Seattle Opera Chorus Offers Festive Program In One-of-A-Kind Holiday Chorus Concert

Plus, Seattle Opera Chorus embarks on first-ever tour in January 2024.

By: Sep. 27, 2023
Seattle Opera Chorus Offers Festive Program In One-of-A-Kind Holiday Chorus Concert

Seattle Opera Chorus Offers Festive Program In One-of-A-Kind Holiday Chorus Concert

This holiday season, audiences will have the rare opportunity to hear the renowned Seattle Opera Chorus in a fun and festive new Holiday Chorus Concert. This special program of seasonal tunes, opera gems, and choral favorites will showcase the chorus's impressive range and set the mood for a holiday season of operatic proportions.

“This is a unique chance to see the chorus outside of a production and to get to know these artists more intimately,” said Chorus Master Michaella Calzaretta, who is in her second full season with the company. “Our program offers a range of music that highlights the chorus's power and dynamism and that won't be heard anywhere else in Seattle. An opera chorus offers a truly distinct sound world—I think we might surprise some people with the breadth of emotions and styles we're capable of producing.”

The program, which runs for four performances December 6–10 in Tagney Jones Hall (and two of which are already sold out), will feature a diverse mix of sacred and secular repertoire, from rarely heard opera choruses to well-known holiday carols, from irreverent medleys to rousing sing-alongs. Highlights include Ottorino Respighi's Lauda per la natività del Signore, the choral prelude to Pietro Mascagni's Zanetto, “Laudi alla Vergine Maria” from Giuseppe Verdi's Quattro pezzi sacri, “There Is No Rose” by local composer Melinda Bargreen, choruses from Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, the “Sleep” chorus from Kevin Puts's Silent Night, and selections from A Consort of Choral Christmas Carols by P.D.Q. Bach.

 

“These concerts are a wonderful opportunity to shine a spotlight on a different side of Seattle Opera,” said General Director Christina Scheppelmann. “We have a stellar Chorus Master who has put together a delightfully engaging program, and I'm eager for our audiences to hear it. It's not often that you get to hear an excellent opera chorus in such an intimate setting, without the greater distance that comes with a full production.”

Scheppelmann also emphasized that the Holiday Chorus Concert will feature audience participation in the form of a sing-along: “So warm up your voices before you come!”

In the wake of the Holiday Chorus Concert, the Seattle Opera Chorus will embark in January on its first-ever tour of the Puget Sound region, with concerts at McIntyre Performing Arts & Conference Center in Mount Vernon on Friday, January 26, and at Vashon Center for the Arts on Vashon Island on Sunday, January 28.

Calzaretta says these tour concerts will illustrate the many different faces the opera chorus inhabits on stage: “They're sailors, they're townsfolk, they're witches, they're soldiers—they play all these different characters throughout opera's history. And each role is so pivotal because it embodies the community in any given show, grounding it in time and place. The result has been some of the most spectacular music in the operatic repertory.”

That musical and dramatic heft will be showcased through remarkable choruses from works such as Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Benjamin Britten's Gloriana, Aaron Copland's The Tender Land, and Charles Gounod's Faust.

For Calzaretta, this tour will spark new ways of envisioning opera beyond the walls of the opera house. “It's thrilling to go out into our community and perform for people who love and support opera. I believe it will inspire us to think about new ways of performing and serving our community through this art form.”

 

Established in 1963, Seattle Opera is committed to serving the people of the Pacific Northwest through music, storytelling, and programs for people of all ages. Each year, more than 50,000 people attend the company's performances, and more than 100,000 people are served through school performances, radio broadcasts, and more. The organization brings opera to life in a number of different ways, offering artistic excellence through national and international collaborations. Seattle Opera strives to create an environment where artists, staff, behind-the-scenes workers, and members of the community feel a strong connection to the company, and to the art of opera. Follow Seattle Opera on Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, and on Classical KING FM 98.1.

