Opera Philadelphia Channel Presents LOVE IN THE PARK

The singers of the Opera Philadelphia Chorus have anchored decades' worth of productions ranging from the world premieres of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's Breaking the Waves and David Hertzberg's The Wake World to Verdi's Nabucco and Requiem. The talents of the renowned ensemble will be celebrated this season on the Opera Philadelphia Channel through a five-episode series titled LOVE in the Park, in which 16 singers under the direction of Chorus Master Elizabeth Braden and accompanied by pianist Grant Loehnig perform beloved opera arias and choruses alongside popular musical theater selections.

All five episodes of LOVE in the Park will premiere on Friday Dec. 11, 2020 and will be available for seven-day rentals for $15 or unlimited on-demand viewing for Season Pass holders through May 31, 2021. Visit operaphila.tv for details.

Filmed on September 30, 2020 at a masked and socially-distanced concert in Dilworth Park next to Philadelphia City Hall, the program includes chorus performances like "Belle nuit" (Barcarolle) from Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffman, "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" (Habanera) from Bizet's Carmen, and "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" (Libiamo) from Verdi's La traviata. With a running theme of "love in all its forms," the series includes selections from Broadway favorites West Side Story, Camelot, A Little Night Music, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Godspell, and Waitress, as well as arias from the operas Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, The Barber of Seville, Porgy & Bess, and Der Rosenkavalier.

Singers on the program are altos Marissa Chalker, Joanna Gates, and Megan McFadden; sopranos Lauren Cook, Natalie Dewey, Aimee Pilgermayer, Evelyn Santiago, and Julie Snyder; tenors Corey Don Bonar, A. Edward Maddison, Toffer Mihalka, and Daniel Taylor; and basses Mark Malachesky, John David Miles, Frank Mitchell, and Scott Purcell.

The Opera Philadelphia Chorus is an all-professional ensemble made up of singers from the greater Philadelphia region. The talented chorus members come from many of the nation's finest music programs, including graduates of Indiana University, Eastman School of Music, Temple University, Peabody Conservatory, and Westminster Choir College.

LOVE in the Park was filmed and edited by Dave Tavani with audio by George Blood.