From A Spark to a Flame – Celebrating 50 Years of Choral Brilliance!
Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem – A Gala Presentation
Chorus Niagara, Niagara’s premier 100-voice choral ensemble, with Artistic Director Robert Cooper, present Giuseppe Verdi’s masterwork Requiem Saturday May 4th, 7:30pm, at the historic Lake Street Armoury, 81 Lake Street, St. Catharines. Audiences are invited to attend a post-concert reception for the historic lighting of Chorus Niagara’s 50th Anniversary Candles and to enjoy a sample of the anniversary celebration cake.
This 50th Anniversary season finale features over 200 singers and instrumentalists and showcases a brilliant quartet of Canadian Opera stars. Joining the 100 voices of Chorus Niagara are Choralis Camerata and Chorus Niagara’s Community and Side-by-SideHigh School Chorales. The Niagara Symphony Orchestra accompanies the massed choir. This gala performance celebrates not only the Golden Anniversary of Chorus Niagara, but also the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi, Italy’s most celebrated operatic composer.
Audiences will be dazzled by a Canadian superstar operatic quartet, comprised of Leslie Ann Bradley, soprano; Anita Krause, mezzo-soprano; David Pomeroy, tenor and Stephen Hegedus, bass-baritone.
Leslie Ann Bradley, soprano, possesses a voice described as ‘warm, voluptuous and beautifully expressive’. Opera Canada has described her as ‘A stylish singer that recalled a young Renee Fleming.’ Equally at home in opera, concert and recital, Ms. Bradley has performed with the Calgary Philharmonic, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Opera in Concert, Brott Summer Music Festival, Boston Midsummer Opera, Toronto Operetta Theatre and the Aldeburgh Connection. A graduate of the University of Toronto Opera Program with a Master’s Degree, Ms. Bradley is also the winner of several prestigious awards. She has appeared on BRAVO television in ‘Love Story’ and recorded two episodes of ‘Opera Easy’ for BRAVO.
Verdi’s Requiem was first performed in Milan Italy in May of 1874. It was composed in memory of Italian poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni, who was much admired by Verdi. Giuseppe Verdi is the composer of many well-known operas including Nabucco, Rigoletto, Aida, Otello and Falstaff, favourites of opera companies around the world today. Requiem, was a departure for the composer, who was considered to be an agnostic. Verdi’s operatic style lent a complex and theatrical flair to the Mass format, making it a dramatic audience favourite.
Tickets are available from the Brock University Box Office in St. Catharines 905-688-5550 ext. 3257; toll free 1-866-617-3257; online www.arts.brocku.ca , or from a chorus member. Media Contact Paul Price 905-227-2356 paul.price@cogeco.ca
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Richard Rodgers