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An entire evening with The Orchestra & Chorus
Sneak Peek …read more
Traditionally, The All-Star Orchestra is joined by The Chorus for one piece during a Festival concert. But this is “Grand and Glorious!” All 125 of these artists will be performed together throughout.
This “Ultra-Talented 125” will take you on a celebration of Western Civilization’s great operatic works. One hopes that the structural engineers at the concert hall have used heavy-duty braces to bolt down the roof.
You will hear monumental selections from the spectacular:
- Carmen
- Nabucco
- La Boheme
- I Pagliacci
- Aida
- Tannhauser
Plus, the a capella fifth movement of Mason Bates’ Sirens; heralded at its Premier this year as: “An expansive study of musical seduction.” ~ San Francisco Chronicle
Premium Seating available in the orange areas of the seating chart below.
Opera Grand and Glorious
Grand Opera…Opera, ah well, you all know what that is! And this opera/choral concert is indeed GRAND! and GLORIOUS!
Three very different Prologues (or Preludes) introduce us to the emotions and plots of some of the genre’s most famous works. The Arizona Musicfest All-Star Orchestra will perform the “Prelude” to Dei Meistersinger, Wagner’s only happy and comic opera. You will hear the orchestral and vocal “Prologue” warning of jealousy and violence to come in the pre-curtain aria from I Pagliacci, and the romantic, passionate “Prelude to Act III” of La Traviata.
The Arizona Musicfest Chorus, so magnificent in strength and eloquence, will sing the stirring Va Pensiero (The Hymn of the Hebrew Slaves) from Verdi’s Nabucco. This music is identified with Italy’s fight for independence in the late 19th Century and is Italy’s National Anthem! You will surely recognize it immediately! A Soprano Aria with Chorus of exquisite beauty from Mozart’s first operatic “hit.” Idomeneo will surround you with melodic warmth, and acts from two of the world’s most beloved operas will be heard: Act II, the magical Bohemian Christmas Eve Scene in Paris from La Boheme by Puccini; and Bizet’s final act of Carmen. And, yes, you will hear famous “Toreador Song.” Our Resident Composer, Mason Bates’ piece V From The Book of Matthew from his Cantata, Sirens, is the new surprise glory of the concert. The work was commissioned by the Vocal Group, Chanticleer. The melodic content is breathtakingly warm, yet dynamically brilliant. The enjoining “follow me” passages are hypnotizing. Let this work entrance you!
Sirens: V From The Book of Matthew by Mason Bates
So melodically beautiful and harmonically warm. V From The Book of Matthew belongs in any compilation of great choral literature. The vocal lines are arch and soar wondrously. It is emotionally heartwarming as the narrative unfolds. “Follow, follow, follow” the commanding words of this compelling setting of the Matthew’s words and be captivated by this dramatic choral work!
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