Nov 20th, 2010. 8 p.m.
Franz Josef Haydn’s The Creation is considered by many to be the composer’s masterpiece. South Florida audiences will have an opportunity to hear this glorious oratorio in three performances by the Master Chorale of South Florida, accompanied by the Miami Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Joshua Habermann. The concerts will take place on Friday, November 19, at 8:00 pm at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Miami; Saturday, November 20 at 8:00 pm at the Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University in Boca Raton; and Sunday, November 21 at 4:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church of Pompano Beach.
The Creation, written and sung in English, celebrates the creation of the world as described in the Book of Genesis. It was written for four-part chorus and large classical orchestra with soprano, tenor and bass soloists in the role of angels, as well as an incidental alto solo in the finale. The three soloists represent angels who narrate and comment on the successive six days of creation: Gabriel (soprano), Uriel (tenor), and Raphael (bass). The choral singers are employed in a series of monumental choruses, several of them celebrating the end of one particular day of creation. The orchestra often plays alone, notably in the episodes of “tone-painting”: the appearance of the sun, the creation of various beasts, and above all in the overture, the famous depiction of the Chaos before the creation.
The role of the angel Gabriel will be sung by soprano Maria Jette. Ms. Jette has appeared with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra; Houston, Kansas City, San Luis Obispo, Santa Rosa, Charlotte, Buffalo, Grand Rapids, Austin and San Antonio symphony orchestras, New York Chamber Symphony and Portland Baroque Orchestra. For many seasons, the Minneapolis resident has appeared with Ex Machina Antique Music Theatre in the Twin Cities, where she is often heard locally with Vocalessence, Chamber Music Society of Minnesota and Lyra Baroque Orchestra. With conductor Helmuth Rilling, she has sung Bach, Mozart and Haydn throughout the U.S. and in Germany, Spain, Venezuela, Japan and Canada. She has performed her own production of Seuss/Kapilow’s Green Eggs & Ham for more than 40,000 kids around the country. She is a regular guest at the San Luis Obispo Mozart and Oregon Bach Festivals, the Oregon Festival of American Music and on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. She has recorded Faure’s Melodies, Britten’s Paul Bunyan and Folk Songs of the British Isles, Mozart’s Requiem and Mayr’s La Passione.
The angel Uriel will be sung by tenor Glenn Siebert. Known to local audiences for his performances with the Master Chorale of South Florida in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mr. Siebert has appeared with the orchestras of New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and the Royal Flanders Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Boston Pops, American Symphony Orchestra and others. Mr. Siebert has sung leading roles in the operas of Mozart, Britten, Donizetti, Rossini and others with the Hamburgische Staatsoper, Asutiras Festival, and opera companies of San Francisco, Santa Fe, Washington, St. Louis, Denver, Baltimore, Cleveland, Minnesota and Hawaii. He has appeared in Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, Cleveland’s Blossom Festival, Blair Music Festival in Scotland, the Newport Music Festival, and the New York Festival of Song. Mr. Siebert’s recordings include Mendelssohn’s Paulus with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Handel’s Acis and Galatea with the Seattle Symphony, Berlioz’s Lelio with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Schubert’s Mass in Eb with the Atlanta Symphony, Nothing Divine is Mundane: Songs of Virgil Thomson and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Brussel’s Anema Eterna.
The role of the angel Raphael will be sung by baritone Graham Fandrei. Educated at the New England Conservatory and at Julliard, the Miami native has performed throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. In the U.S., he has sung more than 20 different operatic roles with Florida Grand Opera, Miami Lyric Opera, Opera Naples, DiCapo Opera, Knoxville Opera, City Center Opera in Philadelphia and with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, both in St. Louis and on tour in Japan. He has sung La Boheme on Broadway, performed a concert of songs by Kurt Weill, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Johnny Mercer with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and, most recently, in a tribute to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers with the same orchestra. He made his European debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in 2003, and while in Holland, sang in a Leonard Bernstein festival. Equally comfortable on the concert stage, he has sung Carmina Burana and requiems by Mozart, Faure and Anthony Newman.
The Master Chorale of South Florida is South Florida’s premier classical choral ensemble. The talented singers volunteer their time for the satisfaction of performing the most challenging choral repertoire at the highest artistic level in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.The Master Chorale of South Florida was formed to ensure that world-class concerts of major choral-orchestral works remain a part of South Florida’s cultural fabric. Through innovative programming, artistic passion, and superb performances of the greatest music ever written, the Master Chorale of South Florida strives to foster feelings of joy and excitement in the hearts of audiences.
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
464 NE 16th Street
Miami, FL 33132
305.374.3372
www.masterchoraleofsouthflorida.org
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