City Opera National Company as Colline in La Boheme, and in two different productions of La Traviata. With the Opera Theatre of St. Louis he created roles in the world premieres of The Woodlanders by Stephen Paulus, Joruri by Minoru Miki and the Japanese premiere of Joruri at the Nissei Theatre in Tokyo, a performance released on videodisc. Mr. Kirchgraber made his European debut in Die Meistersinger at the Festival dei due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and has also appeared at the Opernhaus Zurich in Salome. Other American appearances include performances with the Augusta, Baltimore, New Orleans, Orlando, Palm Beach and Utah opera companies And in recent seasons he has been seen in critically acclaimed performances as all the Villains in Les Contes D'Hoffmann and Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin with OperaDELAWARE, as Wurm in Luisa Miller for the Sarasota Opera, and in productions of La Fanciulla del West and Street Scene for the Central City Opera. Mr. Kirchgraber is the 1998 recipient of the Robert M. Lauch Memorial Grant presented by the Wagner Society of New York, under whose auspices he made his New York recital debut in May 1998. Charles "Chip" Sanford, tenor, hails from Bradenton, Florida, where he sang the role of Alfred in "Die Fledermaus" and Don Pelagio in Haydn's "La Cantarina" with the Orlando Opera. He has also appeared as Rodolfo in "La Boheme" at Lyric Opera Cleveland, and most recently sang the role of Dick Johnson in Puccini's "Fanciulla del West" with Central City Opera in Colorado. Recently relocated to New York, his upcoming roles include Tebaldo in Bellini's "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" and Baccus in "Ariadne auf Naxos" We hope you didn't miss our final concert of our '99-'00 season! The final concert of the season, on May 20, 2000 was, “Light Eternal & the Lighter Side,” a concert which explored choral music from its most poignant to its most playful. Included on the program was the hauntingly evocative, “Lux Aeterna” by Morten Lauridsen and John Tavener’s “Song for Athene.” Representing the lighter side was Randall Thompson’s “Frostiana: Seven Country Songs,” and the indescribable PDQ Bach’s “The Seasonings, S. 1 ½ tsp.” We were accompanied by Chamber Orchestra. The Program
INTERMISSION
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