Atlanta Opera Chorus to Present Program Representing 300 Years of Repertoire, 9/12-16

In celebration of his 25th anniversary year with The Atlanta Opera, Chorus Master Walter Huff will lead the Atlanta Opera Chorus in a program of masterpieces representing 300 years of operatic choral repertoire.

The three concerts feature the powerfully moving voice of the acclaimed Atlanta Opera Chorus, conducted by Maestro Huff and accompanied by pianist Brian Eads.

Sopranos Leah Partridge and Indra Thomas, tenors Victor Ryan Robertson and Timothy Miller, and special guests William Fred Scott and Lois Reitzes join the chorus for selections of well-known masterpieces by Verdi, Mozart, Puccini, Wagner, Bizet, Britten, and Glass, among others. The evening will include performances of "Va, pensiero" from Verdi's Nabucco, the Cigarette Chorus from Bizet's Carmen, the Brindisi from Verdi's La Traviata, the Moon Chorus from Puccini's Turandot, the Easter Chorus from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, and the final chorus from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

The performances will take place on Friday, September 12, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, September 14, at 3 p.m., at Emory University's Schwartz Center, and Tuesday, September 16, at 8 p.m. at Kennesaw State University's Bailey Performance Center.

Tickets for the Friday, September 12, and Sunday, September 14, concerts at Emory University are $40; discount category members $32 (Emory students $10 Friday performance only). For tickets and information please call the Arts at Emory Box Office at 404-727-5050 or visit www.arts.emory.edu.

Tickets for the Tuesday, September 16 concert at Kennesaw State University are $15-55 and go on sale Monday, August 18, 2014 at 10:00 AM. For more information and tickets, visit www.arts.kennesaw.edu.

Choral Silver Celebration: An Evening of Great Operatic Choruses

Walter Huff, chorus master and conductor

Rolando Salazar, assistant chorus master

Brian Eads, pianist

PROGRAM:

VERDI "Fuoco di gioia" from Otello

VERDI "Brindisi" from La Traviata

MOZART "Placido e il mar" from Idomeneo

LEONCAVALLO Bell Chorus from Pagliacci

VERDI "Zitti, ziti" from Rigoletto

BIZET Cigarette Chorus from Carmen

VERDI "Va, pensiero" from Nabucco

PHILIP GLASS Psalm 104 from Akhnaten

WAGNER Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhäuser

PUCCINI "Moon Chorus" from Turandot

BRITTEN "Who Holds Himself Apart" from Peter Grimes

GERSHWIN "Oh Lord, I'm on My Way" from Porgy and Bess

MASCAGNI "Inneggiamo il Signor" from Cavalleria Rusticana

About the Artists

WALTER HUFF Throughout his twenty-five years of service as Chorus Master, Huff has guided the Atlanta Opera Chorus in more than one hundred mainstage productions in six major Atlanta venues, influencing countless Atlanta Opera Chorus singers under his leadership. Huff holds a bachelor of music degree from Oberlin College-Conservatory and a master of music degree from Peabody Conservatory (Baltimore). Throughout his career, Huff has served as conductor, vocal coach, and collaborative pianist throughout the United States and Europe, holding positions such as vocal coach with the Washington National Opera, Peabody Opera Theater, Tanglewood Music Center, Atlanta Opera, and Actor's Express theater. In addition he has served as chorus master with the San Diego Opera. For four years, Huff was a faculty member of Georgia State University as assistant professor, vocal coach, and conductor of the Georgia State University Choral Society. In 2013, he was appointed full time faculty/associate professor of choral conducting at Indiana University's esteemed Jacobs School of Music

ATLANTA OPERA CHORUS Widely regarded as one of the top opera ensembles in the country, the Atlanta Opera Chorus performs in the majority of main stage offerings produced by the Atlanta Opera each year. Under the leadership of Walter Huff for 25 years, the choristers are an integral part of each performance. Touted for their technical abilities and compelling acting skills, they have been featured in more than 100 productions since Maestro Huff began his tenure. Conductors, stage directors, and principal singers from the world over have consistently praised the ensemble for its characteristic sound, range of color, and consistent precision. Production highlights through the years have included TURANDOT, AIDA, SAMSON ET DALILA, IL TROVATORE, OTELLO, and MANON. Other memorable choral performances have been showcased in Philip Glass' AKHNATEN, Wagner's dark and stormy THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, Gluck's ORFEO ED EURIDICE, a critically acclaimed double-bill of CARMINA BURANA and PAGLIACCI, 1992's contemporary staging of Bizet's CARMEN, and Mozart's REQUIEM. In 1996, the Atlanta Opera Chorus was invited to perform in the Cultural Olympiad concert series, as part of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. This invitation resulted in two memorable performances, seen by a distinguished international audience: Gershwin's delightful musical comedy OF THEE I SING and an Opera Gala Evening, featuring the Atlanta Chorus and famed soprano Dame Gwyneth Jones. In 2008, the Opéra-Comique of Paris invited the Atlanta Opera Chorus to perform in their new production of PORGY AND BESS. This 8-week engagement included 12 performances in Paris and additional shows in Spain, Normandy, and Luxembourg. Numerous alumni of the chorus have now sung at leading opera houses around the nation and the world - including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Los Angeles Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, and many others.

ABOUT THE ATLANTA OPERA - Founded in 1979, The Atlanta Opera is one of the finest regional opera companies in the nation. By producing live, mainstage performances of the highest quality and impactful community engagement experiences, The Atlanta Opera enriches lives through the power of opera. Under the leadership of General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun, the Opera attracts the finest international, national, and regional singers, conductors, stage directors, and designers. Each season, The Atlanta Opera presents three productions at the Cobb Energy Centre, drawing audiences from the entire metropolitan Atlanta area as well as from the Southeast region.