Holiday Chorus Concert: Performance Information

• Works by Giuseppe Verdi, Ottorino Respighi, Melinda Bargreen, Pietro Mascagni, Gian Carlo Menotti, Kevin Puts, P.D.Q. Bach, and more
• Conducted by Michaella Calzaretta

• Run time approx. 90 minutes with intermission
• Tickets $65 general public, $50 subscribers; 1 Flex Pass credit

Tagney Jones Hall (363 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA 98109)

Wednesday, December 6, at 7:30 PM
Friday, December 8, at 7:30 PM (limited availability)
Saturday, December 9, at 2:00 PM (SOLD OUT)

Sunday, December 10, at 2:00 PM (SOLD OUT)

Tickets and information at seattleopera.org/holiday.

Seattle Opera Chorus Tour: Performance Information

• Works by Ruggero Leoncavallo, Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland, Charles Gounod, and more
• Conducted by Michaella Calzaretta

• Run time approx. 90 minutes with intermission

McIntyre Performing Arts & Conference Center
(2501 East College Way, Mount Vernon, WA 98273)
Friday, January 26, at 7:30 PM
Tickets $35–45; student and senior discounts available

Vashon Center for the Arts (19600 Vashon Hwy SW, Vashon, WA 98070)
Sunday, January 28, at 2:30 PM
Single tickets on sale October 2


BroadwayWorld Awards Voting

RELATED STORIES - Seattle

1
Review: THE DINA MARTINA CHRISTMAS SHOW at ACT Photo
Review: THE DINA MARTINA CHRISTMAS SHOW at ACT

Dear Readers, I am loathed to admit that I’ve never seen one of Dina Martina’s Christmas shows. Hey, I’ve only had 25 years to catch one. I have seen her perform before, way back when at Thumpers on Capitol Hill (back when that existed). Well, she’s back at ACT this year with “The Dina Martina Christmas Show” and I had to ask myself, “Why did I wait so long?”

2
Maximiliano Guerra Appointed as New Artistic Director for Evergreen City Ballet Company Photo
Maximiliano Guerra Appointed as New Artistic Director for Evergreen City Ballet Company

Renowned Artistic Director, Maximiliano Guerra, joins Evergreen City Ballet Company. Find out more about this exciting addition to the team.

3
Review: MJ at The Paramount Theatre Photo
Review: MJ at The Paramount Theatre

Dear Readers, you know I’m not a fan of the bio musical. Very few get it right with jamming too many songs in or a bad book. Unfortunately, “MJ” the Michael Jackson bio musical currently playing at the Paramount suffers from both of those things, and more.

4
Pianist Michael Stephen Brown, Violinist Kristin Lee & Percussionist Svet Stoyanov to  Photo
Pianist Michael Stephen Brown, Violinist Kristin Lee & Percussionist Svet Stoyanov to Perform At Emerald City Music

Internationally lauded pianist/composer Michael Stephen Brown performs with violinist Kristin Lee and percussionist Svet Stoyanov in a concert presented by Emerald City Music.

More Hot Stories For You

Videos


Aladdin in Seattle Aladdin
Paramount Theatre (4/24-4/28)
The Book of Mormon (Non-Equity) in Seattle The Book of Mormon (Non-Equity)
Paramount Theatre (1/09-1/14)
Beetlejuice in Seattle Beetlejuice
Paramount Theatre (4/02-4/07)
My Fair Lady (Non-Equity) in Seattle My Fair Lady (Non-Equity)
First Interstate Center for the Arts(Formally INB Performing Arts Center) (4/02-4/07)
SIX (Boleyn Tour) in Seattle SIX (Boleyn Tour)
First Interstate Center for the Arts(Formally INB Performing Arts Center) (1/23-1/28)
Fa la la la la, ha ha ha ha: A Holiday Musical Extravaganza! in Seattle Fa la la la la, ha ha ha ha: A Holiday Musical Extravaganza!
Unexpected Productions (12/02-12/23)
Wonderland: The 10th Anniversary Edition in Seattle Wonderland: The 10th Anniversary Edition
Can Can Culinary Cabaret (11/16-1/07)
Soltice Under The WICA Star! in Seattle Soltice Under The WICA Star!
Whidbey Island Center for The Arts (12/21-12/21)
SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY NEW YEAR'S EVE SHOW: BEST OF! in Seattle SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY NEW YEAR'S EVE SHOW: BEST OF!
Whidbey Island Center for The Arts (12/31-12/31)
FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA in Seattle FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA
Tacoma Little Theatre (6/07-6/23)
VIEW ALL SHOWS  ADD A SHOW  

Recommended For You