Sunday, April 20, 2008
The dramatic work hasn’t been performed locally in more than 30 years.
YOUNGSTOWN — A chorus of almost 200 singers will join the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra in a rare and sonically lush production of Verdi’s “Requiem.”
Four soloists and a special festival chorus made up of the Westminster College Chorus, the Seraphim Chorus and the Stambaugh Chorus will provide vocals for the Friday concert.
“Verdi’s ‘Requiem’ Mass for the dead is powerful, dramatic and intense,” said Susan Davenny Wyner, conductor of the Warren Philharmonic. “It goes from barest whispers to extraordinary outbursts of emotion.”
Wyner is dedicating the performance to the late opera star Luciano Pavarotti, because Verdi’s “Requiem” was a favorite of his. Pavarotti, the most celebrated opera singer of modern times, died in September after a bout with pancreatic cancer.
She noted that Pavarotti was the tenor soloist for “Requiem” in the famed 1977 filmed concert with Herbert von Karajan at La Scala in Milan, which marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Toscanini.
“I am particularly excited to be honoring Pavarotti with this huge work in the glorious acoustics of Stambaugh Auditorium,” said Wyner. “Stambaugh was created for these kinds of forces. It carries the softest to grandest sonorities without any need for amplification. The effects are thrilling, and I think this is an opportunity not to be missed.”
The Verdi work calls for a large orchestra that includes eight trumpets plus double choruses and operatic-sized solo voices. Mozart’s “Requiem” has become more familiar than Verdi’s, according to Wyner, because it requires fewer musicians and is therefore performed more often.
Verdi’s “Requiem” has not been performed in the Mahoning Valley in more than 40 years. The last time was in 1967, when the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, under conductor Franz Bibo, performed the masterpiece at Powers Auditorium with the Youngstown Symphony Chorus and Westminster College Choir.
The four soloists for Friday’s performance include two of the area’s top singers: soprano Charlene Canty and baritone Brian Keith Johnson. The two last performed together on Stambaugh’s stage in 2006 as the Count and Countess in Opera Western Reserve’s production of Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro.”
The other two soloists will be making their area debuts.
Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Chigas is a Metropolitan Opera Auditions winner who has often performed at Carnegie Hall. Her portrayal of Carmen prompted The Washington Post to write, “Chigas ... had the best voice and explored Carmen’s earthy, almost animal sensuality with a power beyond any prima donna I have seen in the role.”
Tenor soloist Darren T. Anderson has been praised for “his Italianate voice and style” by The Boston Globe.
The concert will mark the first time the three choral groups in the special festival chorus will have worked together.
The Westminster College Festival Chorus, directed by Robin Lind, has more than 110 singers, including students, professors and alumni. The Seraphim Chorus is directed by Kris Harper, adjunct professor at Westminster College. The Stambaugh Chorus, which was formed this year, is directed by Donald Megahan.
The performers range in age from 16 to 86, and include professional musicians as well as choral singers who sing as a hobby.
“I love creating musical adventures that take us into powerful emotional worlds and that draw us together as a community,” said Wyner.
The conductor said the concert represents a chance to witness a unique moment that will not be soon forgotten.
“The Verdi is such heartfelt music that it speaks to everyone — old or young — and is as moving for first time listeners as it is for those who know every note,” she said.
“I think that it is important for people to experience a great work like this in a ‘live’ performance — to hear real voices and instruments and people working together. There is something so powerful about being drawn together as a community of loving and caring human beings for a moment that will never come again. It is surprising, startling and moving. It is alive!”